The players and coaches of FC Bayern München are on the road again with Audi this season. The squad of licensed players received new official cars at Audi in Neuburg. In addition to an Audi driving experience, four soccer players got to enjoy some fast laps as passengers of legendary Audi drivers Tom Kristensen and Markus Winkelhock.
The record champion in soccer meets record champion in motorsport: Tom Kristensen, who won the famous Le Mans 24 Hours a record nine times in his career, chauffeured Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski, the scorer of Tuesday night’s historic ‘five-goal game,’ around the circuit in Neuburg. Mario Götze and David Alaba rode with Markus Winkelhock. The fast laps in the racecar of the Audi Sport TT Cup were the highlight of the symbolic vehicle handover to the club on Wednesday.
Audi provides a total of 50 cars to FC Bayern each season. The soccer players have a free choice from the model range and most of them opted for the premium brand’s sportiest models. Eight players, including superstars Franck Ribéry, Mario Götze and Javier Martínez selected the Audi RS 7 Sportback with a 4-liter TFSI engine, making it the most popular car with the squad. Second place goes to the Audi RS 6 Avant which was picked by some of the club’s best-known personalities including Xabi Alonso, Manuel Neuer and coach Pep Guardiola amongst others.
Following a group photograph and numerous autographs for fans and Audi employees, the Bayern team participated in a short Audi driving experience. The program featured practice sessions with the Audi R8 on a handling course and the Audi Q7 on an off-road course, followed by the fast laps with Tom Kristensen and his fellow Audi race driver Markus Winkelhock.
The German record champion has been continuously driving Audi models since 2002. In 2011, Audi acquired an interest in FC Bayern München AG as a strategic partner and is featured at all Bundesliga matches at the Allianz Arena, in the FC Bayern Adventure World and at other events. In return, the FC Bayern team visits Audi events from time to time. The passion for the club is deeply rooted with the employees: with a membership of 6,000 the ‘Audi Fanclub FC Bayern’ is the world’s largest Bayern fan club.
