Four-part Feature Film: Audi Sport triumphant at the Spa 24 Hours

I’m a great believer in the power of online video for telling a story, but also in reaching an audience beyond that which the written word can achieve. Consider how moving pictures can transcend the language barrier – even without subtitles.

We’ve also been observing the differing levels of engagement with videos on SkiddPlayer especially for the less-obvious viewers, such as women or those people in their golden years (50-70 year olds).

I’ve written before about why these groups are more valuable than many marketers realise, but to quickly recap – women are most influential in the final buying decision of a car, but often passive and disengaged in the early stages, this makes them harder to reach because you’re unlikely to find them with their nose in a car magazine or voicing their opinions on an enthusiast forum but very valuable nonetheless.

Meanwhile core enthusiasts tend to hold pretty firm opinions on which brands they like and it can prove quite expensive to challenge those preconceptions, the floating buyers (i.e. those without a fixed affiliation) on the other hand are unlikely to spend much time thinking about a car brand until such time as they choose to buy.

That’s where video comes in and for car makers such as Audi seeking to grow their customer base, it’s a great medium through which to influence these undecided buyers.

The Race

What’s this got to do with Audi Sport at the Spa 24 Hours?

Well, perhaps the best answer is to watch the videos below. Although motorsport is a specialist subject, many millions of us enjoy watching it – however most written coverage can feel intimidating to the casual viewer, hence the increased popularity of online video.

The following series of 4 videos tell the story of the Audi Sport Team WRT as they prepare and then compete in the Spa 24 Hours – we reckon they’re some of the best content we’ve seen from a car maker with a great balance of humour, passion and drama.

A quick update on the Spa 24 Hours before you watch the videos. Audi were victorious against GT cars from twelve other manufacturers, underpinned by their top DTM drivers Mattias Ekström and Timo Scheider. Audi led 22 of the 24 hours, with the winning #33 R8 LMS capturing the lead at the start of the tenth hour and holding it until the chequered flag. Just after midnight three R8 LMS actually occupied the first three positions, but due to incidents during the night the other two factory cars finished up 4th and 14th.

We’re getting used to seeing Audi’s Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, in an emotional state at the end of each Le Mans 24 Hours and you’ll witness the same display of emotions in Episode #2 of the race coverage below. If you get a spare 20 mins to watch them all, then they’re well worth the effort.

Audi: The 24 hours of Spa – Qualifying

Audi: The 24 hours of Spa – Before the race

Audi: The 24 hours of Spa – The Race Part 1

Audi: The 24 hours of Spa – The Race Part 2

Audi Race Experience

If watching these has whetted your appetite, then subject to scraping together sufficient funds it could be you in the driving seat next year. The Audi Race Experience offers customers the opportunity to contest races with the Audi R8 LMS themselves – and on request even accompany professional race drivers.

The vehicles are prepared and fielded by one of the world’s most successful sports car teams: 6-time Le Mans winners Reinhold Joest and races include the VLN feature round at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. If you’d like to find out more, visit the Audi Driving Experience website.