BTCC: Austin satisfied and furstrated with Brands Hatch qualifying

Rob Austin Racing Press Release

• “Car is good enough for pole position” he says after qualifying 11th

“I’m quite happy but frustrated at the same time,” declared Worcestershire’s Rob Austin after qualifying his Exocet Racing Audi 11th fastest – just 0.260s away from pole position – in the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship’s first qualifying session of 2014 at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

Rob added: “We’ve still got this bit of understeer which I’d say is costing us around two tenths of a second. I genuinely believe the car is good enough for pole position. It’s nice to be right in the ball park time-wise, but you can see why I’m a bit miffed with it.”

It means Rob (Evesham) will line up on the sixth row of the grid for the first of tomorrow’s opening three races of the new BTCC season which will be shown live as part of a mammoth seven and a half hour broadcast on ITV4 (10.30am-6.00pm).

He said: “Looking at the positives that qualifying session is the only time all year all the grid will qualify with no success ballast in their cars so to be on the pace straight out of the blocks shows our pre-season testing form was true. I also believe our race pace will be stronger tomorrow than a number of cars who will be starting in front of me.”

Meanwhile Rob’s new 2014 team-mate Hunter Abbott (Maidenhead) qualified 21st fastest of the 30 runners for his big BTCC debut. Still acclimatising to a BTCC car – his Rob Austin Racing-prepared AlcoSense Breathalysers Racing Audi – plus the Dunlop race tyres used in the championship he was impressively just 0.773s off pole position.

“My first BTCC qualifying session started with a bit of a bang – a number of cars I was in the middle of all shuffled up and I had to take to the grass on a new set of tyres to avoid any contact!” explained Hunter. “Other than that it was fairly straightforward but it’s all about time in the car and learning how to get the most out of these tyres.

“Like Rob I think there are a number of cars in front of me on the grid who won’t be as strong in race trim tomorrow so I’m aiming to make up places, push for results in the top 15 and score championship points.”

Timetable: Rob Austin Racing, Brands Hatch BTCC Sunday 30 March 2014
9.10am-9.40am Pit Lane Autograph Session; 11.45am BTCC Race 1; 2.15pm; BTCC Race 2; 5.00pm BTCC Race 3 (all races 24 laps/29.28 miles)

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Photos of the Audi teams in the Donington Park BTCC Media Day

By Tarek Ramchani

More Audi than ever this year in the demanding British Touring Car Championship. Two teams and three cars, with Audi the only brand with two diffrent models.

Rob Austin Racing is back for the fourth straight year with a pair of Audi A4 NGTC. Rotek Racing will debut in BTCC with their brand new Audi S3 Sedan. Both cars look great and they are clearly fans' favourites. Both team will be eager to shine in what is seen as the best field in British Touring Championship since the popular Super Touring era.

Our friend Phil Laughton was at Donington Park this week covering the traditional BTCC Media Day providing a great photo coverage of the event. Phil Laughton full photo gallery from Donington Park can be seen HERE.

The 2014 BTCC season will kick off at Brands Hatch (Indy circuit), March 29th and 30th.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

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

Gallery: Rothmans Audi quattro at Race Retro 2014

By Tarek Ramchani

Coventry is hosting this weekend the International Historic Motorsport Show also known as Race Retro.

Our friend Phil Laughton is on site providing a great photo coverage. Here some beautiful shots featuring an Audi quattro with the legendary Rothmans livery.

Phil Laughton Photography day one photo coverage of Race Retro can be seen here. More about Race Retro 2014 can be seen here.

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

BTCC: Rob Austin Racing 2013 British Touring Car Championship season review

By Tarek Ramchani and Johan Laubscher

Rob Austin and his WIX Racing team (Rob Austin Racing) had a sensational 2013 season in the British Touring Car Championship. The only Audi team in the field showed great performances all season long. The Audi A4 NGTC is now a race winning machine, after a maiden victory at Rockingham and an amazing pole position at Knockhill. The team also faced a lot of bad luck and some hard moments, yet Rob Austin was always able to bounce back. Credits also to the "Sherman" fans, massive support for RAR, clearly one of the most popular efforts in the demanding BTCC.

The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below.

