Emanuele Pirro, Dindo Capello and the Audi A4 quattro dominated the 1995 Italian Superturismo

By Tarek Ramchani

The Italian Superturismo was one of the big three in European touring car racing during the 1990's, along with the BTCC and the German STW. Audi Sport Italia was the team which represented the Ingolstadt brand in Italy. They first competed with the Audi 80 Competition during 1994, before switching to the all conquering Audi A4 STW quattro from 1995 onward.

The 1995 season was very successful for Audi Sport Italia. A two-car effort with great drivers, who would later become true legends at Audi: Emanuele Pirro and Dindo Capello. Audi faced world class competition from the strong works Alfa Romeo and BMW teams, with big names such as Fabrizio Giovanardi, Gabriele Tarquini and Gianni Morbidelli. At the end of the season Emanuele Pirro was crowned champion ahead of his team-mate Dindo Capello, to the delight of Audi Motorsport boss, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

Here is a great season review from that great year, the video is embedded below. It is in Italian, but well worth the watch for Audi enthusiasts and touring car racing fans.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia

CMRC: Doug Gore dominates Dover with his ABT-Audi TT-R

By Johan Laubscher

The Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) got underway at Dover in Jamaica last weekend. Two Audi race cars were entered in the event: The ATL Automotive ABT-Audi TT-R driven by Doug Gore and the extensively modified Audi A4 STW driven by Doug Maloney.

Dover is Jamaica’s premiere race circuit and Doug Gore has been unbeaten so far this year, within all the Jamaican events. Gore competes for the Team Jamaica squad within the CMRC competitors, listed by their Caribbean country of origin. It is the second season that the ABT-Audi TT-R has been allowed in the CMRC. The car arrived in the Caribbean during 2011 but was disallowed to compete in the CMRC, due to being underweight. 

The ATL Audi was finally allowed to compete during 2012, but misfortune struck the team at this very round last year, the CMRC season opener of 2012. Doug Gore was involved in a first-corner crash during the very first race of the season. The resulting damage ended the ATL Automotive team’s season, as the car needed to be returned to ABT Sportsline in Germany for serious repairs. The ATL ABT-Audi TT-R was eventually repaired and returned to Jamaica at the beginning of 2013, and has since been unbeaten all year.

The second Audi is that of Doug Maloney, an ex-Super Touring Audi A4 STW. His car arrived in Barbados during 2007 and has been modified by the Maloney Racing Team. He has competed in the Barbadian BARL series and the CMRC since the car’s arrival in 2007. Maloney competes for Team Barbados within the CMRC.

The 2013 season opener at Dover was set to be another clash between all the big names in Jamaica: Gore (Audi) vs Summerbell (Mitsubishi) vs Rae (Mazda), all competing within Group 4 of the CMRC. The weekend got off to a good start as Doug Gore dominated the proceedings by taking pole position, whilst Maloney qualified his A4 in eighth.

Doug Gore continued his dominant form as he went on to make it three from three on the day, taking all three CMRC race victories. Admittedly Gore’s biggest opposition, David Summerbell in the Mitsubishi, unfortunately retired from race one with gearbox issues, which put him out for the rest of the day. Doug Maloney also performed very well with his Audi A4 STW, as he finished on the podium in all three races. Maloney finished third in races one and three, and he finished second behind Gore for an Audi 1-2 in race two.

It was a great day for the ATL Automotive team, who remain unbeaten in Jamaica this year.  

More information:
Jamaican Tuner on Facebook
 

Photo credit: D_MONTii Motography N More (Donavan Montague) / Jamaican Tuner

Audi Super Touring action in the Hills of Europe

By Johan Laubscher

There are many categories and formulas in the world of motorsport. Many of these formulas have come and gone, but sometimes a formula becomes so popular that even years after its demise people still talk about it fondly. One such formula took over the world during the 1990’s. It was raced across almost all of the continents in the world. It was the FIA Class II formula, or more commonly known as, Super Touring. It provided spectacular racing as the sedans from all the major manufactures battled it out on track in the win on Sunday, sell on Monday grand prix.

