Audi Confirms Red Bull Partnership for 7th Consecutive DTM Season

Only a few days separate us from the season opening Hockenheim round of the 2010 DTM Series, and Audi found it necessary to once again confirm its sponsors for this new campaign. Trying to get back the DTM title after 2 years of absence – in the manufacturers' race, of course – Audi will once again partner Austrian energy drink Red Bull for their Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline lineup.

Meaning that both Mattias Ekstrom and Martin Tomczyk will drive Red Bull-painted cars for the 7th year in a row – Red Bull's first year of partnership with Audi was back in 2004, when the DTM series took off under its current format – but the design of their livery will once again differ.

If last year Tomczyk's car benefited from Red Bull's Cola logo – the company's new product launched a couple of years back – Ekstrom's was painted with the usual Red Bull colors. Piggybacking on that initiative, Audi now announced that all their 9 cars in the 2010 DTM will feature unique liveries of their own, so that the fans will find it easier to recognizing them on the track.

“This is definitely in our interest because in the DTM fans should be able to immediately identify every car at first glance as much as possible. That’s why in the 2010 season all of the nine Audi A4 DTM cars will again have their own designs which are shaped by the respective main sponsors,” said Siegfried Krause, Head of Partnerships at Audi Sport, in a statement.

According to the Audi press release on Wednesday, the German manufacturer's list of partners for the 2010 DTM series will also include companies like Auto-Bild motorsport, Glamour, LuK, INA, Nintendo, Red Bull, Red Bull Cola, Tabac Original, Playboy, Sport-Bild and TV Movie. Reigning DTM champion Timo Scheider will once again advertise Audi Top Service and Audi Gebrauchtwagen :plus.