The new Audi RS 4 Avant – 100% Purpose. 100% Performance. – YouTube
Audi Sport customers celebrate worldwide victories
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
First victory in the STCC: On the second race weekend of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship (STCC), an Audi driver celebrated a victory for the first time. Tobias Brink from Team Brink Motorsport in an Audi RS 3 LMS won race two at Anderstorp with a 1.9-second advantage.
Two successes in China: The Audi RS 3 LMS was unbeatable on the second race weekend of the Circuit Hero Series in China. At Zhuhai, in race one, Felipe Souza from Macau won the TCR class with an advantage of one tenth of a second ahead of Billy Lo. In round two, victory again went to Souza after the provisional winner, Billy Lo, received a penalty for jump-starting and dropped to fourth position.
Next hill-climb success: Luis Nunes remains unbeaten in his class in Portuguese hill-climb racing. On the fourth of eight race weekends of the Campeonato de Portugal de Montanha, the Rampa de Santa Marta round, the Portuguese in an Audi RS 3 LMS decided Division 4 of the touring cars in his favor, marking his fourth consecutive victory this season.
Podium in Italy: Plamen Kralev in an Audi RS 3 LMS clinched a trophy in the TCR Italy. The Team Kraf Racing privateer driver from Bulgaria had started from sixth place at Misano and advanced to position three in race one.
Traveling to Portugal with victory: Jean-Karl Vernay is traveling to round five of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup as the best Audi driver. The Frenchman is ranked in position four of the table and before the race at Vila Real is particularly motivated. Since his second victory this season at Zandvoort on May 21, he has clinched another success in an Audi RS 3 LMS: The 30-year-old pro won TCR Europe round five at Spa. A special feature is awaiting Vernay and his two fellow Audi Sport drivers Gordon Shedden and Frédéric Vervisch as well as Audi privateers Nathanaël Berthon, Denis Dupont and Aurélien Panis on the city street circuit in Portugal: The regulations prescribe a “Joker Lap.” The normal direction of traffic in a circle that is part of the city circuit is on the right-hand side but must be driven once on the left by all drivers in each race.
Coming up next week
23–24/06 Vila Real (P), rounds 13 to 15, WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup
23/06 Nürburgring (D), round 3, VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring
22–24/06 Misano (I), rounds 5 and 6, Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup
22–24/06 Misano (I), rounds 5 and 6, GT4 European Series
22–24/06 Road America (USA), rounds 6 and 7, Pirelli World Challenge GT
22–24/06 Road America (USA), rounds 5 and 6, Pirelli World Challenge GTS
23–24/06 Vila Real (P), rounds 3 and 4, TCR Portugal
23–24/06 Cerklje (SLO), rounds 7 and 8, FIA CEZ
23–24/06 Monza (I), round 3, 3 Ore Endurance Champions Cup
– End –
DTM in the city: Putting the Audi RS 5 DTM through its paces
In 2017, Audi driver Loïc Duval at the end of the start-finish straight achieved a top speed of 261 km/h in Sunday’s qualifying. Subsequently, while braking into the track’s slowest turn where speed drops to 50 km/h, a load of more than 2.4 g is reached – putting the brakes whose calipers will additionally be water-cooled at the Norisring through their paces. “The stress will be even greater this year because the cars, due to reduced downforce, will be faster on the straights while the braking distance increases,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass.
The unique circuit between the “Dutzendteich” lake and the Max Morlock stadium is only 2.3 kilometers long and has merely four turns. Even so, it is regarded as one of the most demanding ones of the whole season. “The Norisring looks simple but is an absolute challenge,” says Audi driver Nico Müller. The Swiss knows what he is talking about. In 2016, he celebrated his first DTM victory in Sunday’s race in Nuremberg. 24 hours earlier he had made only a very small mistake while braking into the hairpin turn at the end of the start-finish straight and touched the rear of another car – afterwards, the race was over for both of them.
Last year, Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller had a particularly painful experience of how risky the Norisring is. While braking into the hairpin turn, Gary Paffett lost control of his Mercedes-Benz and subsequently crashed into the German’s Audi RS 5 DTM at high speed. Thanks to the extremely high safety standard of the DTM cars Rockenfeller only sustained a foot injury and was able to race again at the following event.
To lose as little time as possible on the long straights downforce is minimized at the Norisring, which affects the cars’ balance during braking events. Consequently, in addition to engine power, a perfect setup is crucial to achieving the best lap time. The drivers’ job is additionally made more difficult by the fact that bumps in the surface change every year. “When it comes to thrilling racing and gripping overtaking maneuvers, the Norisring is the best DTM race track of all,” says Jamie Green who has previously won four DTM races in Nuremberg.
