Both two-time DTM Champions for Audi Sport, Timo Scheider and Mattias Ekstrom, found very different and unique ways to spend their free time between the preparation towards Ingolstadt’s home race at the Norisring, as the countdown to race day continues in earnest.
Scheider teamed up with his race engineer from Team Abt, Markus Michelberger, along with boat skipper Ulrike Schümann for the inaugural Audi Sailing Cup, which took place during the Kieler Woche regatta, which is held in the north of Germany.
The duo, with the assistance of Schümann, fended off the likes of German TV host Kai Pflaume, actor Simon Licht, as well as several Olympic Gold medalists from other sporting disciplines to win the event. A great start for the build up to Audi’s homecoming, as it has been the premier partner of the event for the last four years.
However, his long-serving friend and stablemate at Audi, Sweden’s Ekstrom was having a four-wheeled excursion in a sideways slant, as he enjoys the thrill of trying out other racing categories, sticking by the motto that is on his racing helmet: “Go Hard or Go Home”. He has also won the Race Of Champions in both the team event and the Champion of Champions, having won it three times, so his skill set cannot be denied.
Behind the wheel of a 600bhp VW Polo T16, he first secured 4th and 5th place finishes at the X Games in Munich, before competing in the FIA EuropeanRallycross Championship as a guest driver just recently. The father of two was once again behind the wheel of his Red Bull-liveried Polo at the Höljes Motorstadion, coming second in the Supercars category, behind Andreas Bakkerud. This clearly shows that this multi-talented driver has a natural flair for anything rough and rugged like a true Scandinavian should do, right?
But now the focus is back to the “office” as usual, as both drivers will get behind the wheel of their RS5 DTMs and push hard around the fast street track, that has seen drama and action to the very end over the years.
