Month: December 2018

Fermín Soneira Santos was born on July 7, 1972, in Gijón, Spain.

He studied at the Universidad de Oviedo and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and obtained a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Automotive Engineering in 1998. He then began his professional career at AUDI AG in Chassis Development. In 2002 he moved to SEAT, where he was responsible for various functions over the next twelve years. Among other things, he was in charge of the chassis and total vehicle development for all SEAT models.

He returned to AUDI AG in 2014 and took over product strategy and brand positioning for full-size models. In addition, he directed the powertrain, CO₂ and electrification strategy for all Audi models.

Fermín Soneira Santos has been Head of Product Marketing at AUDI AG since July 1, 2016.

Fintan Roger Knight was born on September 16, 1971, in Ennis/Ireland.

After completing his degree in business studies at the University of Western Australia, he began his career at BMW Australia in Melbourne in 1993. Two years later he switched to the Volkswagen Group. There he worked for AUDI AG, Lamborghini S.p.A. and Volkswagen in various positions in the Marketing and Sales division for the European, Asian and Pacific region.

In 2013 he assumed responsibility as Vice President for the brand activities of Infiniti in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India. One year later he switched to Rolls Royce Motor Cars in the United Kingdom where he was responsible for the Marketing and Sales division.

Fintan Roger Knight has been the Head of Sales Europe at AUDI AG in Ingolstadt since July 2018.

The Audi teams in the 2019 DTM

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
#4 Robin Frijns (NL)
#51 Nico Müller (CH)

Audi Sport Team Phoenix
#28 Loïc Duval (F)
#99 Mike Rockenfeller (D)

Audi Sport Team Rosberg
#33 René Rast (D)
#53 Jamie Green (GB)

The Audi drivers in the 2019 DTM

#28 Loïc Duval (F): * June 12, 1982 in Chartres (F); residence: Nyon (CH); married to Gaëlle, two sons (Hugo and Martin); height: 1.78 m; weight: 70 kg; Audi driver since 2012; 1st DTM race: 2017; DTM races: 38; pole positions: 1; victories: 0 (best result: 2nd place); fastest laps: 1; points: 76; DTM titles: 0.

#4 Robin Frijns (NL): * August 07, 1991 in Maastricht (NL); residence: Maastricht (NL); single; height: 1.71 m; weight: 63.5 kg; Audi driver since 2015; 1st DTM race: 2018; DTM races: 20; pole positions: 0; victories: 0 (best result: 2nd place); fastest laps: 1; points: 84; DTM titles: 0.

#53 Jamie Green (GB): * June 14, 1982 in Leicester (GB); residence: Leicester (GB); married to Ginny, one daughter (Georgiana), two sons (Zachary and William); height: 1.78 m; weight:
70 kg; Audi driver since 2013; 1st DTM race: 2005; DTM races: 177; pole positions: 13; victories: 16; fastest laps: 23; points: 934.5; DTM titles: 0.

#51 Nico Müller (CH): * February 25, 1992 in Thun (CH); residence: Bern (CH); single (partner Victoria); height: 1.85 m; weight: 73 kg; Audi driver since 2014; 1st DTM race: 2014; DTM races: 84; pole positions: 1; victories: 1; fastest laps: 4; points: 301; DTM titles: 0.

#33 René Rast (D): * October 26, 1986 in Minden (D); residence: Bregenz (A); single (partner Diana), one son (Liam); height: 1.79 m; weight: 64 kg; Audi driver since 2009; 1st DTM race: 2016; DTM races: 40; pole positions: 5; victories: 10; fastest laps: 5; points: 437; DTM titles: 1 (2017).

#99 Mike Rockenfeller (D): * October 31, 1983 in Neuwied (D); residence: Landschlacht (CH); married to Susanne, two sons (Phil and Paul); height: 1.75 m; weight: 68 kg; Audi driver since 2007; 1st DTM race: 2007; DTM races: 155; pole positions: 6; victories: 5; fastest laps: 8; points: 741; DTM titles: 1 (2013).

“A big thank you and sincere congratulations to all our customers,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “Right in time for our anniversary we’ve achieved our biggest annual tally of victories, trophies and championship classifications to date. This motivates us to give our best again in an even more fiercely competitive environment in the 2019 season.” The season traditionally kicks off in January with a 24-hour race in Dubai. That is when the evolution of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 presented in October and soon to be homologated will be available to customers for the first time. 

In the season that just ended, Audi’s GT3 sports car won 138 races and 13 drivers’ titles, including championship wins in Australia, China, Germany, Eastern Europe, New Zealand and Sweden. In the manufacturers’ classification of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the race car remained unbeaten for the third consecutive time as well. The tally of the Audi RS 3 LMS TCR race car reflects 92 victories plus one overall title each in North America, the Benelux and Russia. An unusual maiden season was achieved by the Audi R8 LMS GT4: The production-based mid-engine sports car recorded 26 race victories, plus three championship successes in North America, one in France and another one in a European classification. With that, it instantly decided nearly all notable worldwide GT4 racing series in its favor. 

At the season opener in the desert, the teams had expected anything but rain which, on Saturday morning, resulted in just one short free practice session taking place, instead of the two scheduled sessions. To top things off, this track time was interrupted by red flags. Qualifying, which is normally divided into a group phase and a Super Pole shootout of the six fastest drivers, took place in two groups immediately after free practice.

“I think all of the teams suffered very much under the conditions on this difficult race track that was new for everyone,” said Team Principal Allan McNish. “Qualifying was like a gamble and nobody was able to prepare perfectly. In the end, we have to settle for Daniel (Abt) and Lucas (di Grassi) still having finished in the points but, obviously, the result is not what we expected or capable of. We’re taking plenty of homework with us to Neuburg and clearly want to improve for the next race in Marrakesh.”