Record champion in soccer meets record champion in motorsport: Tom Kristensen, who won the famous Le Mans 24 Hours nine times in his career, chauffeured Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski, the scorer of Tuesday night’s historic ‘five-goal game,’ around the circuit in Neuburg today. Mario Götze and David Alaba rode with Markus Winkelhock. The fast laps in the race car of the Audi Sport TT Cup were the highlight of the symbolic vehicle handover to the club this Wednesday.
Audi provides a total of 50 cars to FC Bayern. The soccer players have a free choice from the model range and most of them opted for the premium brand’s sportiest models. Eight players selected the Audi RS 7 Sportback with the 4-liter TFSI engine which, as a result, is the most popular car with the squad. They include Franck Ribéry, Mario Götze and Javier Martínez. Second place goes to the Audi RS 6 Avant which Xabi Alonso, Manuel Neuer, Coach Pep Guardiola and others chose.
Following a group photograph and numerous autographs for fans and Audi employees, the Bayern team participated in a short Audi driving experience. The program featured practice sessions with the Audi R8 on a handling course and the Audi Q7 on an off-road course, followed by the fast laps with Tom Kristensen and his fellow Audi race driver Markus Winkelhock.
“The afternoon with the team was real fun. That’s also been a great experience for me as a soccer fan,” Tom Kristensen said afterwards. “I was impressed by the sportiness and adeptness of the guys in handling the cars. You can immediately tell that Audi and FC Bayern are a well-practiced team.”
The German record champion has been continuously driving Audi models since 2002. In 2011, Audi acquired an interest in FC Bayern München AG as a strategic partner and is featured at all Bundesliga matches at the Allianz Arena, in the FC Bayern Adventure World and at other events. In return, the FC Bayern team visits Audi events from time to time. The passion for the club is deeply rooted with the employees: with a membership of 6,000 the ‘Audi Fanclub FC Bayern’ is the world’s largest Bayern fan club.
Note to editors: Following the event you will find a video and royalty-free footage for downloading at www.audimedia.tv.
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