Audi Motorsport Newsletter 01/2016

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Audi Motorsport Newsletter 01/2016

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Audi customer team Absolute #racing triumphs at Sepang

Audi drivers fit for the new season

Tambay celebrates podium success on ice

Ingolstadt, January 24, 2016 – #audi Sport customer #racing team Absolute Racing

won the season finale of the Asian Le Mans Series in the GT class at #sepang in

Malaysia.

Absolute #racing celebrates victory at Sepang

At the season finale of the Asian Le Mans Series hosted at #sepang in Malaysia,

Christopher Mies, Jeffrey Lee and Alessio Picariello triumphed as the victors in the

GT class with an #audi R8 LMS from #audi Sport customer #racing team Absolute

Racing. The trio of drivers started the three-hour-race from pole position. Despite

the lead being lost in the early running, it was regained in the closing stages of the

race. Mies, who was at the wheel during the final stint, put in very fast lap times and

closed the gap to the leader, taking the lead shortly before the end of the race.

Audi drivers fit for 2016 start of the season

Sports and teambuilding at the traditional #audi Winter Camp: For six days, the Audi

factory drivers from the DTM and WEC, the team directors and Head of Audi

Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Dieter Gass (Head of DTM) and Chris Reinke (Head

of LMP) jointly prepared for the challenges of the 2016 season on the Canary island

of Lanzarote. Under the direction of #audi Sport legend Tom Kristensen and

supervision of team physician Dr. Vincenzo Tota, the #audi squad completed an

intensive sports program which included cycling, core training, soccer, swimming

and tennis. In addition to the sports program, the entire squad was involved in

other activities focused on teambuilding.

Adrien Tambay on the podium in ice races

DTM driver Adrien Tambay has mastered yet another challenge in the Trophée

Andros. At the fifth round in Lans-en-Vercors, the 24-year-old Frenchman, behind

the wheel of an A1 quattro, finished on the podium in third position in both of the

finales of the Elite Pro class races. The driver from Belgian #audi Club Team WRT is

*The collective fuel consumption of all models named above and available on the German

market can be found in the list provided at the end of this MediaInfo.

1/4currently ranked third in the drivers’ standings.

International Motorsports clinches two podium successes in New Zealand

Audi Sport customer #racing team International Motorsport celebrated two podium

results during the second weekend of the New Zealand Festival of Motor #racing at

the Hampton Downs circuit in Waikato. Neil Foster piloted his #audi R8 LMS ultra to

second place overall in both the 30-minute and 60-minute races.

Unique driving experience for football star Mario Götze

Mario Götze enjoyed a unique driving experience on the occasion of the

Hahnenkamm Alpine skiing #event in Kitzbühel: #audi factory driver Mattias Ekström

showed the FC Bayern München soccer star how a car can be driven on the limit on

snow and ice. Götze initially sat on the passenger seat before getting behind the

steering wheel himself – to start in an #audi RS 3 Sportback*, before stepping up to a

powerful near 580 hp #audi S1 EKS RX quattro from the FIA Rallycross World

Championship. “The car is absolutely incredible,” raved the football ace. “It was cool

to drive such a car myself. It was even more impressive when Mattias drove. You

immediately see the difference between a professional and a normal driver.”

Allan McNish in rally cockpit

A new experience for Allan McNish: Before the start of Rallye Monte Carlo, the

three-time Le Mans winner had the opportunity to sit in a Volkswagen Polo R WRC –

albeit, contrary to his usual place, on the passenger’s side. During VIP taxi rides

along the Grand Prix circuit in Monaco, the former #audi factory driver experienced

the world championship winning car as Andreas Mikkelsen’s co-driver and met with

Mikkelsen’s teammates Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala.

HCB-Rutronik #racing with two #audi R8 LMS cars

In the 2016 season, Team HCB-Rutronik #racing will be competing in the DMV GTC

and the DMV GTC 60 Minutes with two #audi R8 LMS cars. As drivers, the two

Germans Tommy Tulpe and Fabian Plentz will be at the wheel of a new #audi R8 LMS

and an #audi R8 LMS ultra.