Special thanks to our friend Phil Laughton from Phil Laughton Photography, for his great support throughout the BTCC season. Great photo coverage of Rob Austin Racing in the BTCC all season long.

Round 1: Brands Hatch (Indy)

The 2013 BTCC got underway at Brands Hatch. The pair of Audi A4 NGTC cars from WIX Racing (Rob Austin Racing) showed good pace during testing, and Rob Austin continued this good form by qualifying in the top ten. Austin chose to use his soft tires for the first race and he rocketed from seventh to second after the first sequence of corners. He then took the lead and led the first lap of the new BTCC season. Ultimately the soft tires gave in and Austin finished in third. Race two and three saw DNF finishes for Austin with race three seeing a large crash for him. The driver was unharmed and the car has been reported as repairable. Rob’s teammate Will Bratt fought hard and achieved a twelfth and fourteenth.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (30-31/03 - 01/04/2013)

Round 2: Donington Park

Round two of the British Touring Car Championship was held at Donington Park. Rob Austin Racing completed a brilliant repair job, as they successfully repaired the #13 Audi A4 after a massive crash at Brands Hatch last time out. The Audi team expected to perform well at round two, however issues with their straight-line speed hampered them all weekend long. Ultimately they qualified and finished outside of the top ten in all of the races.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (20-21/04/2013)

Round 3: Thruxton

Thruxton is the fastest circuit in Britain, and hosted the third round of the British Touring Car Championship. Rob Austin Racing have been plagued by low top speed performance this year. It was evident at Donginton, but even more so at Thruxton. The team struggled for pace and qualified in the lower half of the field. The three races on the day yielded similar results for the team and their Audi A4s, as they were confined to the rear of the grid.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (4-5/05/2013)

Round 4: Oulton Park

The fourth round of the British Touring Car Championship was held at Oulton Park this weekend. It looked like another tough outing for Rob Austin Racing and their two Audi A4 NGTC race cars. They qualified well down the order with the highest placed RAR Audi in eighteenth. The first race saw both Audis recovering, but they finished outside of the top ten. Rob Austin put in a great drive to grab a top ten in race two, finishing in eighth. The third and final race of the day saw Austin starting third on the reverse grid. He rocketed into the lead and lead half of the race, before being punted out of the lead, he ultimately finished in fifth. His teammate, Will Bratt, came from much further behind and stormed into the top ten finishing in sixth place.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (8-9/06/2013)

Round 5: Croft

Croft hosted the fifth meeting of the British Touring Car Championship this weekend. Rob Austin Racing and their two Audi A4 NGTC cars were at the event and showed good initial pace during practice. However they qualified in the lower half of the top twenty. The first race saw both Audis improving as Austin got up to thirteenth and Bratt fifteenth. Race two yielded similar results as Austin finished in fourteenth and Bratt eighteenth. During the third and final race of the day Rob Austin was able to finish in eleventh.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (22-23/06/2013)

Round 6: Snetterton

The British Touring Car Championship concluded its summer break this weekend as the series headed to Snetterton for round six. The two Audi A4 NGTC cars from Rob Austin Racing showed good pace this weekend, following a few difficult outings. Rob Austin was the highest placed Audi during qualifying with twelfth place. Race one ended with Austin finishing fifteenth and a retirement for his teammate Will Bratt. The second race saw Austin battling well and he progressed into the top ten, but he dropped to fourteenth on the last lap. He was followed by his teammate in sixteenth. Austin was as high as sixth during race three, but he ultimately finished in twelfth place and Bratt had a second retirement for the day.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (3-4/08/2013)

Round 7: Knockhill

Knockhill in Scotland was the setting for round seven of the British Touring Car Championship. Both Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 NGTC cars were entered, driven by Rob Austin and Will Bratt. Rob got the weekend off to a good start by setting the pace in free practice one. He continued this good form by highlighting the day with pole position for race one. This was Rob Austin’s first BTCC pole, and the first Audi on pole in the BTCC since 1997. Race one saw Austin finishing third, followed by second in race two and fifth after the reverse grid in race three. His teammate Will Bratt had a difficult day, but he was able to recover to eleventh in race three.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (24-25/08/2013)

