Audi have confirmed their driver pairings for the 2018 DTM season, with current champion René Rast requesting to run #33 for this title defence season instead of taking on #1, following the same tradition set by Marco Wittmann last year.

The team’s pairings are unchanged from 2017, with newcomer Robin Frijns slotting straight into Mattias Ekström’s spot at Audi Sport Team Abt, where he’ll run #4 for his debut season in the championship, paired with Nico Müller in the #51 Audi RS 5.

Loïc Duval and Mike Rockenfeller will pair up again at Audi Sport Team Phoenix in the #77 and #99 cars respectively, while last year’s championship front-runners René Rast and Jamie Green will race for Audi Sport Team Rosberg.

“No doubt, the motto ‘never change a winning team’ is not a new one,” said Audi Motorsport head Dieter Gass.

“When you clinch all three DTM titles plus the top four spots in the drivers’ classification there’s really no reason to change everything. That’s why our rookie, Robin Frijns, will take over Mattias Ekström’s cockpit at Abt. The two other driver pairings at Phoenix and Rosberg will remain unchanged. I’m convinced that we’re perfectly set this way for the title defence in the DTM.”

2018 Audi driver pairings

Audi Sport Team Abt

#4 Robin Frijns

#51 Nico Müller

Audi Sport Team Phoenix

#77 Loïc Duval

#99 Mike Rockenfeller

Audi Sport Team Rosberg

#33 René Rast

#53 Jamie Green