In July of last year, Audi announced that it would effectively end its involvement in customer racing as part of a wider restructuring of its motorsport division. This included, among other changes, the disbandment of its roster of factory drivers.
However, as it turns out, four names will continue to represent Audi in a variety of championships this year.
“The three drivers Ricardo Feller, Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock, as well as Frank Stippler, still have valid contracts with Audi Sport Customer Racing for the 2024 season,” Audi’s head of customer racing Chris Reinke told Autosport sister title Motorsport-Total.com.
“They will be used in corresponding programmes from our customer teams.”
The clarification comes after Feller, Haase and Winkelhock joined Audi Team MPC in the Bathurst 12 Hour in February, a race that also featured several on-track advertisement banners for the Audi Sport division.
It appears that Audi is honouring its existing contracts with drivers despite the decision to abandon its factory pool.
It is understood that the contracts of all four drivers are valid only until 2024, meaning Audi’s driver programme in customer racing will belatedly come to an end next year.
Source: Autosport