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Nico Müller (Audi Financial Services Audi RS 5 DTM #51), following day one of the three-day DTM test at Oschersleben: “It’s basically been a good day. Not because of the lap time but because of the work we did. I felt as comfortable again in the car as I did at Estoril. The base fits. Our rivals are clearly making a stronger showing here than at Estoril, but we’re only going to see how it will pan out Hockenheim. I think we’re in pretty good shape. It was a shame that we lost a lot of time because of my little off-track excursion. I drove through gravel and grass for 50 or 80 meters in the second to last turn. That was enough to damage the underfloor so heavily that we had to repair it for three hours. I’m sorry about that for the guys. That was clearly my mistake.”

Audi factory driver Benoît Tréluyer has opened a sports chalet in the French ski resort Les Deux Alpes south-east of Grenoble where he doesn’t only keep himself physically fit for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) – guests are welcome too. “Everything’s got to go – this is how the 2012 World Endurance Champion describes his stipulation for the conversion of the chalet. The Audi driver bought the house last year and had it gutted completely. Together with his wife Melanie he subsequently drove the plans for a combined residential and sports facility forward. “I had the idea because I was looking for such a facility for a long time myself,” says the Frenchman. “The environment was to be functional as well as exuding warmth. It was to be comfortable, but without luxury.” In addition to two 120-square meter apartments, the chalet has a large gym. The 50-square meter fitness center features equipment for a wide variety of workouts, such as exercise bikes, indoor rowing, weight lifting or TRX sling training, balancing and other training kit. Plus, in the area surrounding Les Deux Alpes winter sports are a perfect way to complement workouts in the gym, as ski slopes and high mountains for snowshoe hiking are almost on the chalet’s doorstep. “My chalet is not just meant for race drivers. Other professional athletes can lodge and train here as well. I’ve already received numerous inquiries from cyclists and tennis players,” says the three-time Le Mans winner. The first guests the Frenchman welcomed in the residential and sports facility were his Audi team-mates Loïc Duval, Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer, who spent a week of doing sports there with him in January.

The Audi drivers Benoît Tréluyer and Marco Bonanomi used the summer break in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for some sporting activities. Bonanomi, in a triathlon sprint in his hometown Lecco (Italy), an Italian Championship round, set a personal best time of 1h 03m 23s and took 50th place overall in a field of 380 participants. In Sirmione, Italy, at the end of June, he had completed a triathlon covering the Olympic distance in 2h 17m 50s. Benoît Tréluyer competed in a mountain bike event in Les Deux Alpes, France, this weekend.

Self-built amphibian vehicles that can travel on land and water and are visually reminiscent of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro? Marcel Fässler was amazed at what he saw when he visited the Land-Water Fun Race in his home town of Einsiedeln. The Swiss Audi racer and his family were guests at the event that saw up to 50 vehicles prove their prowess on water at the Einsiedeln Summer Carnival. Members of his fan club had built six amphibian vehicles from wood and Styrofoam. “Absolutely reliable, able to float, maneuverable with paddles and designed to match our Le Mans race cars – awesome, my compliments to the participants,” said a pleased Marcel Fässler.

Audi driver André Lotterer attended the press preview for the new Audi TT Roadster and TTS in Tokyo on Thursday. Audi Japan launched the two models on its domestic market and invited the guests to an event in the ‘Studio Earth’ on Tokyo Tower, an architectural landmark in Shiba Park in the Japanese capital. 110 media representatives from Japan and around 50 other guests visited the presentation of the models, which are very popular within the Japanese sportscar market. André Lotterer, currently FIA WEC championship leader with Audi, talked about his expectations for the 6 Hours of Fuji, which is set to be held on 11 October.

Fitting the DTM finale, Audi presented the Audi A5 DTM selection* special edition model that was showcased at the Hockenheim paddock in front of the Audi Team & Media Hospitality alongside an Audi RS 5 DTM. Audi has limited the series of the A5 DTM selection to 50 vehicles. The coupé is the third DTM special edition model by the brand with the four rings.

In an exciting finale, Alex Yoong won the Audi R8 LMS Cup for the second consecutive year. The Malaysian race driver clinched his fourth win of the season in round twelve of the series at Shanghai. Runner up was fellow title contender Cheng Congfu ahead of Rahel Frey. In round 13, Yoong had to start with 50 kilograms of ballast owing to his success and dropped back to sixth position. His opponent Cheng Congfu finished third behind Aditya Patel and Marchy Lee. The results meant the Chinese was ultimately beaten by just one point in the final standings. „That was extremely nerve-wracking, but the title tastes all the sweeter“, said a happy Yoong.

The race driver from Malaysia has won the 2015 Audi R8 LMS Cup at Shanghai. You secured the title in the Audi R8 LMS Cup at Shanghai with a one-point advantage. How did you experience the race? I’ve seldom felt that a race was as nerve-wracking as this one. According to the regulations, I had 50 kilograms of ballast weight on board and was hardly able to defend myself. So, in the crucial race I dropped all the way back to sixth place. The loss of one more position would have cost me the title, but this way I barely managed to save it. I love this Audi racing series and am happy for my Audi Teda Racing Team. A huge thank you also goes to my mechanics Antoine ‘Kiki’ Courtin and Mohamad Farouk Hamzah who, like I, is from Malaysia. The whole squad worked hard. You’ve experienced the Audi R8 LMS Cup as a participant ever since it was launched in the 2012 season. How has Audi’s first one-make cup developed? It’s great to see what progress the Audi R8 LMS Cup has achieved in four years. The races are thrilling, the rules have been continually developed further and the cup is a central platform for young talents in Asia. The fact that the title decision is made only in the finale each year shows how well the concept works – nobody wins just like that. Furthermore, it’s a nice feeling to pass our knowledge on to the amateur drivers in the field as well, who are able to continue to develop their talent this way. You’re the first driver to have successfully defended his title. In comparison: was it more difficult to win the Audi R8 LMS Cup in 2014 or in 2015? The title race in 2014 was already very hard. A year ago, my opponent was André Couto. He’s a good personal friend of mine, so as far as that was concerned competing against him was a special situation also in a psychological respect. This year, the decision was extremely tight and nerve-wracking. Honestly, at the moment of victory, the current title feels even a bit sweeter than the first one.