BTCC: Rob Austin Racing Audi eager to do well at Oulton Park

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin and Will Bratt had a very difficult weekend with their Audi A4 NGTC cars at Thruxton last time out. You can read our report of the third BTCC meeting right HERE.

The WIX Racing backed Audi A4 proved to be very good, as seen at Brands Hatch with storming performances from Rob Austin. Now after two disappointing rounds, the team is eager to fight back and battle for the top spots. The next round on the BTCC calender is at Oulton Park. A challenging track but very different from the penalizing Thruxton circuit which emphasized the lack of top speed for the A4s.

Rob Austin, the team owner and driver of the #13 Audi A4, had a chat with our friends from BTCC Crazy about the upcoming round at Oulton Park.

"Our sponsor for this year WIX have been amazing as they have given us the platform to compete for the full season. However we don’t have the big budgets of Honda and MG to go out and test when needs be. We have to count the cost of things so we will try get some development on both cars and roll into Oulton nearer to the front than we have done the past few meetings." (quotes sourced from btcccrazy.co.uk)

Photos credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: A weekend to forget for Rob Austin Racing Audi at Thruxton

By Tarek Ramchani

As expected Rob Austin Racing faced a very hard weekend at Thruxton, for the third meeting of the British Touring Car Championship. The two Audi A4 NGTC cars struggled a lot on a very penalizing track.

It all started with a very disappointing qualifying session yesterday, Will Bratt qualified his #14 Audi A4 in eighteenth place and Rob Austin with the #13 car was twenty-fifth. In race 1 Will Bratt again finished in eighteenth place, right ahead of the other Audi with Rob Austin in nineteenth. In race 2 Rob Austin improved one position finishing eighteenth, whilst Will Bratt ended twenty-second. Race 3 was clearly the hardest of the day for RAR. Rob Austin did not finish the race, retiring after eight laps. Will Bratt was seventeenth.

Thruxton race saw a case of Honda domination, the works Honda Yuasa Racing Team won all three races. Matt Neal with the #2 Honda Civic victorious in the first two races of the day. The race three victory went to the 2012 champion, Gordon Shedden, with the #1 Honda Civic.

Rob Austin Racing may have struggled a lot at Thruxton, with a very obvious lack of top speed, however the car is very well balanced, as seen at the previous two rounds at Brands Hatch and Donington Park. Outlon Park is the next stop for the BTCC, a track which could be favorable for the Audi A4s.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Hard qualifying for Rob Austin Audi A4s at Thruxton

By Tarek Ramchani

Thruxton is hosting the third meeting of the British Touring Car Championship this weekend. Rob Austin Racing, with their two Audi A4 NGTC cars, faced a very hard qualifying session.

From the start the two drivers, Rob Austin and Will Bratt, were expecting that their Audis would not be competitive. Thruxton is the fastest track on the BTCC calendar, thus very difficult for the RAR cars. Whilst being one of the strongest cars in the field, the Audis are lacking in power when it comes to top speed performance, when compared to their rivals. Rob Austin the team owner/driver of the #13 Audi A4 qualified in a very disappointing twenty-fifth place. Rob Austin also complained of a broken component in the suspension. His team mate Will Bratt with the sister #14 machine did slightly better, he ended in eighteenth place. Pole position went to Andrew Jordan with his privateer Honda Civic, in second was Gordon Shedden with the factory Honda Yuasa Racing, third was Matt Neal in the second works Honda.

Rob Austin was very disappointed after the hard qualifying: "Well, that was an unfortunate qualifying session. We've found a broken component in the suspension that cost us huge time on corners. Boys working hard now to rectify. Keep smiling folks; the fight back begins tomorrow" (quotes sourced from Rob Austin Racing official Facebook page). Qualifying results are here

The three sprint races are set for tomorrow. We wish the best of luck to the Rob Austin Racing team and their two drivers.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 aiming for extra power before Thruxton

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin Racing, the only Audi team in Biritish Touring Car Championship, faced a very hard Donington Park round last time out, with disappointing results in the end. Both WIX Racing backed Audi A4 NGTC cars lacked top speed compared to rivals cars from Honda, MG, BMW and Toyota.

