Audi 2011 Annual Report Download - page 42

The wind strains mercilessly
on the slender but strong
mast. The rig extends just
under 30 meters into the
sky and defi es the stormy conditions.
At a brisk Beaufort six wind strength,
the pressure on the nearly 100 square
meter mainsail is enormous, and the
wind gusts are as high as Beaufort
seven. Aboard the red-white racing
yacht, which glides as though riding
on rails – even in this stiff breeze –
the stress and strain of the crew is
palpable. The yacht is sailing to the
regatta course in the Stollergrund
area near Kiel. Shortly before the fi rst
starting gun, each crew member is at
his or her post. As skipper Tim Kröger
explained in a brief wake-up call on
the previous evening and again at
the morning briefi ng: “Guys, it won’t
be easy out there.” And the world
circumnavigator and world champion
motivates his new team members by
telling them: “We will sail hard and
fi ght for every position. And to do this
we need you and your unconditional
commitment.”
Kröger’s motivating talk inspires his
guest sailors: For the nine ambitious
amateurs selected to participate in
the Audi project “A dream comes
true,” their appearance at the Kieler
Woche fulfi lls a heartfelt dream. They
are taking part in the world’s largest
competitive sailing event alongside six
sailing professionals. Their objective
is the coveted Kiel Cup Alpha. They
are not there to watch from the side-
lines; rather they are hard-working
apprentices. They want to experience
what the professionals know and
learn how to tame such a high-tech
sailing rocket.
“This boat is truly awesome!” marvels
Jens Glathe at the stern of the nearly
16 meter long TP52 yacht. “On the
way to the regatta course, it is already
moving at ten knots driven just by
the mainsail. So what will it be like
out there?” For the manager from
Hamburg, the 117th Kieler Woche
is a dream come true. Ever since his
non-sailing brother Bernd attended a
stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race many
years ago, hobby captain Jens has also
dreamt of racing for the large regatta
cup in wind and waves. And that dream
did not escape the attention of his
perceptive brother. Shortly before the
Kieler Woche, he gave Jens the surprise
present of a crew entry ticket to the
big event. Jens Glathe, who himself
owns and sails a boat, recalls that he
got goosebumps when he realized just
what he had received.
Now he is one of the chosen nine
amateur recruits, who together are
responsible for either victory or defeat
aboard the Audi yacht at the Kieler
Woche, for successful maneuvers and
also the unsuccessful ones, for joy or
agony in the competition.
At Tim Kröger’s side, tactician Ulrike
Schümann makes sure that operations
run smoothly on board and plots
the
quickest course to the next race mark.
Kröger values the expertise of Schümann,
who fi nished fourth in the three-person
keelboat at the 2008 Olympics, and
he routinely relies on her experience at
international events. Another member
of his six-person professional team is
Eberhard Magg, who was also the
driving force behind the fi rst German
America’s Cup campaign and manager of
Match Race Germany on Lake Constance.
Each of these three top yachtsmen has
written exciting chapters in the history
of German sailing. Their task at the
Kieler Woche is to quickly bring the
amateurs to the top of their game, while
instilling a positive regatta attitude on
the Audi Team.
The team must learn to work
together in challenging sailing
conditions. The sea spray lashes, the
wind howls and the race day has only
just begun. In its fi rst race, the Pro/Am
team has not yet found its groove.
It fi nishes back in ninth place.
“We can do better,” says Kröger,
encouraging his team as the race
director gives the preparation signal for
the start of the second race. The crew
hardly has time to catch its breath.
They take a quick drink of water, wipe
the drops of sweat from their faces and
zip up their sailing jackets again – and
they are off . Their movements are more
The sea spray lashes,
the wind howls,
and the race day
has only just begun.
A seasoned sailor
The skipper
Tim Kröger has sailed over
200,000 nautical miles around
the planet and is considered one
of the best all-round sailors in
Germany. In 1994, he offi cially
turned his passion into a pro-
fessional career: After his fi rst
race around the world aboard the
European “Intrum Justitia,” the
Bremen native quit his university
studies in Business Administration.
He had already built up over a
decade of experience in com-
petitive sports, including four
years as a national team member
and a victory in the Admiral’s Cup
in 1983, for which he and the
rest of the German team were
awarded the Silver Laurel –
Germany’s top sports prize – by
Karl Carstens who was German
president at the time. After
winning a world championship
title in 1995, he participated in
a second race around the world.
Kröger is the only German sailor
to have participated in the
Admiral’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean
Race and the America’s Cup.
The 47-year-old father of twins
is also a book author, TV
commentator and guest speaker.
Experience _ 39
PHOTOS | RICHARD WALCH/AUDI AG (3); HEINRICH HECHT