Audi has announced that it will terminate its FIA WEC commitment, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, at the end of the 2016 season and will instead take up a factory-backed commitment in the all-electric Formula E racing series.
The Audi R18 of Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis in action at the Fuji 6 Hour
Image courtesy Audi Communications Media
During the 18 years that Audi has been involved in the World Endurance Championship they recorded 13 wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans taking the first ever win for a diesel car in the event and then following that up with the first victory in a hybrid vehicle.
Chairman of the Board of Management Rupert Stadler said, “We’re going to contest the race for the future on electric power. As our production cars are becoming increasingly electric, our motorsport cars, as Audi’s technological spearheads, have to even more so.”
Audi plans to offer its first fully battery-electric models by 2018 and the commitment to FIA Formula E in 2017 reflects this change in direction. Audi regard it as the racing series with the greatest potential for the future which is why Audi has intensified the existing partnership with Team ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport in the current 2016/2017 season. On the road toward a full factory commitment, the manufacturer is now actively joining the technical development.
The commitment in the DTM, where Audi will be competing with the successor of the Audi RS 5 DTM in 2017, will remain untouched. In mid-October, the premium brand won the manufacturers’ and teams’ classifications. Mike Rockenfeller is the most recent Audi driver to win the DTM Championship. He brought the title home in 2013.
No final decision has yet been made concerning a future involvement in the FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX). Just a couple of weeks ago, DTM factory driver Mattias Ekström in his Audi S1 EKS RX quattro clinched the 2016 World Championship title, competing against numerous factory teams. Up to now, Audi’s involvement has been limited to supporting the private EKS team. The brand is currently evaluating a possible extension of the commitment, the exciting topic of electrification being on the agenda in rallycross racing as well.
The departure from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) marks the end of a successful era. For 18 years, the brand was active in Le Mans prototype racing. During this period, it scored 13 victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and set numerous technical milestones. At Le Mans, Audi clinched the first victory of a TFSI engine (2001), the first success of a race car with a TDI engine (2006), plus the first triumph of a sports car with a hybrid powertrain (2012). In the brand’s 185 races contested to date, Audi’s Le Mans prototypes have achieved 106 victories, 80 pole positions and 94 fastest race laps. On two occasions, Audi won the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro race car. In addition, from 2000 to 2008, Audi, nine times in succession, secured the title in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the world’s most important racing series for Le Mans prototypes at the time.
“After 18 years in prototype racing that were exceptionally successful for Audi, it’s obviously extremely hard to leave,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Audi Sport Team Joest shaped the WEC during this period like no other team. I would like to express my thanks to our squad, to Reinhold Joest and his team, to the drivers, partners and sponsors for this extremely successful cooperation. It’s been a great time!”