Round 8: Rockingham

The British Touring Car Championship held round eight at Rockingham. Both of Rob Austin Racing’s Audi a4 NGTC cars showed good pace this weekend. Rob Austin qualified third for race one followed by his teammate, Will Bratt, qualifying in tenth. Race one saw Rob dropping to ninth on the first lap, along with a crash further back involving Will Bratt. Bratt unfortunately retired and was out for race one and two. Austin was able to storm back to third by the finish. Austin stormed to the front during race two and successfully defended his lead to take his first ever BTCC race win, the first Audi BTCC victory since 1997. The third and final race of the day saw Austin finishing ninth after the reverse grid and Bratt unfortunately retiring once again.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (14-15/09/2013)

Round 9: Silverstone

The penultimate BTCC round headed to Silverstone, running on the national circuit this weekend. Rob Austin Racing was back on the grid with their two Audi A4 NGTC race cars. The team was on a high following their maiden BTCC victory with Rob Austin at Rockingham last time out. Qualifying saw the Audis in seventeenth and nineteenth, with Bratt ahead of Austin. Rob Austin was able to recover during race one, as he went from nineteenth to twelfth. Race two saw an unfortunate crash for Rob Austin, but his teammate, Will Bratt, was able to score twelfth place. The third and final race saw Rob Austin finishing in seventeenth.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (28-29/09/2013)

Round 10: Brands Hatch (Grand Prix)

The BTCC finale was held at Brands Hatch this weekend. Rob Austin Racing fielded both of their Audi A4 NGTC cars, with a new look. Rob Austin Racing was back with his #13 Wix Racing A4 and he was joined by a new teammate. Youngster, Jake Hill, joined RAR driving the #9 Exocet Racing Audi A4. Hill showed excellent pace all weekend long and was able to qualifying in tenth place, followed by Rob Austin in thirteenth. Races one and two on Sunday saw Hill finishing fourteenth and eleventh respectively, whilst Rob Austin unfortunately retired from both races. The third and final race of the day and the season saw Hill finishing fifteenth and Austin eighteenth.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (12-13/10/2013)

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Rob Austin a true hero in British Touring Cars

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin made history last weekend at Rockingham. The driver of the #13 Audi A4 NGTC not only took his first career victory in BTCC but also gave the Audi brand a first win in the series since 1997.

It took three years of hard work and a lot of ups and downs to Rob Austin to achieve this maiden result. The car always been among the strongest of the field but lady luck turned her back too many times. Now the Audi A4 NGTC improved a lot and able to challenge the front runners of the factory Honda and MG teams as well the strong privateer cars from BMW, Ford and MG. Sunday's win at Rockingham confirmed the great pefromances of Knockhill in Scotland last time out.

Rob Austin was delighted after his success last Sunday in Race 2. Joy and happiness for the privateer Audi driver, his team crew and on the grandstands of Rockingham Speedway. "Sherman" is clearly a fans' favorite in BTCC.

Rob Austin dedicated his victory to his fans and thanked them for their huge support all season long.

"Like I have said before, there have been times where we nearly jacked it all in, not through choice. We have been on the verge of bankruptcy and they saved us last year with the roof scheme and then this year with the t-shirts. That crash at Brands took a big chunk of our budget and we had looked like we were going to miss a round or two because of it.

It is just really humbling though to have this kind of support and it is as much of a win for the fans and my team as it is for me. If it wasn’t for their generosity and support we wouldn’t be here to have achieved the win" (quotes sourced from BTCC Crazy)

The next round of the British Touring Car Championship will be at Silverstone in two weeks time. Rob Austin and his WIX Racing will target other strong performances and podium finishes.

You can read BTCC Crazy full interview with Rob Austin right here.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Rob Austin Audi ends Rockingham race 3 in ninth

By Tarek Ramchani

Following his maiden BTCC race win today at Rockingham, Rob Austin was eager to perfrom well in the final race of the day.

Carrying extra weight after his victory in the second race, Rob Austin knew from the start he will not be able to fight for the race win again. The driver of the #13 Audi A5 NGTC fought really hard with a heavier car and had some nice fights on track. In the closing stages of the race, Rob Austin had a great battle with the privateer Toyota Avensis of Dave Newsham. Both drivers had a contact, Dave Newsham spun but Rob Austin allowed him to retake his position again. The Audi finished in ninth place in the end.

