Audi Sport racing academy
Summary of the first year
Successful début year: Audi driving experience extended its portfolio in 2016 and for the first time supported three young racing drivers in their career – including their first successes on the racetrack.
In the 2016 season, for the first time Audi driving experience offered a top-class sponsorship programme for talented young drivers. Three young drivers – Sheldon van der Linde, Nicklas Nielsen and Vivien Keszthelyi – received comprehensive training in the course of the season. In winter training in Austria, ice driving in Finland or test drives on European racing circuits, they were prepared for the subsequent race meetings.
“Professional motorsport is about much more than just driving fast,” says coordinator Sepp Haider. “You also have to cut a good figure when appearing in public and be able to talk to engineers in detail about the setup of the racing car. In the Audi Sport racing academy we have created an excellent programme to support and encourage the motorsport stars of tomorrow in their initial development.” The programme has been created on several levels to match the experience of the drivers. The sponsored drivers are given specific targets and are supported by an experienced mentor, permanently assigned to them, for any questions or problems they may have.
For the three drivers of the Audi Sport racing academy the comprehensive preparation was followed by their first race meetings. And the début season of the new project already brought the first successes. 17-year-old South African Sheldon van der Linde and Dane Nicklas Nielsen, two years his senior, competed in the Audi Sport TT Cup and as rookies they actually still had the title in sight before the season finale.
Nielsen, who had celebrated his first overall victory on the circuit in the sand dunes of Zandvoort, secured the rookie title and took third place in the overall classification.
Sheldon van der Linde even managed to take the top spot on the podium a total of four times in the 2016 season, ending up in second place in the rookie rankings and fourth overall in the Audi Sport TT Cup.
16-year-old Vivien Keszthelyi competed in the Hungarian HTCC in an Audi TT cup race car and ended the season in first place.
Following the successes of its début season, the Audi Sport racing academy is set to extend its programme to include GT3 racing.
“Professional motorsport is about much more than just driving fast,” says coordinator Sepp Haider. “You also have to cut a good figure when appearing in public and be able to talk to engineers in detail about the setup of the racing car. In the Audi Sport racing academy we have created an excellent programme to support and encourage the motorsport stars of tomorrow in their initial development.” The programme has been created on several levels to match the experience of the drivers. The sponsored drivers are given specific targets and are supported by an experienced mentor, permanently assigned to them, for any questions or problems they may have.
For the three drivers of the Audi Sport racing academy the comprehensive preparation was followed by their first race meetings. And the début season of the new project already brought the first successes. 17-year-old South African Sheldon van der Linde and Dane Nicklas Nielsen, two years his senior, competed in the Audi Sport TT Cup and as rookies they actually still had the title in sight before the season finale.
Nielsen, who had celebrated his first overall victory on the circuit in the sand dunes of Zandvoort, secured the rookie title and took third place in the overall classification.
Sheldon van der Linde even managed to take the top spot on the podium a total of four times in the 2016 season, ending up in second place in the rookie rankings and fourth overall in the Audi Sport TT Cup.
16-year-old Vivien Keszthelyi competed in the Hungarian HTCC in an Audi TT cup race car and ended the season in first place.
Following the successes of its début season, the Audi Sport racing academy is set to extend its programme to include GT3 racing.