Audi Virtual Training: New gamification learning concept in the digital car dealership
In the computer game the employee freely moves his avatar through the 3D world. In the virtual Audi terminal he encounters many different photorealistic figures. Whether in dialogue with customers, colleagues or their supervisor – the aim is to further improve his own communication while also daring to try out completely new paths. The employee can track the success or failure of each action immediately after completing it by using a barometer that reflects the mood of the customer. The employee collects points for a successful dialogue. Via a list of rankings participants compare their results with other colleagues Germany-wide.
In the virtual training, Audi emphasizes curiosity and individual responsibility of the employees in the car dealership. “Learning must be fun. Only under this condition the learned skills are remembered for a long time,” says Martin Sander, Vice President Sales Germany. In the game, employees choose the learning fields themselves and can test completely different versions of their answers. “Mistakes are explicitly desired here. That is how new strategies are developed and this makes the learning process come alive.” The brand with the Four Rings designed the virtual training in close cooperation with the dealers and included customer feedback. By this means, players learn in a realistic situation. The training is flexible and available at any time; participants can complete the course on a tablet, a PC or a smartphone.
Audi developed the training game with experts from the games industry. In 2017, Audi already brought the first four training modules to dealerships: “Customer Journey,” “Premium/Prestige,” “Service Experience” and “Customer Encounter in Sales and Service”. A training module on “Feedback Management” was recently added to the innovative learning concept. The company is continuously expanding the program and selectively combines it with classroom training for a modern “blended learning” approach.
IN-Campus GmbH: Audi and the city of Ingolstadt remediate refinery site for technology park
In-Campus GmbH acquired the former Bayernoil refinery site in November 2015. The site offers numerous advantages, including a continuous area of 75 hectares, its proximity to the Audi plant and good connections to the transportation infrastructure. No new areas will be sealed during construction on the IN-Campus. It is much more the case that the city of Ingolstadt, represented by IFG Ingolstadt, and Audi are breathing new life into a former refinery site.
The city of Ingolstadt, AUDI AG and Bayernoil Raffineriegesellschaft mbH signed the public law remediation contract in May 2016. The primary objective of the contract is to remove pollutants from the soil, soil air and groundwater at the former refinery to provide a healthy atmosphere for the people visiting and working at the mixed commercial and industrial site. The extensive remediation work, which has been proceeding north to south since 2016, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022. Upon completion, In-Campus GmbH will use 60 hectares of the site as a business and industrial park. 15 hectares of the total area have been designated as compensation area for nature and landscape.
Currently the subsoil is still contaminated by pollutants having different chemico-physical properties. Special methods appropriate for the various contaminant classes are being used to efficiently remediate the site:
- Air sparging – using air to get rid of contaminants: Air sparging is being used on an area of roughly 100,000 square meters (1,076,391 sq ft) to remove highly volatile contaminants from the groundwater and soil. This is currently one of the largest air sparging projects in Germany.
- Soil excavation – remediation using the honeycomb method: This low-emissions soil replacement method is being used to completely remove contaminants from roughly 600,000 metric tons of polluted material.
- Soil washing plant – cleaning the soil one step at a time: A soil washing plant progressively treats contaminated soil to yield clean soil. Approximately 90 percent of the treated soil can be refilled. The remainder is disposed of.
- Effluent treatment – a series of wells protects the surrounding area: Ten wells prevent contaminated groundwater from flowing away. A state-of-the-art water treatment plant purifies the water according to the pump-and-treat method. The purified water then seeps away on the site.
Construction of the innovative technology park in the west of the IN-Campus site is scheduled to begin in 2018. This will include the Project House – a four-building complex for some 1,400 experts in the field of new technologies. Completion of the complex is expected by the end of 2020. Additional structures will follow successively. Among the first will be a driving safety center, an IT center and an energy center.
Statements on IN-Campus:
Dr. Christian Lösel, Mayor of the city of Ingolstadt “A high-end technology center for groundbreaking technologies and innovations is gradually being built here. I am particularly pleased that an important building block for the future of Ingolstadt is finding a home following extensive remediation of the former refinery site. That is a win for the city and the environment.”
Thomas Vogel, Managing Director of IN-Campus GmbH (AUDI AG): “I see the project as a tremendous opportunity. By developing this site, we are making an enormous contribution to the region and to the future viability of Ingolstadt as a high-tech site.
Norbert Forster, Managing Director of IN-Campus GmbH (IFG Ingolstadt): “IFG has already partnered with AUDI AG to build the Logistics Center, one of the most advanced in Europe. With the IN-Campus project, we are setting another milestone in the area of digitalization and innovation.”
Klaus Mittermaier, Chairman of the General Works Council of AUDI AG: “The sustainable remediation of the site is a logical step toward the future. An industrial wasteland is being transformed into an innovative industrial site that can secure jobs in the region and also equalize infrastructure in Ingolstadt.”
Dr. Rüdiger Recknagel, Head of Environmental Protection at AUDI AG: “We are proud to be conducting the first comprehensive remediation of a refinery site in Bavaria with this eco-friendly remediation project. In so doing, we are giving something back to both society and nature.”