"Panthers" Go For Four Rings

INGOLSTADT - August 11, 2008: The players of ERC Ingolstadt are in for a welcome change from their tough day-to-day practice in the training camp: On Wednesday (13 August) the ice hockey cracks will receive their new Audi “company cars” – along with the opportunity to test a different type of sporting limits at an Audi driving experience.

Despite summer holidays and weather warm enough for swimming – for the ”Panthers” from Ingolstadt the only thing that counts these days is being successful on ice. In the training camp in Garmisch-Partenkirchen coach Benoit Laporte’s team is preparing for the new DEL (German Ice Hockey League) season, which starts with a home match against the Krefeld Penguins on 5 September. A special kind of motivation boost will be given to the players on Wednesday, when the keys to their new “company cars” will be handed over to them. Audi has been a partner of the successful ice hockey team for more than a decade.

The Audi A3 and the Audi A4 are clearly the club’s favourites. Captain Glen Goodall and coach Laporte opted for the medium-sized best-sellers from Ingolstadt as well. With the compact A3, the sportback version is extremely popular with the team. Audi provides a total of 30 vehicles to the players, coaches and officials.

The vehicles will be handed over by Ingolstadt’s plant manager Peter Kössler, and Audi selected a very special setting for the occasion. For one day, the “Panthers” will be taken out of their training camp for an excursion to nearby Seefeld. After receiving their keys, the players will have the chance to further refine their driving style and to get to know the sporting side of the vehicles in a driving experience featuring Audi A4 and Audi A8 models, guided by competent instructors.

The collaboration between Audi and ERC Ingolstadt has been in existence for eleven years. For eight years, the team has been furnished vehicles supported by the Audi Centre in Ingolstadt. In addition to numerous joint activities and events, the partnership is readily evident at each home match: with the four rings displayed on the ice, the scoreboard, the banners as well as on the players’ and the penalty benches, Audi presents itself at the team’s home base, the Saturn Arena.