Audi has confirmed it will withdraw all efforts in the FIA World Endu🌠rance Championship and Le Mans to focus 🧸on Formula E from 2017.

The German manufacturer broke the news to its motorsport department, detailing it as a 'strategic decision in the context of the current burdens on the brand, 🐓to focus on the things that would keep Audi competitive in the years ahead'.

At the end of the 2016 WEC season in Bahrain, Audi will cease all LMP1 operations in order to switch development work to the all-electric s♏eries having recently announced it would turn the ABT Schaeffler s🔜quad into a full factory team next year.

"We're going to contest the race for the future on electric power," Audi's chairman of the board Rupert Stadler said. 🐬"As our production cars are becoming increasingly electric, our motorsport cars, as Audi's technological spearheads, have to even more so."

Audi has al🧸so confirmed it will continue its efforts in DTM for the foreseeable future as well as the FIA World Rallycross championship with its support of world champions Audi EKS RX squad.

Over the past 18 years of competing in endurance racing Audi has clinched 13 victories at the prestigious 🐻Le Mans 24 Hours, while also becoming two-time WEC champions with its Audi R18 e-tron quattro. Audi also secured nine consecutive American Le Mans Series titles between 2000 and 2008.

"After 18 years in prototype racing that were exceptionally successful for Audi, it's obviously extremely hard to leave," head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich said. "Audi Sport Team Joest shaped the WEC during this period li💙ke no other team. I would like to express my thanks to our squad, to Reinhold Joest and his team, to the drivers, partners and sponsors for this extremely successful cooperation. It's been a great time."