Over the weekend the 2020 DTM season came to a thrilling conclusion and with it, Audi Sport’s involvement in a touring car competition that many considered the toughest in the world.

Although the manufacturers’ and teams’ crowns for the year had already been decided in Audi Sport’s favour, it came right down to the final race in Hockenheim for the drivers’ champion to be finalised.

Fittingly, it was René Rast who once again took the drivers’ trophy, his third DTM Championship in  four years and the only driver in DTM history to ever do so. It was very much the icing on the cake in a season which saw Audi win 16 of 18 races and start from pole position no less than 17 times in the Audi RS 5 DTM. There were 16 fastest race laps recorded by Audi teams throughout the season and multiple 1-2-3 Audi finishes.

In the final race of the season and what was the final DTM race for Audi Sport, the brand occupied the first six places, utterly dominating capping off not only a great season but a great association with the series.  

Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass accepted the trophy for winning the manufacturers’ championship, which Audi won with 1253:500 points: “The fact that we managed to finish the last race with our six factory drivers in the top six positions says it all. The DTM was an incredible success for Audi, especially the last two years with the four-cylinder engines. In Class 1, we won everything that could be won, dominated in 2019 and also in 2020.

René deserves the title. Nico [Muller] gave him a great fight until the very end. I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team, to everyone here at the track, but also to everyone at home in Neckarsulm, in Neuburg and in Ingolstadt. Thanks a lot! It was an honour to work with this team and to celebrate such great successes together in the DTM. Now it’s time to head for new shores.” 

It’s been a tremendous association between Audi and the DTM for 30 years, the brand coming to the competition with the Audi V8 quattro, a car which some derided as being too big and cumbersome, until it won the title in its very first year.

That started three decades of motorsport excellence with Audi battling competitors from Mercedes-Benz, Opel and BMW amongst others in cutting-edge motorsport. The brand has enjoyed more than its fair share of success, with many of the greats of modern motorsport putting their mark on the series for the Audi Sport brand. Namers like Tom Kristensen, Frank Biela, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Mattias Ekström all contributing to Audi’s great success, as well as current triple champion, René Rast, Nico Müller and a host of other talented drivers.

After what was a difficult year thanks to COVID restrictions, the Audi Brand now takes its leave of the DTM although from 2021 onwards, the DTM will be run with GT3 race cars and for Audi, will become part of the customer racing program with the Audi R8 LMS. The reigning champion, René Rast, will be back behind the wheel of a different Audi race car, when he resumes his place in the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team to contest the 2020-21 FIA Formula E Championship in the Audi FE07 e-tron.