Why the Audi brand will disappear from the DTM in 2025, how well Abt is connected at Lamborghini and what a change would mean for the drivers
Which car will Abt drive in the 2025 DTM? This secret could be revealed as early as this coming DTM weekend in Spielberg, because the long-established team from Kempten, which has been fielding Audi cars in the long-running series for 25 years, is planning an announcement about the future at sponsor Red Bull’s home race.
“It’s a bit difficult with Audi because they’ve stopped the topic,” says Daniel Abt, who is now responsible for marketing at the Allgäu-based company, on ServusTV. “That’s why we have to look left and right. There are one or two obvious options.”
However, an Abt spokesperson was tight-lipped about exactly what they wanted to announce: “We want to surprise, as you are used to from Abt.”
What is the story behind Tomczyk’s Spielberg media round?
Interesting: the team has announced a round table discussion for media representatives with sports director Martin Tomczyk at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Does the ex-DTM champion want to personally announce how things will continue with Abt in the DTM?
It is an open secret in the paddock that the Audi subsidiary Lamborghini is the clear favorite in this regard: Abt has been fielding the Huracan GT3 Evo 2 at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife since 2023. They have waited to take this step in the DTM, also in the hope that the wind will change again at Audi in the GT3 sector.
Audi announced in 2023 that it would be scaling back its support for customer racing and thus also for the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II to basic support. This means that there will be no more financial support from the factory for the mid-engine car, which is now only fielded by Abt in the DTM. The package is limited to spare parts and engineering support.
Biermaier announced the decision “by the end of September”
Abt’s managing director Thomas Biermaier made it clear a few weeks ago that they were in talks with Audi and Lamborghini. “Both are from the Volkswagen Group – that’s crucial,”
The background: Motorsport is an important marketing tool for the tuning company from Kempten – and since 2023, the Lamborghini Urus has been in the series portfolio alongside the Audi, Seat, Cupra and Volkswagen brands. Biermaier announced that the aim is to “create facts by the end of September” with regard to the DTM future, at least internally. That would fit with the Spielberg date.
What does the decision depend on? “It’s not just about the financing, but also about the general topic: How is Audi positioning itself? Is it really over or is it not over yet? I don’t think that’s 100 percent certain yet,” said Biermaier in mid-August.
Why Audi cannot offer a long-term perspective
Although they don’t want to give up such a long collaboration and the Audi support continues to be good, they would like a long-term perspective. “We don’t want to have everything open again and again year after year,” says Biermaier. “That’s why we have to look at what’s really happening – and what’s on the table then.” That a new GT3 car is being developed at Audi to replace the aging R8 LMS GT3. Unlike at Lamborghini, where the new Temerario has already been presented as the successor to the Huracan and is to be delivered as the Italians’ new GT3 car from 2026 after testing next year.
In addition, Abt is already very well connected in the Lamborghini environment: Lamborghini’s head of technology Rouven Mohr, who is heading the motorsport division on an interim basis after Giorgio Sanna’s departure, worked for Audi for a long time. In addition, Stefan Gugger, who was the Class 1 and GT3 project manager for many years, only moved from Audi to Lamborghini in May 2024, where he is now responsible for the development of the racing cars.
Kelvin van der Linde hints at Abt’s whereabouts
A switch to Abt would probably mean that the Audi brand would disappear from the DTM. But what would that mean for the collaboration with Red Bull and the drivers? “We did say at the time that this was not a short-term thing, but rather something for the longer term,” Biermaier suggests that the energy drink company would remain on board as a sponsor.
And a change to a Lamborghini would not stand in the way of further collaboration with the pilot duo Kelvin van der Linde and Ricardo Feller. The South African, who is fighting for the title this year and whose Abt contract expires at the end of 2024, is no longer part of the Audi squad anyway, while the Swiss is free from the end of the 2024 season.
Kelvin van der Linde is already indicating on ServusTV that the signs point to him staying: “It’s my goal to continue in the DTM, to continue with Abt Sportsline – a team that has become like a family to me. Hopefully that will be confirmed in the next few weeks.” And with Lamborghini, the hypercar perspective would also beckon.