Dutch Audi Club meeting, Speedway circuit Lelystad (long)

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Hi all,

Yesterday I attended the annual combined meeting of the Dutch Audi Club
(AACN) and the Coupe Club (ACGN) at the Lelystad Speedway Circuit. A nice
drive (40 miles either way, mostly highway) and the weather was OK. Met up
with a CGT driver on the way there and drove in 'convoy'.
LSC is a small circuit, used for outdoor go-karting, demolition derby and
events like this one. There was a terrain outside the circuit where you
could park your car and talk Audis- a lot of CGTs, five or six UrQs (one of
which a 20v), a V8, an '84 200t auto (with a 4" exhaust!), lots of 80s, 90s
(even a couple of 90qs!), newer Coupes and CQs and three or four S2s. There
were a couple of A3s, A4s and A6es, but the older cars were in the
majority. I'd say some 100 Audis attended, which is pretty good by our
standards.
You could hear the tyres squealing from afar- it was clear that some people
were enjoying themselves thoroughly. There was an auto-x-like track laid
out, and everyone who had a helmet (next time I'll buy me one, and get a
set of throw-away tyres) could join in. $1.25 per run, $2.50 if you used
the 'rental' CGT (bald tyres, crappy engine, no suspension worth mentioning
but immense fun). In the afternoon, a different, longer and more difficult
track was laid out. Most cars on the track were not fit for road use- like
the red CGT with a 20v engine and no lights or bumpers. CGTs are pretty
cheap in Holland, which makes them ideal for this kind of event. Most CGTs
were of the 'worn suspension, crappy tyres' variety, which made it more a
fun than a competitive event. I don't think anyone left for home with tyres
The wail of five-cylinder engines was lovely, especially the UrQ and the S2
which made an appearance. The most spectacular vehicle, without any doubt,
was a 200 quattro lowered to the max, with massive negative camber on the
rear wheels and a spectacular misfire at higher revs. Turbo pressure
problem, according to the owner (it did seem to run a little better later
in the day). There was a young guy with a '79 Audi 80 with huge wheels and
tyres, which seemed to make pretty good times. He'd apparently wrung some
100hp from his 1.6 carb'ed engine and Konis on each corner made it handle
pretty nicely. The quattros however were unbeatable- the S2 did pretty
well, and there was an incredibly beat-up B3 90q autocrosser (dents in
_every_ panel) that made nice times, too. Very spectacular, non-Audi: '84
Porsche 911 (smoked his tyres around all corners, very competent and quick
driver) '78 BMW 323i (went like the clappers but seemed slow because he was
running on non-squealing slick racing tyres) and a full-race Toyota Starlet
and Citroen AX, both very quick for their 1.1-litre engines.
The atmosphere was great, everyone applauded when someone was showing off
or making an excursion into the scenery. Hmmm... wish I'd bought that $125
CGT someone was selling a year ago...

A day of good fun for everyone, kudos to both clubs for organizing it. I'm
not going to spectate another event- next time I'll join in the fun. Pics
available soon.

Tom