Audi has a busy year of motorsport planned for 2010 and its headline act will be the R15 TDI prototype racer competing in the all-new Le Mans Intercontinental Cup (LMIC) series for cars powered by alternative fuels to petrol.

The LMIC consists of endurance races in Europe, Asia and the USA in a bid to resurrect the World Championship for Makes that was contested by the legendary Group C race cars. Two Audi R15 TDI racers will take part in the LMIC run by Audi Sport Team Joest, plus a third car will compete at Le Mans on 12-13 June 2010.

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport, said: "We will use our Le Mans prototype racer to test pioneering technologies. We are convinced this motorsport category has prospects for a great future and fits our times well."

Audi is also committing to two other race programmes for 2010 using the A4 in the German DTM touring car championship and the new R8 LMS for GT3 endurance racing. The R8 LMS has already notched up 23 wins and three titles in 2009 and will be available to private customers at the end of March 2010 with a price tag of 298,000 Euros (£270,000). Only 20 R8 LMS racers will be made in 2010 and Audi says this is one of the most cost-effective racing cars on offer anywhere in the world.

For the German DTM series, the A4 racer remains virtually unchanged from the 2009 version due to the rules remaining the same - in a bid to keep costs under control by the organisers. However, for 2010 a new driver joins the Audi line-up and he's a Brit. Oliver Lewis is the youngest member of the Audi squad at just 25-years old and Audi's head of motorsport, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, said: "The performances Oliver has shown in his first DTM years at the wheel of a year-old A4 speak in his favour."

Audi is not standing still in the DTM series, though. While the 2010 car is much the same as the previous year's, a new A4 DTM model is already being developed by Audi Sport to meet the 2011 regulations that aim to further reduce the cost of competing in the German series.