While he won't go faster than the speed of sound this time, Felix Baumgartner is about to get a racing license and participate in the Nürburgring 24 Hours next month with an Audi R8 LMS Ultra. We love this guy.
We've seen the Austrian extreme athlete in a race car before, but the R8 LMS is no Scirocco. Instead, the task ahead is pushing a 570 horsepower GT3 race car around the Nordschleife as fast as possible, so the 44-year-old is completing an extensive preparation program at the moment. There are a few people around who can help with that, since his team-mates are five-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela, the three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner and GT and sports car master Pierre Kaffer.
Felix had this to say about the challenge:
This task is totally exciting and I'm looking forward to driving races in an Audi. During initial tests in the road-going Audi R8 I got to know the Nürburgring, and in the Audi R8 LMS ultra I've clocked a few kilometers on various tracks as well.
I regard this task as one of the major projects in my life. The environment is perfect, the atmosphere is fantastic, and I feel really well taken care of by the Audi race experience. But it's also clear that I'm basically starting from scratch because this sport is new for me.
We bet.
Audi will also have a second R8 at the Nürburgring with the team of Dominique Bastien, Rahel Frey and Christian Bollrath, with Christiaan Frankenhout supporting as a driver for the first time. Qualification starts on April 5th.
Space Jumper Felix Baumgartner To Race Audi R8 LMS At Nürburgring 24