Prototype "TT-R DTM" by Abt Sportsline

From prototype to official race car

After four years of interruption, the DTM Championship resumed in 2000. Audi chose to focus its efforts on Le Mans and did not officially commit to the discipline. The initiative was then entrusted to Abt Sportsline, already titled in passenger cars with Christian Abt and recognized as a major player in the preparation. This is how the racing version called Abt-Audi TT-R appeared.

Prototype

As a private team, Abt had to wait a long time before obtaining the agreement of the organizers and the two manufacturers already engaged, for his participation in the championship.

The first cars were developed and built in less than four months and were finally ready just four weeks before the first race, which took place on 11 May 2000 in Berlin.

Under the direction of Hans Jürgen Abt and Albert Deuring (technical director), the team entered four cars driven by Christian Abt, Denmark’s Kriss Nissen, France’s Laurent Aïello and Britain’s James Thompson.

Abt Sportsline - Audi TT MK1 - Prototype TT-R DTM

Season 2000

Promising debut of the TT-R but few results.

The first copies were therefore completed four weeks before the first race, and the entire season was a learning period for the team, with very little results.

Evolutions, mainly aerodynamic are made on the car.

Season 2001

The TT-R is gaining in competitiveness.

In its second season in the DTM, the Abt TT-R went from being a capricious diva to a serious contender for the winning Mercedes CLK DTM of the 2000 season.

Laurent Aiello wins at the Nürburgring.

Constant technical evolutions, mainly on the chassis whose wheelbase has been extended, which has considerably improved the handling, and still on the aerodynamics.

Season 2002

The TT-R wins the championship

The best season for Abt Sportsline. The TT-R DTM was hard to beat, almost always an ABT driver on the podium in each of the DTM innings, and in the end Laurent Aiello won the title.

Although the Mercedes CLK-DTM was slightly superior in terms of performance, the TT-R DTM has largely prevailed throughout the season.

Friends and opponents agreed after the season: the best driver, on the best car. The Frenchman won four races and scored nine points out of ten.

Season 2003

The TT-R’s final year of commitment, a solid conclusion for this iconic model.

Despite a regulation that was increasingly favourable to the official manufacturers (Mercedes and Opel at the time), the TT-R remained competitive against competing teams with more means.

Laurent Aiello wins again at the Nürburgring and finishes the season 6th in the drivers’ standings, behind Mattias Ekström in 4th.