Audi newsletter: Timo Scheider wins "Battle of Champions"

• Victory for two-time DTM Champion in snowmobile race in Saalbach
• Two prizes for Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler, another for Audi
• Allan McNish at the wheel of the Audi Sport quattro S1

Dream weekend for Timo Scheider:

the two-time DTM Champion won the "Battle of Champions", which ran through the streets of the holiday resort Saalbach Hinterglemm, astride a snowmobile.

Timo Scheider, Audi Sport Team Abt Audi A4 DTM

Photo by: xpb.cc

Ice king:

Timo Scheider felt completely at home during the Snow Mobile in Saalbach Hinterglemm and enjoyed the snowmobile race through the Austrian ski resort’s town center. "Although every muscle hurt a day later, this combination of fun and victory was a fantastic way to end the season," said the Audi factory driver after winning with his "Goaßstall Racing Team". Scheider claimed pole position for the team and competed against prominent fellow racers like Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Räikkönen in Saturday’s race staged in front of almost 25,000 spectators.

Kart Masters in Bercy:

Romain Dumas, Le Mans winner 2010 with Audi, and also Audi DTM driver Filipe Albuquerque joined the grid in electric karts at the ERDF Kart Masters. In addition to all the fun, Albuquerque took fourth place on Saturday; Dumas won the repechage on Sunday.

Two prizes for Marcel Fässler:

The Audi factory driver received the Silverstone-Le Mans Challenge Award on Monday at the Annual Awards Luncheon held by the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC). The Swiss shared the prize, awarded for the best combined performance in the ILMC races at Le Mans and Silverstone, with Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud. On the previous Friday the Swiss motorsport authority Auto Sport Schweiz GmbH honored Marcel Fässler with the Auto Sport Award 2011 for his Le Mans victory in June.

Award for Audi Sport:

the Italian specialist magazine Autosprint awarded Audi a "Casco d’oro" (Golden Helmet) for its tenth Le Mans victory in June. The award was accepted on behalf of the brand by factory driver Dindo Capello, who has been loyal to Audi for 18 years.

First quartet complete:

United Autosports already has four drivers under contract for the 24 hours of Dubai. The Anglo-American customer racing team contests the season opener in the Gulf State between January 12 and 14 with two Audi R8 LMS. The first cockpit is shared by budding talent Matt Bell from Great Britain, the USA domiciled South African Mark Patterson, Frank Yu from Hong Kong and New Zealander Roger Wills. Seventy seven entries have been received for the race so far. An impressive 33 cars representing nine brands start in the leading class A6 for GT3 models like the Audi R8 LMS.

Successful test:

the new Audi R8 GRAND-AM was tested at Daytona on Tuesday and Wednesday. In preparation for the 24 hours of Daytona in January, Frank Stippler concluded set-up work on the race car for the Audi customer teams.

Glamour Audi A4 DTM #15 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix), Rahel Frey

Photo by: Audi Communications Motorsport

Animal versus machine:

Rahel Frey was involved in an unusual competition at a charity event on Sunday in Kühtai. In the Tirol Cross Mountain event the Audi factory driver competed in an Audi R8 GT Spider against actor Till Demtrøder who steered a team of ten huskies. Four wheels just beat 40 paws in the end.

Book launch with two Audi drivers:

Rahel Frey and Marcel Fässler were guests at book preview in Switzerland on Thursday. Surrounded by various aircraft and race cars author Stefan Lüscher presented the 28th edition of the "Rennsport Schweiz" book in a hangar belonging to Pilatus Flugzeugwerke in Stans. The cover picture’s main motive is the Audi R18 TDI number 2 with which Fässler and his team mates André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race winning car was one of the main attractions at the presentation.

Time travel:

Audi factory driver Allan McNish revisited an important chapter in Audi’s motorsport history for the British Magazine Autosport. The two-time Le Mans winner drove a near 500 hp Audi Sport quattro S1 for a Group B article printed in the specialist magazine. His unrivalled comments about the turbocharger, drift angle and four-wheel drive can be read in the latest edition of the magazine published on December 8.

Journey to South America:

Audi factory driver Miguel Molina leaves for Peru on Monday. The Spaniard spends a week undertaking various media and marketing appointments for the national Audi importer.