Audi was one of the front runners in the formula and with quattro four wheel drive they dominated for many seasons with the Audi A4 quattro STW. The car was so good that it eventually lead to the abolishment of four wheel drive within the rules, to negate the “unfair advantage.” Now in current times the Super Touring formula has been gone for just over a decade, but many of the cars still compete. A popular endeavour for these cars, especially the Audi with quattro, is Hillclimb racing. The Audi is a particular favourite among drivers in European Hillclimbing. We have included a video below which demonstrates why. The videos shows the excitement from these events as Santi Abad pushes his Audi A4 STW to the limits in the Galician Hillclimb Championship. The video is well worth the watch for the action and that unmistakable engine note of the Super Touring A4. 

The monstrous metamorphosis of an Audi A4 STW

By Johan Laubscher

1995 Audi A4 STW

The Audi A4 STW was a dominant force in the world of Super Touringcar racing. It arrived in 1995 and immediately became a very competitive car. The car’s weapon was quattro four wheel drive. It had superior braking and road holding thanks to quattro, and even more so when it was wet. During the race car’s lifetime Audi Sport had built over forty of these Audi A4 super touring race cars. Many of them continued racing in other formulas after the demise of the Super Touring category. The cars proved to be very popular in Hillclimbing and various national series where many still compete today.

2012 Audi in Barbados

One of the cars, chassis #ST003 has had a very interesting life. The car is still racing today, but maybe not where you would expect. Since 2007 this Audi A4 calls Barbados its home. In its current form the car represents a monstrous wide-bodied racer. The car is barely recognisable and now boasts huge turbo power.

Neuspeed Audi A4 STW

A brief look at the cars history reveals that it spent time in the German and Australian Super Touring car series. After its official race career the car was restored and turbocharged during 2003 by Neuspeed in California. The immaculate silver Audi A4 now had over 500 hp. The car was sold to and raced by Ric Wood in the 2005 and 2006 Dutch Supercar Challenge seasons. At the end of 2006 the car was sold to its current owner and driver, Doug Maloney of Barbados.

2007 Audi in Barbados

The car arrived in Barbados still in the silver and yellow livery. It was competitive from the word go. The car has been competing in the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) and the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) since 2007. The car received its green and red livery after its first few races, a livery which has remained on the car ever since.

2012 Audi in Barbados

This Audi A4's development continued in Barbados as more power was generated and even radiators in the boot. Doug and his A4 have achieved much success in the various local championships. During 2011 the A4 underwent further modification in the form of wider tires accompanied by wider bodywork. Many may not agree with modifying an original Audi Sport factory race car like this, but everyone has to admit, this car has presence. Despite this car being a far cry from its original specification, it is still great to see the old Audi Sport race cars remaining in action. There is a story behind each and every race car, a lifetime that the car has endured. This Audi A4 is an example of just that, it has been to all the corners of the globe, and long may its racing career continue. 

More information:
JustBajan.com website
JustBajan.com Motorsport section and galleries
NeuSpeed.com feature on the Audi
Fourtitude gallery of the Neuspeed Audi A4

The photos are hosted at JustBajan.com and Fourtitude.com

Video: The legendary Frank Biela BTCC Audi A4 returns to Knockhill

By Johan Laubscher

Knockhill hosted the annual Scottish BTCC round this past weekend. The track held a very special twenty years of BTCC anniversary. Amoungst the legendary machines at the track was the Audi A4 STW which was driven by Audi legend, Frank Biela, during the 1997 BTCC season.

It is very special that this Audi A4 is included in the anniversary celebrations as the quattro technology is very much a part of Knockhill’s history. It debuted in 1996 and provided Audi Sport UK with a 1-2 finish. The final appearance of the four wheel drive technology came in 1997 when the Audis achieved a double 1-2 finish on the day. Quattro was perfectly suited to the short twisty nature of the Knockhill circuit and held the lap record for quite some time. 

