Audi : DTM driver Ekström has quite a bit of confidence in motorsport rookie Neureuther

Daniel Schuster
Tel: +49 841 89-38009
E-mail: daniel2.schuster@audi.de www.audi-mediacenter.com

• 'Hp summit' with DTM and Audi Sport TT Cup at the Red Bull Ring

• Mattias Ekström set on finally taking a podium in his adopted country

• Rookie Neureuther: "Alpine skiing and car racing have a lot in common"

"Felix is always ready whenever there's something wild to experience," Audi factory driver Mattias Ekström knowingly says about his friend Felix Neureuther during an Audi telephone press conference. The German ski star, for instance, did not have to think twice when Ekström offered to let him drive his Audi S1 EKS RX quattro from the World Rallycross Championship last winter. During the hot ride in the 560-hp four-wheel drive vehicle, Neureuther not only displayed plenty of talent at the wheel. The experience also instantly sparked the idea that 'car-mad' Neureuther, as he describes himself, might make his circuit racing debut in the new Audi Sport TT Cup. Now the time has come. And Neureuther is not the only ski star to compete in the 'young' one-make cup at the Red Bull Ring near Spielberg. His opponents: the local Austrian hero and World Cup winner Marcel Hirscher and Olympic gold medalist Aksel Lund Svindal from Norway.
Neureuther promises his rivals a thrilling three-way battle. "Anyone who's seen me in karting knows that I definitely fight fierce battles for positions. But it's also clear that the main thing is to have fun. We absolutely don't want to get in the way of the other Cup drivers with our 'race within a race.'" Neureuther sees certain parallels between car racing and alpine skiing. "You have to be able to read the track, especially the turns. How do I have to approach them? Where's the apex? In either types of racing, it's important to take a lot of speed out of the corners." He is also hoping for some tips from his buddy Ekström to help him come up trumps against
his two rivals from the skiing camp. "It would be great if he could find the time to
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show me a few tricks here and there," says Neureuther, who is currently doing fitness training for the coming ski season.
It will be seen whether Ekström will actually find a gap in his tight DTM schedule to help out his friend with some motorsport advice. Clearly, the current runner-up in the standings has ambitious plans for the two races at the 2015 DTM season's midpoint. "The Red Bull Ring is the only DTM track on the calendar I've never been on podium at. I'd like to change that and preferably take the top spot in the standings in the process. But it won't be easy," says Ekström, also hinting at the success ballast on board of his Audi RS 5 DTM which, with a weight of 1,127.5 kilograms, is one of the two heaviest cars in the field. "I'd love to see Felix's face if someone strapped a bag of potatoes on his back after a successful ski race," the Swede adds with his usual wittiness. What confidence does he have in his friend making his circuit racing debut in the Audi Sport TT Cup? "Quite a bit. In the rallycross Audi, he became a lot faster in a short time. And I'm sure that Felix will be improving lap by lap at the Red Bull Ring as well. But he'll also see that, besides being fast, there are some other factors that play a role in a race."
ARD will start to air live coverage from Spielberg on 'Das Erste' on Saturday at approx. 18.00 and on Sunday at approx. 15.00. Additional live streaming will be available at www.dtm.com/live, www.sportschau.de and www.bild.de. The races of the Audi Sport TT Cup can be watched by live streaming at www.audi- motorsport.com.

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In 2014, the Audi Group delivered approximately 1,741,100 cars of the Audi brand to its customers. The company achieved revenue of €53.8 billion and an operating profit of €5.15 billion in 2014. Audi operates globally in more than 100 markets and has production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia), Aurangabad (India), Changchun and Foshan (China) as well as Jakarta (Indonesia). The brand with the Four Rings will start producing cars in Curitiba (Brazil) this year and in San José Chiapa (Mexico) in 2016. Wholly owned subsidiaries of AUDI AG include quattro GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy) and sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). The company currently employs approximately

80,000 people worldwide, thereof around 58,000 in Germany. Total investment of about €24 billion is planned from 2015 to 2019 - primarily in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi is committed to its corporate responsibility and has anchored the principle of sustainability for its products and processes in its strategy. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility.

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