I will never forget the moment.
Standing at the Circuit de la Sarthe in the early morning hours — exhausted, nervous, but hopeful — watching as the Audi R18 e-tron quattro pushed relentlessly through the final hours of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Not as a spectator.
Not as a fan.
But as part of the team — carrying the weight of knowing that even my small piece of the performance puzzle needed to do its job perfectly.
That’s when the leadership lessons of endurance racing come alive:
It’s not about starting fast.
It’s about finishing strong.
And you can’t do it alone.
Earlier that week, we had flown from Munich directly to the Le Mans airfield — landing beside the famous circuit. Audi had built an entire hospitality hotel within the track, immersing guests and team members alike in the intensity of the race.
But this was no ordinary race.
In 2014, endurance racing was still in a golden age of innovation. Regulations allowed — even encouraged — different solutions. Porsche, Toyota, and Audi each arrived with completely different hybrid concepts.
- Different powertrains.
- Different energy recovery systems.
- Different design philosophies.
No one knew which approach would survive 24 hours of full-speed racing through the day, night, rain, and sun.
That is the beauty — and the brutal truth — of endurance racing.
You must deliver under relentless pressure. At full speed. All the way to the end.
It’s never about one star driver — nor just three drivers rotating through the night.
It’s about the system. The whole team.
Engineers, strategists, mechanics, partners, logistics, leadership, support staff — every single person aligned to a common goal. Every person doing their job knowing that a single mistake can unravel 24 hours of perfect performance.
That is leadership.
It is about building trust — because without trust, the system collapses.
It is about clarity of purpose — because without it, people lose direction under stress.
It is about resilience — because something will go wrong, and how you respond defines success.
I also carry very personal memories of that time. I had the privilege to work closely with extraordinary Audi colleagues — people of great discipline and humility. Together we shared not only the tension of that race, but the celebration when our car took the victory.
That moment taught me something I have carried into every leadership role since:
Speed matters. But endurance wins.
And endurance, in racing or in business, is always a team sport.
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