Audi 200 Trans-Am & Audi S4 GTO at 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

By Johan Laubscher

The 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion was held at Laguna Seca this past weekend. Two very potent Audis made an appearance at the event, both owned by Eurospec Sport.

Speedhunters were at the event and provided beautiful photos of both Audis, those can be seen HERE.

Eurospec Sport is a long-established Audi/Volkswagen racing component manufacture in North America. The company is also well known amongst Audi enthusiasts for their exceptional Audi race car collection, which features many sought-after Audi classics, including DTM / Trans-Am and IMSA related Audis.

At the 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion they entered their 1988 Audi 200 Trans-Am (chassis #TA4) in Group 6B of the historic racing. Steve Zlotkin, the car's owner, was behind the wheel of the Audi. This Audi 200 Trans-Am has been seen at a number of North American historic events at Sonoma and Leguna Seca in recent years. This Audi was used in the 1988 SCCA Trans-Am Series, driven by both Walter Röhrl and Hans-Joachim Stuck during the season. The same car also competed and won in the South African Wesbank Modifieds Championship from 1989 until 1994, being driven by Sarel van der Merwe (89-90), Terry Moss (91-92) and Larry Wilford (93-94).

The second Audi present was an ex-Audi Sport South Africa Rothmans Audi S4 GTO, also owned by Zlotkin at Eurospec. It was on display alongside the Audi 200 Trans-Am. This Audi S4 GTO is the ex-Stuck/Aberdein car which raced in the South African Wesbank Modifieds Championship from 1992-1994.

Speedhunters were at the event and provided beautiful photos of both Audis, those can be seen HERE.

It is great to see these older legendary Audi race cars still making appearances at historic racing events, which is a testament to passionate individuals such as Eurospec Sport. 

Photo credit: Eurospec Sport

Video: Audi Trans Am domination in South Africa

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi 200 Trans Am competed in and dominated the 1988 American SCCA Trans Am series. One of the Audi cars arrived in South Africa during 1989 for the Wesbank Modifieds Championship. The car was an immediate success. 

This specific car (chassis #TA4) was driven in South Africa by Sarel van der Merwe during 1989. The car was numbered #A6. More can be read about this period in South African motorsport HERE.

We have included an embedded YouTube video below which shows some rare footage from 1989. The video includes the Wesbank Modifieds rounds held at Zwartkops in Pretoria, SA. The track is well known for being a favourite for four wheel drive cars and you will be able to see the 200 Trans Am in action in the wet and in the dry. 

Photo credit: RacePics

Video: 1988 Trans Am Audi Documentary

By Johan Laubscher

The 1988 Trans Am series came under siege from Germany. Audi had sent a pair of race cars to form the quattro assault on the American motorsport scene. The Audi 200 TransAm was extremely successful and overcame performance penalties to become the 1988 champions with Hurley Haywood.

Below is the 1988 season video from Audi, which includes the TransAm championship. It is unfortunately only in German, however the scenes and sounds speak a universal language and it is still well worth the watch, enjoy. 

Video: Onboard the Audi Trans Am and GTO legends

By Johan Laubscher

American racing witnessed two great Audi race car models at the end of the 1980s. 1988 had the Audi 200 Trans Am and 1989 the Audi 90 IMSA GTO. Both of these cars became legends of the sport. The car’s legacies continued in South Africa from 1989-1994 as two of the 200 Trans Am cars and two Audi S4 GTO cars competed. The S4 GTO was closely based on the 90 IMSA GTO.

The most memorable facts of these cars were their speed, grip and most of all their sound. The cars made a glorious noise as the five cylinder engine note was mixed with the turbocharger. Below are all the onboard videos available on YouTube of these cars. Enjoy: 

1989 IMSA GTO - Hurley Haywood in the Audi 90 IMSA GTO

1989 Audi 90 IMSA GTO - Hurley Haywood

1989 South African Wesbank Modifieds - Sarel van der Merwe in the Audi 200 Trans Am

1990 Audi 200 Trans Am - Sarel van der Merwe

1992 South African Wesbank Modifieds - Chris Aberdein in the Audi 200 Trans Am

1991 Audi 200 Trans Am - Chris Aberdein

1993 South African Wesbank Modifieds - Terry Moss in the Audi S4 GTO

1993 Audi S4 GTO - Terry Moss

The South African photos are hosted at www.motorpics.co.za

Video: The Secrets of Speed - Audi Pikes Peak/Trans Am/IMSA GTO documentary

 
By Johan Laubscher

On YouTube there are many Audi documentaries, but amongst these there is a real gem. Many of you may have already watched this, but it is still well worth looking into. Titled the “Secrets of Speed,” it is a must watch for any Audi fan. The three part documentary covers a wide part of the American Audi motorsport history from the late 1980s. It features the Pikes peak efforts followed by the Talledega speed record and the Trans Am and IMSA GTO championships. It is an insightful 22 minutes and is well worth the watch.

Audi North American glorious days in Trans-Am and IMSA series

By Tarek Ramchani

At the end of the Group B era Audi went to America. At the world famous Pikes Peak Hillclimb in the year 1987 they competed with the Sport quattro S1. Audi stayed in the US for the following two years introducing two legendary cars, the 200 quattro Trans-Am and the 90 quattro IMSA GTO. 1988 belonged to Audi as a full factory team joined the Trans-Am series with the 200 quattro. The car dominated the whole season against the local American muscle cars. The drivers were American Hurley Haywood and the Germans Walter Röhrl and Hans Joachim Stuck. In the end an amazing record of eight wins out of thirteen races, after which the SCCA banned AWD cars and non Americans built engines. A year later Audi moved to the demanding IMSA GTO series with a brand new 90 quattro racer. Just like in the Trans-Am series Audi dominated again with the same trio of drivers as in the 1988 SCCA season joined by American Scott Goodyear. The Audi team did not take part at all the early season events and this deficit was the only reason that Audi did not take the championship title, but they did take multiple race victories. Here is a brilliant 25 minutes documentary about this Audi North American domination. Unfortunately the video on YouTube is not complete but it still has amazing footage. Enjoy: