Hot on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement of its ambitious Le Mans prototype program comes Friday’s announcement
that Audi will increase its commitment to the German DTM touring car series. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of Audi
AG’s Board of Management, committed to Audi involvement in the series through 2008, saying the DTM is “the most
attractive racing series outside of Formula 1.”
With the recent withdrawal of Opel from the series, the DTM’s future was in doubt, but today’s commitment from Audi
guarantees the series will move forward, albeit as a Mercedes vs. Audi duel for the time being.
The high-tech DTM V8s are enormously popular in Europe, with 922,500 fans attending the eleven races in 2005, and a TV
audience of about 2 million for each race.
In an effort to recapture the DTM championship, Audi will enter a massive ten-car fleet of A4s in the 12-race 2006
series, featuring a newly-developed V8 engine, as well as redesigned aerodynamics and suspension.
[Source: Audi]