Lucas Auer believes BMW could have pushed the deficit back to Audi in 2021 if the DTM kept Class One rules for another year.
BMW was not a real threat to Audi in the last year of its Class One short-lived engine, as the Ingolstadt-based brand won 16 out of 18 races to sweep the manufacturers’ net. , teams ‘and drivers’ titles.
Audi first gained a clear advantage over BMW when the DTM moved to two-liter, turbocharged engines last year, but the gap between the two manufacturers widened in 2020 as BMW’s efforts to address the reliability issues their 2019 campaign is set to let Audi march away. from its only manufacturing competitor.
BMW and Audi will not face each other in 2021 after DTM’s decision to switch to GT3 rules and customer teams, marking the end of a conflict that was revived in 2012 when the marque was established in Munich into the series.
But a BMW Auer driver believes the two German markets would have been closely matched next year had Audi not decided to leave the series as a factory entrant, citing the lessons learned. learn BMW in the difficult 2020 season.
“I don’t think so, because BMW has learned a lot this year,” Auer told Autosport when asked if he felt Audi would have taken the 2021 title under Class One rules.
“I think it would be a lot closer and it wouldn’t be the same as this year.
“Although it has been a difficult year for BMW, the people there are very knowledgeable, and they know what they are doing.
“I think with one more year they could have closed the gap, or even turned it around.”
There were fears inside the DTM paddle that Audi would be out of reach this year as early as a pre-season test at the Nurburgring back in June – and ended up locking out the top five spots when the season at Spa-Francorchamps began less than two months later.
Auer said it was clear “very early in the year” that BMW would not be able to match Audi this season, despite some questioning whether a non-controversial facility such as Spa provide a true picture of the packing order.
“Even in the preseason test [it was clear Audi would be impossible to beat], “Auer said.
“Of course everyone was doing different things, but for me it was just about learning. I wasn’t mega competitive, but it was okay.
“But then at Spa, you could say, ‘shit, there’s a big gap’.
“There were a few doubts about Spa, because it’s a new route, and we came a lot closer after that, but they still had the upper hand in terms of certification and tire management in the race.
“They managed everything better, and it was very clear [that we couldn’t challenge them] very early, I must say. ”