Audi Sport racing academy: talent school for young race drivers

“In the Audi Sport racing academy we’re closing a gap in our increasingly comprehensive offering and sharpen the sporting profile of our worldwide activities,” says Klaus Demel, Head of the Audi driving experience. “At the same time, Audi is complementing its motorsport commitment by another attractive entry-level program.” 

Audi has already selected the first three candidates for the talent promotion program: the Hungarian Vivien Keszthelyi, the South African Sheldon van der Linde, and the Dane Nicklas Nielsen. On the first program level, Vivien Keszthelyi, who is only 15 years old, exclusively goes through all the Academy Meetings focused on specific topics. The other two drivers additionally contest the 2016 Audi Sport TT Cup. Provided they show the required aptitude, the young talents can look forward to the opportunity of racing in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 race car on a third level beginning in 2017. 

The objective is to train the candidates with a maximum age of 25 successfully enough to consider them in driver evaluations. These are the processes in which Audi Sport customer racing selects its drivers for GT racing and Audi Sport its drivers for the factory-backed programs in the DTM and FIA WEC.