AUDI AG presents 2011 and 2013 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships

- Audi will be Presenting Sponsor of 2011 and 2013 World Ski Championships
- Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Schladming marked by symbol of the Four Rings
- Brand continues expanding partnerships in international skiing

INGOLSTADT, Germany, Jan 23, 2010  -  AUDI AG will be Presenting Sponsor of the FIS Alpine World Ski- Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany) in 2011, and in 2013 in Schladming (Austria). The brand with the Four Rings thus continues expanding its successful commitment in international skiing.

When Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Upper Bavaria turns into the center of the world of winter sport for two weeks starting on February 7, 2011, AUDI AG will appear as Presenting Sponsor of an Alpine World Ski Championship for the fourth time.

At the German “home game” in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which will host the Alpine World Ski Championship for the second time after 1978, the Four Rings will also be featured on the starting house, the banners and in the finish area. In addition, Audi’s commitment will include the role of communication partner to the World Championship in close collaboration with the organizer. The fans traveling to the venue can expect a special ski show at an elevation of 1 700 meters on the world-famous Kandahar course. The World Cup races in recent years demonstrated that the “Kandahar” with its Tröglhang, Himmelreich, Eishang, Hölle and FIS-Schneise sections ranks among the most spectacular and technically demanding downhill slopes of the World Cup circus.

The 2013 Alpine World Ski Championship will be held in the Austrian ski resort of Schladming (Styria), which – after 1982 – will also play host to the championship for a second time. 2013 will mark the first return of the competitions for the title to Austrian soil after a twelve-year break. St. Anton, in 2001, was the last venue to have hosted an Alpine World Ski Championship in Austria.

Audi and World Ski Championships – this combination is steeped in tradition: As early as in 2003, in St. Moritz (Switzerland), in 2005 in Bormio (Italy) and in 2009 in Val d’Isère (France), Audi was Presenting Sponsor of the Alpine World Ski Championships and presented itself with an extensive program. In Are (Sweden) in 2007, Audi partnered with the Alpine World Ski Championships as vehicle sponsor.

“Not only our vehicles superbly bring all their fortes to bear also on snow, thanks to quattro drive, but for the Audi brand as well, winter sport provides an ideal stage to demonstrate innovation, dynamics and sporty performance,” says Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Management Board for Marketing and Sales of AUDI AG. “The role of Presenting Sponsor at the World Championships perfectly fits our commitment as the name-giver to the Audi FIS World Ski Cup. We are already looking forward to thrilling competitions between the international top-caliber athletes under the symbol of the Four Rings.”

Showing its presence at world championships is just one element of AUDI AG’s wide range of commitments in alpine winter sport. 2010 now marks the eighth year in which Audi has been supporting and giving its name to the Audi FIS Ski World Cup and acting as the partner to tradition-steeped events like the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel.

For 25 years, the Four Rings have been the main sponsor of the German Ski Federation (DSV). In addition, Audi supports the alpine national teams of Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, France, Liechtenstein, Italy, Bulgaria and the Netherlands as well as the athletes from Austria and the United States – and not only as a financial sponsor but also as a partner at numerous joint events. Athletes, coaches and officials of the teams safely arrive at training sessions and World Cup events in Audi models with quattro. On the slope, as well, the athletes bank on Vorsprung durch Technik: They regularly train at the Audi wind tunnel center in Ingolstadt to secure a crucial advantage in the fierce competitions.