Saturday 20th October 2018

Audi says cheerio to Mercedes DTM: Time for Coffee

Mercedes is leaving DTM, and Audi is sad about it. Join the club...

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While automotive news moves fast, the really significant stories have a lasting impact that means they're discussed many months later. Mercedes leaving DTM is most certainly one of those; not only because it has a legacy in the series stretching back decades, but also because the move was undertaken to focus more attention on Formula E. If anyone required further proof about where the future of motorsport is going, Mercedes' decision to quit DTM as a manufacturer was it.

And now the 2018 season is done - that's it. Mercedes is done with DTM. More than 30 years of racing, iconic cars and legendary drivers is now history. Pairings like Klaus Ludwig and the 190E Evo I, Dario Franchitti in that incredible C-Class and Jean Alesi in the CLK will live long in the memory of many motorsport fans. Let's hope Formula E can provide similar...

Amongst those sad to see Mercedes go is Audi, which has produced this farewell film to mark the occasion. And while some naffness needs to be overcome, there is a sense from the vid that Audi feels it's losing rival it really didn't want to. Well, it seems that way at least.

Best of all, though, it's two minutes packed with heritage DTM duels between the three-pointed star and the four rings. And while it's not exactly cool to hark on about old motorsport being absolutely the best, some of this racing does look immense. CLKs battle TTs, C-Classes take on TTs and there's even a brief 190E versus V8 contretemps. It's not only a case of Audi losing a competitor then, but the sport losing one of its iconic brands as well - more's the pity.

While one of the teams running a C63 this year will campaign an Aston Vantage in 2019, and the old car will be visible, but it won't be quite the same as the big German three battling for tin top supremacy. Farewell, then, Mercedes-Benz, and thanks for the memories - it's been great.

[Arsecati]

SURELY with the resources at Mercedes' disposal, they could have carried on another few years (if not indefinitely!). Sacrifice DTM for Formula E? A driving series even less relevant or interesting than F1. True petrolheads and racing fans being sacrificed in the name of marketing. Imagine the new A Class in WRC or WRX for example? I guess we can hope for them to throw a 'One' in to the new 'Hypercar' class in 2/3 years, but with Audi pulling out of WEC and now Mercedes pulling out of DTM, all to concentrate on Formula E - it's not looking good at all.

[ChemicalChaos]

Sad news indeed, and I agree it's probably a mistake.

If I was going to be very picky, that C class pictured is technically not a DTM car - it's an ITC car from the brief 2 or 3 year window when this series replaced the DTM regulations.
Utterly astounding technology, but equally astounding cost that ensured its demise and the reinstatement of DTM regs after a short hiatus!

[Shiv_P]

Nice of Audi to make such a video. some good footage in there too

[spikyone]

Arsecati said:

I guess we can hope for them to throw a 'One' in to the new 'Hypercar' class in 2/3 years

There's a lot of misunderstanding about this. The Hypercar class is not going to be about roadgoing Hypercars. They are going to be out-and-out race cars that look like a road car, rather than looking like an F1 car with lights and a roof as they do now.

Mercedes - and many others - have made it clear that their racing future is electric, so unless LMP becomes a fully electric class (car swaps every hour?!) I'd put my house on them not joining anyway.

[Jack4688]

ChemicalChaos said:

Sad news indeed, and I agree it's probably a mistake.

If I was going to be very picky, that C class pictured is technically not a DTM car - it's an ITC car from the brief 2 or 3 year window when this series replaced the DTM regulations.
Utterly astounding technology, but equally astounding cost that ensured its demise and the reinstatement of DTM regs after a short hiatus!

If I’m going to be picky the ITC was a series not a set of regulations. The 1995-6 ITC and the 1994 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft were both run to Class I regulations. When DTM returned in 2000 as Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters the same regs were not reinstated. New regs, just the same three letters denoting the championship name.

[havoc]

Whatever you may think of Quattro GmbH, the S- and RS-series cars and their position in the market, the motorsport guys at Audi Sport, from top to bottom, are 100RON petrolheads.

You can see from their attitude at Le Mans through to stuff like this that they enjoy the competition, they're not just in it for marketing.




...which is why it's a shame for them. I agree with the poster above - the move to Formula-E is definitely marketing-driven.