Big names, a fabulous atmosphere and football matches in which not a single ball was given away: The Audi Cup more than lived up to its reputation as one of the major international preparatory tournaments right on day one: Some 65,000 spectators at the nearly sold-out Allianz Arena first saw a narrow 1-0 opening victory by Tottenham Hotspur over the star ensemble of Real Madrid before in the second semi-final host FC Bayern München scored a dominant 6-1 win against the team of Fenerbahçe Istanbul.
Before the first match kicked off, 220 apprentices of AUDI AG delivered a sophisticated, carefully choreographed performance that made for an emotive opening ceremony. The Audi Cup debuted in 2009 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Audi brand and is held for the sixth time this year. FC Bayern has won the trophy three times to date. The awards for the “most electrifying moment” on the pitch went to Harry Kane for his winning goal against Real Madrid and to Thomas Müller for his dream goal in the 58th minute that scored an intermediate 6-0.
Electric has gone Audi: On the perimeter advertising boards and off the pitch, the Audi Cup this year is fully focused on the Audi e-tron, the brand’s first all-electric model. Four e-tron cars sporting the team’s colors in the streets of the city are eye-catchers and around the arena and on the esplanade featuring an e-tron course and an e-scooter track everything revolves around the brand’s electrification offensive as well. The way in which the stadium will present itself during the closing ceremony after the final on Wednesday night is now eagerly awaited.
On Wednesday at 6 PM, Madrid and Istanbul will initially play for third place before Bayern and Tottenham start battling for victory at 8.30 PM.
Audi R8 LMS GT3
The 4.04 meter (13.3 ft) Audi A1 citycarver is based on the A1 Sportback with respect to technology and design. It features powerful and taut, sporty body lines while also offering around four centimeters (2.0 in) of additional ground clearance. This provides for easier entry and better visibility. The new suspension with a higher ride height accounts for 35 millimeters (1.4 in). The rest is due to the larger wheels compared with the A1 Sportback, starting at 16 inches in diameter.
Already in the early stage, Audi Sport Team WRT was among the front runners in the record field of 72 entrants as well. In the fourth and fifth hour of the race, the three Audi factory drivers from the DTM – Robin Frijns, Nico Müller and René Rast – were leading the field. After the race was stopped, the trio was again among the front runners and in the final stage was leading for several laps. However, a few minutes before the end of the race, René Rast had to avoid a group of cars across the wet grass and in the process slid into the track barrier.
“Following its much-noticed debut at Goodwood, Spa was the perfect second appearance for the Audi R8 LMS GT2 in front of many fans and numerous potential customers,” said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “Other appearances at major public events in and outside of Europe such as at Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach are already being planned.” Starting next year, the new GT2 category will open up an attractive new field of activity exclusively for gentleman drivers. Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) as the organizer already announced the future calendars for three continents on the race weekend at Spa. The GT Sports Club Europe for GT2 models will be racing in five European countries in 2020 while the GT2 Sports Club America in the United States encompasses five events as well. The GT2 Sports Club Asia completes the global platform with three events to be held in Malaysia, Japan and China. In addition to these three central fielding opportunities, Track Days and the increasingly popular events at Race Resorts provide other attractive stages for the new GT2 sports cars. Audi is among the pioneers in this category. In 2020, SRO expects up to six manufacturers to compete in the GT2 class with their high-performance sports cars.