United Autosports in 2016 again with #audi in GT Cup

Audi Sport customer #racing team United Autosports adds to its GT3 program in

2016. The team will return with its #audi R8 LMS ultra to compete in four rounds of

the GT Cup Championship in Great Britain. As was the case in 2015, Phil Burgan will

again drive the #audi in the British series. United Autosports also plans to enter the

official ACO Le Mans GT3 support race on June 18th with Burgan to be joined behind

the wheel by Zak Brown.

2/4JBR Motorsport in ADAC GT Masters

The new #audi customer team JBR Motorsport & Engineering based in Kirchheim

(Germany) will be competing in the ADAC GT Masters with an #audi R8 LMS in the

2016 season. In addition, the squad headed by team boss and engineer Jörn Becker

is planning a commitment in the DMV GTC.

A word from ... Mattias Ekström

Two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström enjoyed an action packed week: from

the #audi Sport Winter Camp on Lanzarote directly to the Hahnenkamm ski race in

Kitzbühel.

You escaped the winter at the winter camp on Lanzarote. How was you trip in the

summer?

The winter camp was a little shorter than usual, but more intensive. Even so, we had

a lot of fun with the funny games and while doing our sport. Of course it was great

to meet all my teammates again in a relaxed atmosphere after the winter break.

From the warmth of Lanzarote you traveled directly to the cold in Kitzbühel –

quite a contrast ...

The Kitzbühel week is always something special for me. It’s great fun watching the

ski races. This year we also staged the #audi quattro SuperQ, in which eight fantastic

athletes drove the #audi RS 3 Sportback* and our rallycross car on snow and ice. It

was an incredible experience and it was interesting to see how the athletes

improved and the ambition they develop during the competition. It was an all round

successful #event.

How will things continue in 2016 with your private rallycross team EKS RX?

We are currently at the stage of developing the car and planning the budgets – and

also planning the schedule because my priority is and remains the DTM. I try to drive

as much rallycross as possible. I hope that we can clarify everything by the end of

February. I have a good feeling at the moment. We made good progress with the car

and consequently good foundations for a successful season. With Ken Block joining

the series a popular new opponent has arrived, who will make the rallycross world

championship even more interesting.

How do preparations look for the new DTM season, which starts at the beginning

of May at Hockenheim?

A test is on the agenda at the end of February in Spain, and there is another test

before Hockenheim. The regulations don’t allow much testing and the technology in

3/4the car is ‘frozen.’ Which means at the moment my energy is reserved mainly for

training and planning the season. The #audi RS 5 DTM was very good last year, which

is why I am confident for 2016.

One of the highlights in Kitzbühel is always the #audi Night. Which stars did you

meet?

It’s great fun to meet superstars like Jason Statham or Gwyneth Paltrow. Lena

Gercke and Maria Höfl-Riesch were sat at my table. My idols are definitely the sports

heroes like the eight athletes that participated in our #audi quattro SuperQ. For me,

people like professional cyclist Danny MacAskill are just extraordinary.

Coming up next week

30–31/01 Daytona (USA), round 1, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

– End –

*Fuel consumption of the models named above:

Audi RS 3 Sportback

Fuel consumption figures #audi RS 3 Sportback:

Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 8,3 - 8,1;

Combined CO2-emissions in g/km: 194 - 189

The #audi Group, with its brands #audi, Ducati and Lamborghini, is one of the most successful

manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the premium segment. It is present in

more than 100 markets worldwide and produces at 16 locations in twelve countries. In the

second half of 2016, #audi will start production of the Q5 in San José Chiapa (Mexico). 100-

percent

subsidiaries

of

AUDI

AG

include

quattro

GmbH

(Neckarsulm),

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.

(Bologna, Italy).

In 2015, the #audi Group delivered to customers approximately 1.8 million automobiles of the

Audi brand, 3,245 sports cars of the Lamborghini brand and about 54,800 motorcycles of the

Ducati brand. In the 2014 financial year, #audi AG achieved total revenue of €53.8 billion and

an operating profit of €5.15 billion. At present, approximately 85,000 people work for the

company all over the world, about 60,000 of them in Germany. #audi focuses on new products

and sustainable technologies for the future of mobility.

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