BTCC: Austin hails 'Invaluable' test at iconic Brands Hatch circuit

Rob Austin Racing Press Release

• Team racks up the laps ahead of BTCC season-opener

Worcestershire team Rob Austin Racing today continued its testing programme at the legendary Brands Hatch circuit in Kent that will host the opening race event of the new Dunlop British Touring Car Championship season in just over a month's time.

Exocet Racing-backed driver Rob Austin completed 80 laps of the venue's shorter Indy circuit where on Sunday 30 March he will line up on the grid for the first three BTCC races of 2014 in front of live ITV cameras and an expected trackside crowd of tens of thousands of people.

It was the latest in a series of tests for Rob and his famous Audi 'Sherman' which has already completed plenty of running at other circuits including Silverstone, Oulton Park, Donington Park and Thruxton during the past month.

Austin commented: "It has been an invaluable test day, our best yet – better even than at Donington a few weeks ago. We have got through so much set-up work and been able try all sorts of different tweaks, plus both long and short-distance runs on different types of tyre compounds.

"Knowing what we've been working on we've probably surprised even ourselves slightly with the pace we've achieved today. I've said it before and I'll say it again – the car just feels dynamite and my team have done the most amazing job back at base in Pershore. We've got some more testing planned for next week and it's great to know we'll be hitting the ground running when we arrive for the BTCC's pre-season Media Day launch in mid-March."

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Austin plays down form after Oulton & Donington tests

Rob Austin Racing Press Release

Worcestershire’s Rob Austin is keen to play down his team’s pre-season testing form ahead of the new Dunlop British Touring Car season despite a notable increase in performance with its Audi A4 race car in three days of testing at the Oulton Park and Donington Park circuits.

Exocet Racing-backed Austin managed plenty of trouble-free laps on Tuesday in wet and then dry conditions at Oulton in Cheshire aboard his Audi – nicknamed Sherman. A waterlogged track surface forced the Pershore-based squad to cut short its Wednesday programme as it then headed to Donington on the Derbys-Leics border for 60 laps of dry running today.

Evesham racer Austin, whose team was one of only five to win in last year’s BTCC, commented: “The raw pace we seem to be getting – even in very cold conditions – is awesome. We’ve been able to compare ourselves against the factory MG and Honda cars as well as reigning champ Andrew Jordan’s Honda and all I’ll say is I’m pretty chuffed with our lap times. It is always impossible to know what the others are up to in testing and you know they’ve probably got something up their sleeves with the extra resources they have, but we’re heading back to base tonight in a very good mood.

“The car hasn’t missed a beat and we’ve been able to get through a lot of set-up changes, plus really work a lot on the suspension side of things which is crucial. Every time we make even a small tweak it makes a difference which is always a good sign. All my team have done a phenomenal job.”

Austin has at least two more tests planned prior to the BTCC’s high-profile Media Day season launch back at Donington on Tuesday 18 March. Then there will be just 12 days to go before the BTCC – Britain’s biggest motor racing spectacle which is broadcast live on ITV4 – bursts into action with the first of its ten race events in 2014 at Brands Hatch in Kent on Sunday 30 March.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Rob Austin Racing tested the Audi A4 NGTC at Oulton Park

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin Racing has had a great start this year. After successful test days at Silverstone, the Audi team was at Oulton Park for further tests this week, preparing Sherman, their Audi A4 NGTC, for the 2014 BTCC season.

The Audi A4 NGTC is a race winning machine in the demanding British Touring Car Championship. In 2013 Rob Austin took a sensational race victory at Rockingham and weeks earlier a fine pole position at Knockhill in Scotland, with a fully privateer team and effort.

The Silverstone and Oulton Park tests will help the team improve an already strong car. At the moment only Rob Austin has been confirmed as the first driver of the Exocet Racing backed Audi, the name of the second driver will be unveiled soon.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography