Communications Motorsport Jürgen Pippig Eva-Maria Veith Telephone: +49 (0)841 89 34200 Telephone: +49 (0)841 89 33922 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 17 August 2008 News from the Audi Le Mans Team • Former ski jumper Sven Hannawald in the Audi R10 TDI • Capello/McNish win “1000-second race” • Audi dealers receive Audi TT TDI cars Ingolstadt/Nürburg – The 1000-kilometre race at the Nürburgring was an action-packed event, not only on the race track. In the paddock, there was a lot going on as well. Former ski jumper Sven Hannawald, who meanwhile contests automobile races himself, used the occasion of a visit with Audi Sport Team Joest at the Nürburgring for a “seat fitting” in the Audi R10 TDI powered by over 650 hp. Le Mans winner Allan McNish explained the cockpit to the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic winner. The four Audi “factory” drivers, Dindo Capello, Allan McNish, Alexandre Prémat and Mike Rockenfeller, had loads of fun at the “1000-second race” at the Nürburgring, a slotcar race staged at the Audi Team and Media Hospitality. The endurance race with driver changes was won by Dindo Capello and Allan McNish. Ralf Jüttner, Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest, drove the fastest lap. Mike Rockenfeller had fun with 580 hp: on Friday, the youngster chauffeured journalists around the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife in the new Audi RS 6. The team directors of all three Audi DTM “factory” teams and DTM driver Martin Tomczyk visited their colleagues from the sports car camp at the Nürburgring. Between the two ALMS races at Road America and Mosport, Lucas Luhr took a quick excursion to the Nürburgring as well. Hans-Joachim Stuck, Motorsport Representative of the Volkswagen Group, watched the 1000-kilometre race at Audi Sport Team Joest’s garage in the pit lane. Audi dealers from the Western Region received 26 Audi TT TDI cars at the Nürburgring. Prior to the start of the 1000-kilometre race, they had the opportunity to do a lap on the Grand Prix circuit in the diesel sports cars. At the beginning of August, Audi youngster Mike Rockenfeller contested the Formula Student Germany at Hockenheim, a competition for which students build their own racing cars. In a show duel “Rocky” – at the wheel of a car from the University of Aachen – defeated his DTM colleague Bernd Schneider. At the Nürburgring the students visited the Audi “factory” driver. - Ends - Photographs and information available at www.audi-motorsport.info AUDI AG sold a total of 964,151 cars in 2007 and thus achieved its twelfth consecutive record year. With revenue of € 33,617 million and profit before tax of € 2,915 million, the company attained its best figures ever. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Györ (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). At the end of 2007, production of the Audi A6 started in Aurangabad, India. The company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG’s wholly owned subsidiaries include Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, and quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm. Audi employs about 57,000 people worldwide, including 45,000 in Germany. The brand with the four rings invests more than € 2 billion each year in order to sustain the company’s technological lead embodied in its “Vorsprung durch Technik” slogan. Audi plans to significantly increase the number of models in its portfolio by 2015 to 40. 2/2 .