Below are some great photos from the BTCC anniversary along with the race footage from 1996 and 1997. Enjoy viewing these beautiful Audi race cars again in these photos and videos. 

1996 BTCC Round 17 at Knockhill

1997 BTCC Round 15 and 16 at Knockhill

Thanks to the official Knockhill Facebook page and Power Images Photography for the beautiful photos from this weekend. 

More information:
Power Images website
Power Images FB page

Knockhill FB page

Knockhill wesbite

Video: The Return of the Four Rings - Audi 1996 BTCC

By Johan Laubscher

The 1996 British Touring Car Championship was headlined by the return of Audi to British saloon car racing, and the subsequent quattro domination. Quattro took the world by storm in 1996, taking seven national Super Touring titles: Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Belgium, South Africa and Great Britain. Leading the 1996 British Audi effort was the 1995 World Champion, Frank Biela. In their first year back in British saloon type racing since 1981 and the silver machines from Audi dominated the series. Despite heavy penalties during the season, the cars from Audi, armed with four wheel drive, soldiered on towards the triple-crown (drivers, teams and manufactures titles).

Audi Sport UK produced an excellent documentary which covered the entire 1996 season. It was aptly titled: The Return of the Four Rings. The video was produced and distributed after the end of the 1996 season. It is a brilliant documentary which provides great insight into the 1996 Audi Sport UK BTCC campaign. 

The sound of Audi Sport - Der Klang Der Ringe

By Johan Laubscher

Audi have produced many iconic race cars. All of the Audi cars have their own unique sounds, many of which, like the five cylinder turbo cars, have become legendary. Below are nine YouTube videos featuring Audi race car sound recordings. The soundtrack is from the “Der Klang Der Ringe” which has driver interviews and recordings from eight legendary Audi race cars. Imagery of the specific car has been included by the YouTube user who uploaded the soundtrack as videos. The sounds from these recordings which all include onboard and outside recorded sound, are brilliant, enjoy: 

Each video begins with a short interview followed by trackside and then in-car recordings and ends with a closing interview.

Introduction 

Auto Union Type C 

Audi Sport quattro S1 E2

Audi 90 IMSA GTO

Audi V8 DTM

Audi A4 STW 

Audi R8 LMP

Audi A4 DTM

Note: Not all of the images in the videos are correct, especially the Audi R8 video which shows the Audi R15 plus. These images were included in the videos by the user who uploaded them onto YouTube. These incorrect images are not from the Audi Motorsport blog.

Video: Battle of Supertouring titans: Audi A4 STW vs. Alfa 155

By Tarek Ramchani

We are all lovers of the golden Supertouring era, great cars and great racing all over Europe and beyond. Audi were among the best of the field with the all conquering Audi A4 STW. The car won multiple races and championship titles. One of the most beautiful series was the demanding Italian Superturismo with multiple factory teams. Here is a titanic battle at Varano during the 1997 season between Audi Sport Italia driver Karl Wendlinger and the works Alfa Romeo 155 of touring car ace Fabrizio Giovanardi. Door to door action during one of the most fought touring car duels ever seen. The two drivers switching positions at almost every corner. Enjoy.

Audi A4 quattro Super Touring on Facebook

Video: 1996 quattro world domination

By Johan Laubscher

In 1996 Audi dominated the world of Super Touring racing with the Audi A4 STW. The brand competed in seven countries and at the end of 1996 it was crowned champion in all seven countries. Here is a list of the 1996 winners and the annual Audi Sport video. In the past Audi produced a video documenting each motorsport season, this video documents the 1996 season and is adequately named “Audi weltweit auf Titeljagt 1996” which in English means “Audi’s world title hunt”. The video is unfortunately in German, however it is still a great watch and the pictures speak a universal language. Enjoy:

Audi weltweit auf Titeljagt 1996 Part 1 

Audi weltweit auf Titeljagt 1996 Part 1 

The 1996 Champions