Audi Press Release
- 18 youngsters from 13 nations and three continents
- Average age of 20 years underscores Audi’s support of young talent
Rolf Michl: “International and attractive field”Ingolstadt, January 23, 2015 – The first decision in the 2015 Audi Sport TT Cup has been made. The 18 permanent slots for the season have been awarded. A high-caliber jury that included Audi Sport TT Cup coach Markus Winkelhock, Le Mans winner Marco Werner and the former rally driver Sepp Haider selected 15 young international male and three female drivers.
The field of the 2015 Audi Sport TT Cup is made up of entrants from 13 nations and three continents. With three drivers, Germany has the largest representation. In addition, drivers from ten other European countries, as well as the USA and Hong Kong, will be on the grid. At the mere age of 16, the Fin Joonas Lappalainen is the youngest, while 25-year-old Josh Caygill, from Great Britain, is the oldest driver in the field. The average age of 20 years is correspondingly low. This underscores Audi’s ambitions of affording young international talent an opportunity to enter the company’s successful motorsport world.
“We had 165 applications from 30 nations,” says Project Leader Rolf Michl. “We intensively reviewed every single application and in a multi-stage selection process chose the 18 drivers who are now given the chance to prove themselves in the Audi Sport TT Cup. Our aim was to have a very international and attractive field – and we’ve achieved this. Now, we’re looking forward to getting to know the 18 selected drivers better at the fitness camp and during the initial track tests at the beginning of March.”
In 2015, two races of the Audi Sport TT Cup will be held at each of six DTM events. In addition to the permanent entrants, six “seats” are reserved for changing guest drivers. quattro GmbH centrally prepares and fields the 24 cars.
The field of the 2015 Audi Sport TT Cup**
Åhlin-Kottulinsky, Mikaela (B, *November 13, 1992)
Amweg, Levin (CH, *September 11, 1994)
Caygill, Josh (GB, *June 22, 1989)
Coleselli, Marc (A, *August 27, 1993)
Cypriano, Lucile (F, *September 2, 1996)
Hezemans, Loris (NL, *May 26, 1997)
Hofbauer, Christoph (D, *July 15, 1991)
Kisiel, Jan (PL, *July 14, 1994)
Landy, Sebastian (USA, *December 14, 1995)
Lappalainen, Joonas (FIN, *March 1, 1998)
Lindholm, Emil (FIN, *July 19, 1996)
Marklund, Anton (S, *December 9, 1992)
Marschall, Dennis (D, *August 15, 1996)
Møller Madsen, Nicolaj (DK, *March 10, 1993)
Onder, Kaan (TR, *January 10, 1997)
Peitz, Dominik (D, *November 20, 1991)
Knotweed, Gosia (PL, *January 14, 1993)
Thong, Shaun (HK, *November 1, 1995)
** subject to change
Photo credit: Audi Communications – Motorsport
