Audi Sport has named the roster of factory drivers who will compete for its customer racing teams during the 2023 season.
The majority of the 14-man line-up are familiar to the German marque. They include Markus Winkelhock, Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch, all of whom have achieved considerable success in Fanatec GT during long careers with Audi. They are complemented by newer additions such as Mattia Drudi, Patric Niederhauser, Dennis Marschall and Ricardo Feller.
The roster also includes two new signings, both of whom have shown well in Fanatec GT. This is particularly true of Simon Gachet, who has spent several years competing in the series, most notably winning the 2020 Silver Cup title in the Sprint Cup at the wheel of a Saintéloc Racing Audi.
The other newcomer is 23-year-old Austrian racer Max Hofer, who contested the 2021 Fanatec GT season in an Attempto Racing Audi. The youngster has raced in a variety of other series, including the Audi Sport TT Cup, ADAC TCR Germany and ADAC GT Masters.
“With this driver line-up, we are well positioned for the 2023 season and can support customers with the individual strengths of our drivers in a wide variety of programs,” said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “A warm welcome to Simon and Max, who have known our products for a long time. We’ve been watching them for years and are happy to be able to give them these opportunities.
"A big thank you also goes to two other drivers who are no longer part of our squad this year. Nathanaël Berthon achieved victories for us in the WTCR FIA World Touring Car Cup and made a major contribution to the development of the Audi RS 3 LMS. Kelvin van der Linde has clinched championship titles, 24-hour race victories and many other successes with Audi. Even though he is giving his career a new impetus, we would be happy to see him in the cockpit of an Audi R8 LMS again in the near future for individual programs or races.”
Audi Sport already has several cars confirmed for the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS campaign courtesy of Boutsen VDS and Comtoyou Racing, with more expected to be announced. The official test days take place at Circuit Paul Ricard on 7-8 March, while the season launches with a three-hour Endurance Cup contest at Monza on 21-23 April.
2023 Audi Sport drivers:
- Mattia Drudi
- Luca Engstler
- Ricardo Feller
- Simon Gachet
- Max Hofer
- Christopher Haase
- Pierre Kaffer
- Gilles Magnus
- Dennis Marschall
- Christopher Mies
- Patric Niederhauser
- Frank Stippler
- Frédéric Vervisch
- Markus Winkelhock