GT megateam closes on DTM Audi move
Audi is looking close to home for a customer team to add to its car count in next year’s DTM. The Belgian WRT squad, a stalwart of the marque’s GT3 programmes, has emerged as a clear contender to run two cars in 2019.
WRT, a winner of the Spa and Nurburgring 24-hour enduros with Audi factory backing, has revealed that it is in discussions about expanding into the German-based touring car series next year. No deal is done, but team boss Vincent Vosse is expecting to make a decision soon.
“We want to be part of the DTM and are looking at it very closely with Audi,” said Vosse, whose team also fields the German manufacturer’s cars in the World Touring Car Cup. “It would be a big financial commitment, but the championship is looking strong with new technical regulations that bring everything in line with Super GT in Japan.” Vosse added that “time is short” when it comes to giving the DTM plans the green light.
Audi wants a minimum of eight of its cars in the DTM next season – up from six this year – to make up for the shortfall of entries on the withdrawal of Mercedes. Audi Sport head Dieter Gass doesn’t envisage an expansion of its factory line-up, but has promised parity of equipment for any customers ahead of a season in which a new generation of turbocharged two-litre DTM machinery comes on stream.
Vosse indicated that 2019 would be a good time for a customer team to enter the DTM. “Going into the DTM when there were three manufacturers would probably have been a very difficult thing to do,” he explained. “Now it looks more achievable for someone like us.”
Vosse also admitted dissatisfaction with the Blancpain GT Series, in which the team has added to its collection of titles with victory in this year’s Sprint Cup. He said that it was now “harder and harder for the team to make the difference” under the BGTS sporting rules.
Rowe Racing (right, below), another team to have won the Spa 24 Hours, also has aspirations to expand into the DTM. It is appears close to a deal to run with BMW.