P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Audi will continue to use works drivers in 2024 despite GT3 exit
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 the disbandment of its roster of factory drivers. However, four drivers, including Ricardo Feller, Christopher Haase, Markus Winkelhock, and Frank Stippler, will still represent Audi in various championships this year as they have valid contracts for the 2024 season. Audi’s head of customer racing confirmed that these drivers will be utilized in programs from customer teams. The decision to honor existing contracts with drivers despite abandoning the factory pool signifies Audi’s commitment. The contracts of all four drivers are valid until 2024, indicating that Audi’s driver program in customer racing will conclude next year unless there are further changes. The involvement of Audi Sport logos at Mount Panorama during the Bathurst enduro was clarified to be part of a branding exercise by Audi Australia, not the high-performance division in Germany.
