Racing an A/S8!!!

[andy97]

Hi, new forum member here, although not an A/S8 owner I'm afraid. I am an Audi marque enthusiast, though, with an A4 TDi for the commute & an Ur quattro. I'm also a massive racing addict, particularly club racing, and race a Toyota saloon (sorry) myself in CSCC Tin Tops 40 minutes races (as an aside we also have a series for cars from the sixties, "future classics" (1970s & 80s cars) and German cars only (the "Deutsche Marque" series) for German cars from 1990 to the present day).

Anyway, I thought that you might be interested to see that folks are racing A8s! Nothing to do with me but I found the articles whilst browsing for Britcar info. Not the most obvious of racing cars but I'm fascinated by the idea. Of course, if Audi can race the old V8 in DTM in the 1990s, Jaguar can race the XJS in the 1980s Touring Car Championship, Porsche can race the Panamera in the current day Italian "Superstars" series and various club racers can race Jag XJ40s, Rover 800s and various Yank tanks, then there's no reason why a big car can't be competitive & fun.

Have a look at the following, Brooklands College are building an A8 to compete in this years Britcar 24 hour race:

http://britcar24hr.co.uk/cms/news.php?item.1112

http://www.elmbridgetoday.co.uk/Comm...000000474.aspx

And in Germany this outfit have a history of racing an A8 W12 & an Audi V8 in the Nurburgring 24 hour & VLN races: http://www.derichs-rennwagen.com/htm...___sevice.html

Details of how they got on (and other Audis) in the 2010 race can be found here (about half way down): http://www.fourtitude.com/news/publi...ter_5945.shtml

I do wonder how sophisticated the cars are (in racing terms - adjustable supension, big brakes, sophisticated roll cages etc) what they have done about the gearbox, (manual or tiptronic), what weight they can be got down to & whether there are any dissimilar metal corrosion issues with a steel cage. It would certainly be interesting to know more. So, for all you A/S8 enthusiasts how about stripping a car out & racing it in the CSCC's "Deutsche Marque" series! http://www.classicsportscarclub.co.u...schemarque.htm

[Reffro]

This is the same car I posted about earlier.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3292

I certainly love the look of it and wouldn't mind going to see it race at some point.

[andy97]

Well, sorry for the repeat post,then, but maybe it was one of my posts on another forum that you "shamelessly copied" it from? LOL.

The 24 hour race is a great event. I've worked the pitwall a couple of times for a top 8 overall Honda team & am hoping to be team manager this year for a Ginetta team. Definately worth a visit if you are an endurance racing fan.

[Reffro]

No need for an apology, I was just making the association for the other guys. If you posted on the Pistonheads forum then I did nick it from your post.

I don't know whether I'll come to the 24hr, I was hoping I might get a chance before that to see the 8 in one of the shorter events. The 24hr looks good, particularly as it attracts a wide spectrum of cars and drivers, its just the 24 hrs outdoors in October in the UK that causes me concern.

[andy97]

Yes, the weather can be a bit cold in the middle of the night - I've not done a 24 hr race when it rained, but both years I was involved the race had to be be stopped for a couple of hours in the early hours of the morning due to thick fog & at that time I was quite pleased for the chance to rest for a bit!

As a spectator, I think I'd see if I could take a caravan or motor home down, watch the first bit of the race, have a BBQ, watch until midnight, get some shut eye & then watch the last third of the race. Spectators can also get access in to the paddock & so it can be interesting to chat to some of the guys involved & wander round viewing the car & some of the work going on.

An A/S8 would not be massively competitive, I don't think, but you never know, the classes are worked out on a Power to Weight ratio basis so it could be a dark horse for an OK class performance if its reliable & if the weather is crap! In any case, in these sorts of races, just getting to the finish can be a "victory" in itself, particularly for a "club level effort". Given the prices of A/S8s then it could be a good & relatively cheap (its all relative!) challenge, and as I said before, the car can also be used in CSCC races, including our 1 hour race at Spa every year.

PS, it was me on PH!

[gninnam]

Originally Posted by andy97

The 24 hour race is a great event. I've worked the pitwall a couple of times for a top 8 overall Honda team & am hoping to be team manager this year for a Ginetta team. Definately worth a visit if you are an endurance racing fan.

The Ginetta race HQ is just round the corner from me

[Dezzy]

There is a stripped 8 out there is Botang and Tobes, don’t know what it weighs in at, imagine it's quite light with just the basics to make it run (for the size of the car). All the suspension parts can be sourced or made to make it adjustable if you have the time a cash, assuming if you were building a race car then you’d have to do it anyway no matter what make or model.
Now steel cage in ali car 2 ways spring to mind, first is obviously bolting it in and using rubber between to insulate it, same can be done iwo bolts. Second is to use Triclad, it is basically a sheet of steel plate and a sheet of ali plate and it’s exploded together. You end up with one side being steel and the other ali, weld the ali to ali and steel to steel. I’d go Triclad because no one else will have.

[Botang]

As Dezzy has said Toby and myself made an A8 Track car some time ago

It is very handy on the track using slicks but to a point they mask an underlying understeer issue. I'm sure that it could all be sorted with modifications to the suspension setup but I think it would require the replacement of the multi-link suspension with fabricated adjustable replacements. There are some available but they are also rather expensive, just depends how far you want to go with it.

For us it was all about fun, a cheap car with readily available parts, a lightweight rolling chassis with a strong engine and gearbox. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it on those terms. The graphics are again just a bit of fun, a scaled up replica of an A4 BTCC if you will. Gets quite a lot of interest on trackdays especially once you have lapped most of the other cars.

Have a look on you tube for some in car videos http://www.youtube.com/user/tobes49#p/u/17/anf74JOYjmA

[andy97]

Botang, interesting, thanks. Do you know what the car weighs and is it caged? Did you keep the tiptronic or switch to a manual?

Any photos of the car, inside & out?

[andy97]

Well the Brooklands College A8 didn't turn up at the Britcar 24 for some reason. Know idea why. Shame really.