Myths etc

[John Firkins <firkins@eis.net.au>]

Its probably unwise to step into this thread, given the history of the
protaganists but,rather than fill a book addressing various claims &
assumptions, I offer my observations on supertourers, gained from hanging
around the pits & tracks with a stopwatch. These are not in any particular
order, just as they come to mind.

First off, when looking at any ST race with a q in it, remember that the
quattro is 10% (1070 vs 970kg) heavier than the fwd cars, not an
inconsiderable difference. Pull the 100kg out & there is no competition

This years A4's in Oz were rebuilt by Audi last December. One was Bielas
the other is ex Italy

Anyone interested in roll cage design should have a good look at these
cars, by far the best in the field. By comparison, you could be forgiven
for thinking that Williams dont care too much for their drivers. To be
fair, the Audis dont have too worry too much about weight, so can afford to
have a heavy cage.

They  run on Michelins this year as opposed to Dunlop previously. They are
the same tyres used by the BMW & Volvo. Quote from the Michelin rep at the
end of last years series "Its a pity the Audis were on Dunlops, they would
have run away with the series had they had the same tyres as the BMW's, it
was costing them at least a second a lap, close to 3 seconds at some
circuits" The Dunlops were most likely quattro specific.

Audi is leading the series because of the team, not just the cars. In the
sprint race quattro gives them enough advantage at the start to win, in the
longer race, the team gives the cars at least 2-3 seconds advantage in the
pits & cars that dont break, from memory only 1or 2 dnfs due to mechanical
failure in 3 seasons.

I havent been able to get a good look at this years cars, but up until this
year, the suspension on the Oz cars was different to the factory. The only
visual clue is the use of Koni shocks vs Ohlins

Corner speeds vs the rest of the field may well be very similar, but what
happens when the cars are off the ideal line through the corner? The q's
seem to be able to maintain better cornering speeds when the drivers need
to improvise. When racing (as opposed to qualifying) the drivers seem to
have more choice about where to put the car

At the Bathurst 1000 last year,while the q's had much slower lap times than
the BTCC Williams Renaults, Pugs &  Vectras, they were able to brake way
later than the rest of the field. It was very obvious at 2 corners where
the Audis were grabbing another gear at the same point everybody else was
on the brakes. Across the bottom of the mountain, where you can see right
across the track, the Audis were 1-2 seconds faster than the Renaults (&
the rest). Unfortunately the gain was lost half way up the hill as the
weight took its toll.

Slow corners, quattro rules. This was a comment from Jim Richards, the
driver of the S40.

So quattro no advantage on the track? You gotta be joking. 100kg weight
penalty, now thats a problem

Cheers

John Firkins