- Audi works drivers on tour in Great Britain and Japan
- Allan McNish advertises the fifth FIA WEC race
- Tom Kristensen at Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix
The two Audi works drivers Mike Rockenfeller and André Lotterer visited two venues in two cities in which Audi grabbed the headlines with two unusual appearances.
Electrical through the metropolis: Audi works driver Mike Rockenfeller made a flying visit to London at the beginning of the week. To start on Wednesday he toured the British capital in an Audi A1 e-tron. Afterwards the 28-year old DTM driver was astonished when he saw the Audi City in Mayfair for the first time. The virtual showroom makes it possible to configure a car in 1:1 scale. “Amazing just how authentic the images are on the screens, said a clearly impressed Mike Rockenfeller. “This portrays the world of Audi to the customer even better than ever before.”
Under the sign of the Audi A1: André Lotterer flew to Japan immediately after the 24 hours of Spa last weekend. On Wednesday evening the two-time Le Mans winner attended the opening of the A1 Shop Terrace Tokyo. Visitors are welcome to the open air exhibition with integrated A1 Terrace Bar in the district of Aoyama up to October 31.
Advertising for the WEC: Allan McNish visited a press conference in Bahrain on Monday. The focus of attention was the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on September 28 and 29. The Audi works driver and championship leader welcomed the media together with Circuit Director Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa and the WEC Chairman Gérard Neveu.
Podium positions at season highlight: in the 6-hour race, the most important and longest round of the VLN endurance championship at the Nürburgring, two Audi teams finished on the podium. Frank Biela, Christian Hohenadel and Thomas Mutsch claimed second place in the Audi R8 LMS ultra from Raeder Motorsport, their brand team mates Christopher Haase, Luca Ludwig and Christer Jöns representing Phoenix Racing finished third.
Successful excursion: the Austrian round of the Italian GT Championship ended successfully for Team Audi Sport Italia. Thanks to a fifth place and a win in the two races at Spielberg, Andrea Sonvico, who shared the Audi R8 LMS ultra with Dindo Capello, took the championship lead in the GT3 category. Their team mates Davide Di Benedetto and Alex Frassineti finished third in race one and were fourth in the second race.
Huge spectacle in Copenhagen: the streets in the Danish capital rocked at the weekend during the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix. As event ambassador Audi works driver Tom Kristensen got behind the wheel as well and was also seen in action in the inter-country competition between Denmark and Sweden. Away from the competitions, the eight-time Le Mans winner presented the Audi R8 V10 to his many fans while spooling off some demonstration laps. Emanuele Pirro, five-time Le Mans winner with Audi, was also on the grid in Copenhagen.
One of the crowd: Timo Scheider was in fine form at the Heilbronn Festival. The Audi works driver was a popular conversationalist among the public on Tuesday close to the Audi facility in Neckarsulm. On the same day in the marquee the professional racing driver answered every question posed by moderator Uwe Ralf Heer in the program Volksfest.tv. A visit to the editorial department was also a part of Scheider’s Heilbronn agenda.
A word from ... Mike Rockenfeller
The next DTM race at the Nürburgring looms on August 19. You come from Neuwied, so it is your home race. Do you still remember when you drove there for the first time?
In the year 2000 I made the step from karts to formula cars by testing a Formula König car. To make such a big step and of all places at the legendary Nürburgring, which I only knew from the Formula 1 broadcasts on television, was a lot to take in and remains unforgotten. By the way, my first memories of DTM stretch back to the 1990s. When I was twelve I visited the old DTM as fan and could watch the race from a lounge. Who would have thought that I would sit in such a car myself one day?
Last year you took your first victory in the DTM. You are still waiting for the big trophy this year.
Things certainly haven’t gone as well as I had hoped so far. However, with the exception of the scoring no points at the Lausitzring we have always made the most out of our opportunities. The podium at Brands Hatch is the highlight so far.
What can we expect from you and from Audi Sport Team Phoenix, which also enjoys its home race at the Nürburgring, in the second half of the season?
The circuits are now coming that I really like. It starts with the Nürburgring, then come Zandvoort and Oschersleben. I’ve also had good races at these tracks. In football there’s always a second half in which to turn things around.
Coming up next week
August 11, 2012 Watkins Glen (USA), GRAND-AM, round 10
August 12, 2012 Red Bull Ring (A), ADAC GT Masters, round 5
