Audi will continue to be represented at DTM this year after last-minute entry for Ricardo Feller by Land Motorsports.
As the longtime ABT Sports line switched to Lamborghini in the winter, there was a real risk that Audi was not present on the DTM grid for the first time since the 2000 series revival.
Audi’s decision to cut back on the GT3 program made it difficult for the team to continue running the Aging R8 LMS GT3, especially in championships like DTM, where rival manufacturers offer heavy factory support.
However, on Friday it was announced that Land Motorsports will be entering DTM for the first time in 2025, feeding one entry for race winner Feller.
The Swiss driver intended to first race the Porsche 911 GT3 R for an allied race at DTM after splitting with the ABT in the winter, but the Porsche team retracted their entries earlier this month and subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
This left DTM seats out, and he found a new berth with Land Motorsport, the team that won the GT Masters title in 2021.
“Riccardo should be racing for another team at DTM,” explained Team Boss Christian Land.
“But that program never happened. We’ve been in close contact with him and put together an alternative plan for the season.”
Feller was previously part of GT Racing’s Audi factory lineup, but the Ingolstadt-based company has phased out its driver roster over the past two years.
Feller raced ABT’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 at DTM over the past three years, securing the best finish in the 2023 ranking.
After a split between both Audi and ABT, he was scheduled to join Porsche as a contract driver for the 2025 season and represent DTM’s Stuttgart-based mark until Allied Racing left the series.
Feller has been granted permission from Porsche to drive the Audi at DTM, and both manufacturers are part of the same Volkswagen group.
“It’s all perfectly tied and I’m happy to have the opportunity to join DTM at Land-Motorsport this year,” Feller said.
“The last few weeks have been extremely challenging for me and the collapse of my former DTM program has been a major setback.
“There was a lot of uncertainty. I am particularly grateful for all the efforts of Christianity and the Wolfgang land, and I would also like to thank Porsche for moving forward with these plans.”
Land Motorsports will take part in a preseason test held at Oscar Luben on April 1st, before the first race at the same venue later in the month.
Allied Racing will not race at DTM as originally anticipated, but thanks to the expanded three-car entry from Manthey, Porsche will continue to be present in the series.