A quarter of a century of cooperation in Germany’s number 1 racing series
Strong record with five drivers titles, 78 victories and 92 pole positions
Long-standing protagonists shaped a trusting relationship
A grand finale to a quarter of a century of extraordinary cooperation: Audi and ABT Sportsline entered the DTM finale at the Hockenheimring for the last time together and kept the title fight exciting right to the end. In the end, Kelvin van der Linde finished second in the standings in the 2024 season after a race win on Saturday. Since May 28, 2000, the team from Germany’s Allgäu region has relied on racing cars with the four rings in exactly 333 DTM competitions. With five drivers titles, 78 victories and many other best performances, the track record of both partners is overwhelming compared to the competition.
“At Audi Sport, we are proud to have celebrated so many successes with ABT Sportsline,” said Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH. “Together we have grown during this long phase and have written a huge piece of motorsport history with many unforgettable successes. This period was also legendary in human terms. A big thank you to Hans-Jürgen Abt, CEO of the ABT Group, Thomas Biermaier, CEO of ABT Sportsline, Head of Sports Marketing Harry Unflath, ABT Motorsport Director Martin Tomczyk and the many other hard-working hands from Kempten who made this era possible.” The journey began with an Abt-Audi TT-R developed in-house in the 2000 season. As early as 2002, Laurent Aiello beat the competition from two manufacturers with the private team’s striking yellow racing car and won the first DTM title for ABT Sportsline.
After Audi returned to the prestigious championship in 2004, the team from Kempten was once again in first place. That year, Mattias Ekström celebrated his first championship win in an Audi A4 DTM fielded by Hans-Jürgen Abt’s team. Three years later, the Swede once again came out on top in the fiercely contested touring car series. In the two years that followed, Audi and ABT Sportsline completed a legendary hat-trick for the brand and the team, something that no competitor had ever achieved before or since. In the process, Timo Scheider recorded two championship victories in a row in 2008 and 2009.