Bad luck hit again the second Audi A4 of the field. Will Bratt did not finished the race as the #14 Audi A4 NGTC retired after 13 laps into the race.

Race win went to the new BTCC points standing leader Andrew Jordan with this Honda Civic. Second place for Colin Turkington with the BMW 125i M Sport and third Jason Plato with the MG6 GT.

Overall it was a magical Rockingham weekend for Rob Austin and his team WIX Racing. A sensational win for the Audi A4 in a very demanding BTCC field, finally Sherman did after three long years of hard work.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Rob Austin made history for Audi by winning Rockingham race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin just made history at Rockingahm. The team owner and driver of the Audi A4 NGTC won with style the second race of the day.

"Sherman" lead the race from the green lights to the checkered flag. Starting from third place, Rob Austin jumped took the race lead in the first hairpin passing both Mat Jackson's Ford Focus and race 1 winner Andrew Jordan and his Honda Civic.

Rob Austin was simply flying on track with a very strong pace. Only Honda's man Gordon Shedden was able to follow him, but was never able to challenge the Audi driver. Rob Austin crossed the finish line victorious with a 4-second gap ahead of the Honda Civic of the 2012 BTCC champion.

This was the first Audi BTCC victory since 1997. The last time that an Audi was victorious in the BTCC was Frank Biela driving an Audi A4 quattro STW in race one at Brands Hatch held on 7 September 1997.

Will Bratt with the second Audi A4 NGTC unfortunatelly did not start the race.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Sensational third place for Rob Austin Audi in Rockingham race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

After a very strong qualifying session yesterday, Rob Austin again performed very well in today's Race 1. The Audi driver had a fine third place in a very chaotic race.

Rob Austin with his #13 Audi A4 NGTC started from third place but lost several positions at the start. Behind bad luck hit his team mate Will Bratt. The driver of the #14 Audi A4 NGTC spun and was collected by a Ford Focus. Will Bratt was forced to retire. The Safety Car was deployed and Rob Austin was running ninth after his bad start. When the race resumed Rob Austin started a great recovery passing the drivers in front of him one by one. "Sherman" was flying on track setting the fastest lap times of the race. With some laps left Rob Austin was able to overtake the works MG of Jason Plato after a titanic battle for fourth place. Two lap later Rob Austin passed the factory Honda of Gordon Shedden in the last corner of the last lap. Rob Austin takes a fine podium confirming the strong pace of his WIX Racing Audi A4 NGTC.

Race 2 is coming next. Rob Austin will start from third place again, whilst Will Bratt will start from the back.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Strong third for Rob Austin Audi in Rockingham qualifying

By Tarek Ramchani

After a maiden pole position last time out in Scotland, Rob Austin showed again a very strong pace today in Rockingham qualifying. The team owner and driver of the #13 Audi A4 NGTC qualified in a strong third.

Rob Austin with his WIX Racing backed Audi set a time of 1:22.588. Rob Austin will start third behind the two factory MG cars of poleman Jason Plato and the second placed Sam Tordoff. "Sherman" was only 0.238 behind Jason Plato's lap time. A great result for a true privateer effort beating the factory Honda team as well the strong independent rivals from BMW, Ford and Toyota.

A positive qualifying session for Will Bratt too. The driver of the #14 Audi A4 NGTC made into the top 10, with a fine tenth in a very demanding British Touring Cars field.

All three races are set for tomorrow. Fingers crossed for Rob Austin Racing and their two drivers.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

Gallery: Audi at Goodwood Festival of Speed

By Tarek Ramchani

Goodwood is the place to be for motorsport enthusiasts this weekend. Annually this famous British venue is the home of an impressive meeting, featuring great cars and brands. From Formula One to Le Mans Prototypes, Rally cars and more. As per usual Audi was very well represented. A massive presence from Audi UK and Audi Tradition. A selection of Audi cars were on display for the delight of the British racing fans.

Here is a great set of photos from Goodwood by our friend Phil Laughton.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography