Audi 2010 Annual Report Download - page 126

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France, June 13, 2010.
Only two minutes remain
in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A throng of people squeezes
into the confi ned space on the com-
mand post. Just 100 meters to go,
then 50, 40, 30, 20, 10: All three
Audi R15 TDI cars cross the fi nishing
line in succession. Mike Rockenfeller is
one of the three drivers of the winning
car. He throws his arms into the air,
while jubilant team colleagues hoist
him onto their shoulders. He has
earned his top spot on the podium.
South Africa, June 13, 2010.
Germany are playing Australia in the
group stage of the soccer World Cup.
The packed stadium resounds to the
chants of a 63,000 crowd and the
drone of vuvuzelas. You can barely hear
yourself think, but Holger Badstuber
remains calm. This is his fi rst World
Cup appearance in his still-young
career.
At fi rst glance, soccer player
Holger Badstuber and racing driver
Mike Rockenfeller seem to have little
in common. But last year was a very
important one for both of them.
A regular in Bayern Munich’s fi rst team
since 2009, Badstuber played his fi rst
two international games for Germany
in 2010. Aged only 21 at the time,
he was one of the team’s youngest
players and is regarded as one of
the top defenders of the future.
Mike Rockenfeller has been driving
for Audi in the DTM and at Le Mans
since 2007. He also drives the R8 LMS
in the GT3 class. Now 27, he has made
history as the youngest Audi driver ever
to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The car needs to be fast, to start
with. Then a racing driver needs to
drive fast and have good reactions if he
wants to win. But every race presents
the drivers with a diff erent set of chal-
lenges. In a sprint race like the DTM,
top speed on bends and straights are
important, but nothing beats a fast lap
time. “In endurance races the driver
and engines also need staying power,”
says Rockenfeller. “Those qualities are
particularly important when you’re
engaged in a duel with an opponent.”
Badstuber nods. Winning a one-on-
one is also important in soccer. “The
game is getting faster all the time,”
explains the soccer player, turning
to Rockenfeller. Recent studies have
shown that players spend almost
one-third of every 90 minutes running
at high speeds. Short sprints cover an
average distance of 17 meters. That
makes the game increasingly tight and
calls for more dynamic actions. Players
therefore “fundamentally need to show
pace and be fast on the ball,” explains
Badstuber with a smile.
Endurance involves being able to
withstand exertion for as long as
possible without fl agging either
physically or mentally. These are two
sides of the same coin for both
Badstuber and Rockenfeller. Mental
endurance “provides the very
foundations of physical endurance,”
explains the racing driver. “There are
plenty of people with a talent for
driving fast, but not many with the
necessary mental resilience,” remarks
Rockenfeller, tapping his temple with
the index fi nger of his right hand.
“That’s what makes the diff erence.”
Endurance also includes being able to
recover from exertion quickly. Between
DTM sprint races, Rockenfeller fi nds
Chess is a good
way of training
strategic thinking.
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