Audi in the 2019 DTM: With Audi TFSI power into a new DTM era

The beginning of a new era in the DTM: Starting in the 2019 season, modern and highly efficient turbo engines will be used in the Class 1 race cars of the popular touring car racing series. They make the DTM the fastest one ever since its inception in 1984. At the same time, the series – just like Formula E in the field of electric mobility – has received an intensified reference to production development.

“Internal combustion engines will continue to be widely used on our roads also in the coming years,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “That’s why the move from the naturally aspirated V8 to the turbo engine was very important. We’re now racing with a high-efficiency engine in the DTM of the type we’re also using in various performance levels in a very large number of the Group’s production cars.

The two-liter TFSI engine of the Audi RS 5 DTM delivers more than 610 horsepower and thus 100 horsepower more than the previous naturally aspirated V8 engine. The additional output and power development have been thrilling the Audi drivers ever since the initial tests. The new Class 1 race cars are nearly 300 km/h fast and anything but easy to handle. The driver will play an even greater role than before.

The aerodynamics of the cars received further fine-tuning to make for even more spectacular racing. The wider, one-piece rear wing that can be flattened by the driver for overtaking by means of the DRS system is a significant feature of the new Class 1 race cars. Additionally, a “Push-to-Pass” function is providing a short-term boost of about 30 additional horsepower.

The tradition-steeped British brand Aston Martin is bringing international flair to the DTM. Team R-Motorsport is planning to field a total of four Class 1 race cars. BMW will compete with six cars and Audi, with eight Audi RS 5 DTM cars, is the strongest brand in the field, not least thanks to the Belgian WRT team: WRT is the first customer in the more recent DTM history to put two Audi RS 5 DTM cars on the grid.

The four factory-backed Audi RS 5 DTM cars will be fielded by the proven Audi Sport teams, Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg. The same drivers as last year are sitting in the cockpits: Loïc Duval (F), Robin Frijns (NL), Jamie Green (GB), Nico Müller (CH), René Rast (D) and Mike Rockenfeller (D). Nine DTM events of two races each are on the calendar in the 2019 season. Plus, on November 23/24, 2019, a joint race with the Japanese Super GT will be held at Fuji (Japan). Three Super GT cars from Japan will race in the DTM finale at Hockenheim.