Klaus Weber · DTM-Korrespondent
With the departure of the chief executive, Audi Sport loses the last leadership figure responsible for customer racing programs, a signal that extends far beyond a personnel change.
Rolf Michl, CEO of Audi Sport GmbH, is facing a transfer to China. This marks the end of a tenure closely tied to the brand's customer racing programs for years, including DTM and GT3. No replacement as motorsport chief is planned because that position was already eliminated internally following the end of the Dakar project in early 2024. The timing coincides with a phase in which Audi is concentrating nearly all its motorsport resources on a single project: Formula 1 starting in 2026.
A Position That Organizationally No Longer Exists
Michl's departure appears at first glance like a standard personnel move, a transfer to another region of the corporation. Structurally, however, it means something more significant. Because the motorsport chief role at Audi Sport had already been left unfilled since the end of the Dakar program, Michl as CEO was effectively filling that function as well. With his departure, the last clearly responsible leadership level for the remaining customer racing business disappears without a replacement being created.
This matters because customer racing programs like the R8 LMS GT3 depend on continuous support, from technical development to communication with teams. When a central point of contact at executive level is missing, that responsibility in practice shifts downward or becomes diffused among roles that are no longer clearly defined.
Why Formula 1 Absorbs All Available Resources
The main reason for the gradual withdrawal from GT3 and touring car racing lies in concentrating all available resources on the F1 project starting in 2026. Notably, the Formula 1 commitment was completely spun off organizationally into a standalone company called Audi Formula Racing. It never fell within the direct responsibility of Audi Sport GmbH or Rolf Michl himself.
This separation explains why the exit from DTM and GT3 should not be understood as a direct budget reallocation toward Formula 1 within the same structure, but rather as parallel developments. The corporation's priority clearly lies with the new works operation for Formula 1, while the traditional Audi Sport GmbH continues with a significantly reduced mandate.
The Consequences for DTM and GT3 Customer Racing
The consequences for DTM are already visible. Audi has dissolved its driver lineup and reduced support for the R8 LMS GT3 program to the bare minimum. Tradition-rich teams like Abt Sportsline have drawn their own conclusions and switched to other manufacturers, a move that shows how heavily customer teams now depend on factory backing and how quickly they respond when that support dries up.
What remains of Audi's motorsport heritage in the narrow sense is essentially the Audi Sport racing legends division, through which historic DTM and Le Mans vehicles are sold and maintained for collectors. That is heritage preservation, not active racing, and marks the distinction between the brand as a custodian of history and the brand as an active competitor in touring car and GT racing.
A return to GT3 racing or the DTM is currently viewed as unlikely. Industry circles at most speculate about future sports car platforms should the corporation's strategy shift again after the Formula 1 launch. As long as priority remains entirely on Formula 1, however, the DTM future of the four rings stays open, with no concrete near-term perspective emerging from that situation.
