What to do once you’ve crossed the English Channel with a delta wing strapped to your back and made the world’s longest freefall parachute drop? Oh, how about take part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours? That’s exactly what Felix Baumgartner plans to do this June, with the assistance of Audi race experience, where he will join Frank Biela, Marco Werner, and Pierre Kaffer behind the wheel of an R8 LMS ultra.
Never one to take the easy option, the Austrian will be undergoing an intensive programme that will see him obtain the necessary licences and gain the experience required to tackle the endurance classic:
March 21–22 VLN, test and setup runs
April 05–06 Qualification race, Nürburgring 24 Hours
April 26 VLN, 56th ADAC ACAS H&R Cup
May 17 VLN, Adenauer ADAC Simfy-Trophy
June 21–22 Nürburgring 24 Hours
“It’s fantastic that we’re cooperating with Felix Baumgartner this year,” says Klaus Demel, the head of the Audi driving experience. “As an extreme athlete, Felix Baumgartner has been thrilling millions of fans around the world with his daring actions that combine ingenuity and exceptional technical demands. Now we’re familiarizing him with our sport, offer him a professional environment with our team, and are very excited about this new, joint challenge.”
Although not a complete novice at motorsport, Baumgartner’s previous race experience has been very limited and nowhere near the level of competition he will face on the Nordschleife. “This task is totally exciting and I’m looking forward to driving races in an Audi,” he said. “During initial tests in the road-going Audi R8 I got to know the Nürburgring, and in the Audi R8 LMS ultra I’ve clocked a few kilometres on various tracks as well. I regard this task as one of the major projects in my life. The environment is perfect, the atmosphere is fantastic, and I feel really well taken care of by the Audi race experience. But it’s also clear that I’m basically starting from scratch because this sport is new for me.”
“Felix is approaching his new task in exactly the manner that is the hallmark of a pro,” said Audi race experience Sporting Director Josef ‘Sepp’ Haider. “He’s eager to learn, has good judgment of the physical conditions, and is totally motivated. All team members have come to respect him in the initial tests. I’m very much looking forward to our joint journey.”
It’s fair to say that we can expect this year’s edition of the 24 Hours to attract quite a lot of extra attention as a result of Audi’s latest recruit.
