Marquardt (BMW Motorsport): Audi's withdrawal from DTM “tarnished prospects”

Jens Marquardt, the boss of BMW Motorsport, wanted to take stock of the time of deconfinement in Europe. The German did not hold back from criticizing the decision toAudi to withdraw from the DTM at the end of 2020.

“To be perfectly honest, when preparing for the season of DTM, my feelings are mixed. The coronavirus pandemic has of course taken precedence over all other subjects. On the one hand, on a sporting level, we took advantage of this long break to work on the cars and ensure that they are more efficient than in 2019.

But on the other hand, I openly admit that the announcement of our competitors to withdraw from the championship has tarnished the outlook." Among which, the project to incorporate new technologies into the DTM.

“One of our objectives was toworking together on hybridization in 2022 before electrification for 2025. Obviously, all this is forgotten." Or a way of shifting the responsibility to the Rings brand.

“All of our factory commitments share the same DNA as the DTM, namely the competition between manufacturers at the highest level, continues Jens Marquardt. The DTM, and Class 1 (common technical regulations with the Super GT. Editor’s note), are based on this principle. Audi's withdrawal is in complete contradiction (with this vision). It's very clear. »

What about the future of the DTM with only one firm officially involved, BMW, in 2021? The discourse becomes more nebulous. “It’s not up to BMW alone to make the decision. Now it is crucial to work together with ITR (DTM manager) to clarify and illustrate the impact of Audi's withdrawal. 

As soon as this is established, we will analyze the DTM file, Class 1 and the future of the championship. »

The DTM is scheduled to start on the weekend of July 11-12 next on the Norisring urban circuit (Germany).