Driver lineup: Six plus two

Audi Sport is entering the new turbo era of the DTM with a proven driver squad. Loïc Duval (F), Robin Frijns (NL), Jamie Green (GB), Nico Müller (CH), René Rast (D) und Mike Rockenfeller (D) have been confirmed as drivers for the 2019 DTM season. The previous pairings with the three Audi Sport teams, Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg, have remained unchanged as well. In addition, two customer cars will be fielded by the Belgian WRT Team Audi Sport.

“There are many exciting innovations in the DTM this year,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “The more powerful engine no doubt is the most significant one.” The pre-season tests confirmed that at the wheel of the new Class 1 race cars the drivers’ performance is even more crucial than it used to be.” That is why Audi has filled its six cockpits with drivers that have previous DTM experience and are able to handle the demands that have grown once again.

“In Loïc, Robin, Jamie, Nico, René and Mike we already had an extremely strong driver squad in 2018 and are continuing this lineup in the new season,” says Gass. “In my view, they’re the right six for Audi Sport. All of them have the potential to battle for the DTM title. Aside from that, they again proved to be extremely good team players last season.”

The Audi driver lineup includes two former DTM Champions, Mike Rockenfeller (2013) and René Rast (2017), who, on scoring six consecutive wins last year, set a new DTM record. Four of the six Audi drivers have previously won DTM races. Combined, the Audi sextet’s track record before the new season reflects 32 victories, 26 pole positions and 42 fastest race laps.

Robin Frijns and Nico Müller are racing for Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Loïc Duval and Mike Rockenfeller for Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Jamie Green and René Rast for Audi Sport Team Rosberg. “In the past, we’d change the team compositions from time to time,” says Dieter Gass. “However, in the current pairings, the drivers complement each other perfectly so that we didn’t see any room for improvement in this respect.”

In WRT Team Audi Sport, the 21-year-old South African Jonathan Aberdein and the 22-year-old Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi are celebrating their DTM debuts.

The Audi teams in the 2019 DTM

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
#4 Robin Frijns (NL), Aral Ultimate Audi RS 5 DTM (engineer: Michael Petit)
#51 Nico Müller (CH), Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM (Felix Fechner)

Audi Sport Team Phoenix
#28 Loïc Duval (F), MASCOT WORKWEAR Audi RS 5 DTM (Philipp Kluth)
#99 Mike Rockenfeller (D), Akrapovič Audi RS 5 DTM (Laurent Fedacou)

Audi Sport Team Rosberg
#33 René Rast (D), Audi Sport RS 5 DTM (Florian Rinkes)
#53 Jamie Green (GB), Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM (Erich Baumgärtner)

WRT Team Audi Sport
#21 Pietro Fittipaldi (BR), WRT Audi RS 5 DTM (Jonas Vanpachtenbeke)
#27 Jonathan Aberdein (ZA), WRT Audi RS 5 DTM (Jerome Woiret)