As seen at Brands Hatch, and even at Donington Park, the Audi A4 is very good in handling and cornering, one of the best chassis on the grid. The next round of the series will be at Thruxton, clearly the fastest circuit of the BTCC calendar. Rob Austin Racing recently went to Silverstone to test the Audi car, whilst preparing for that demanding - and penalizing - event. The team focused on gaining extra power to be more competitive in a straight line.

Team owner Rob Austin talked to btcc.net about these tests: "It was a reasonably productive day. We were working on our ducting to try and reduce charger temperatures as well as develop our set up for the unique long fast corners of Thruxton. Field Motorsport are also working tirelessly to give us some more power and bridge the power gap to the other teams." (Quote sourced from btcc.net)

Will Bratt: "We made some good progress with the turbo cooling and handling, and we’ve got some engine work planned between now and the next race. Hopefully they will find us some extra speed, as Thruxton will really show up any disparity in power against the other drivers." (Quote sourced from btcc.net)

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

Gallery: Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 at Donington Park BTCC

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin Racing faced a very hard British Touring Car Championship weekend at Donington Park. Both Audi A4 NGTC cars of Rob Austin and Will Bratt were extremely unlucky with very mixed results in all three races.

Here is a selection of great photos from Donington Park by our friend Phill Laughton.

Photo credit and more information:
Phil Laughton Photography official Facebook

BTCC: Mixed qualifying for Rob Austin Audi A4s at Donington Park

By Tarek Ramchani

Donington Park is hosting the second round of the British Touring Car Championship this weekend. Rob Austin Racing is again fielding two Audi A4 NGTC cars with some mixed results in the qualifying session.

Team owner and driver, Rob Austin, who had a very nasty crash at Brands Hatch, finished in eighteenth place with a fully repaired #13 Audi. His team mate Will Bratt, with the sister #14 A4 was seventeenth. Looking at the lap times both Audi A4 cars were not that bad. However the very demanding field and the close times pushed the RAR drivers down to P17 and P18.

Pole position went to Honda's driver and 2012 BTCC champion, Gordon Shedden, ahead of Frank Wrathall's Toyota and Andrew Jorand's Honda. The qualifying results are here.

The three races are set for tomorrow, we hope that both Audi drivers will be able to improve on track.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Rob Austin Audi A4 repaired and ready for Donington Park

By Tarek Ramchani

Rob Austin, the RAR team owner/driver, had a very mixed British Touring Cars season opener at Brands Hatch. His Audi A4 NGTC showed very strong performances, highlighted by a third place finish in race 1. Later in the third and final race of the day he had a very nasty crash, luckily he was OK, but the car was heavily damaged as shown in the pictures below.

There were some fears that the car would not be ready for the next event in such a short time. Now some very good news has emerged. The car is fully repaired and ready to race at BTCC round two, at Donington Park this coming weekend.

Rob Austin is delighted: "It’s been emotional. There’ve been a few tears along the way, during the rebuild of the car when a few setbacks left everyone wondering if we’d make it and then at the end when we knew it was going to happen. It has been amazing to see it unfold and to be a part of it, what my boys have achieved.” (quotes sourced form the thecheckeredflag.co.uk)

The team will again field two Audi A4 cars, the second one will be in the hands of youngster Will Bratt.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

Gallery: Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 at Brands Hatch BTCC round 1

By Tarek Ramchani

The 2013 British Touring Car Championship season started at Brands Hatch last weekend. Two Audi A4 NGTC cars entered the BTCC opener from Rob Austin Racing. It was a very mixed weekend, the car did great with a fantastic third place in Race 1 for Rob Austin. Unfortunately bad luck hit the team later in the day, but luckily Rob Austin escaped unharmed from a very nasty crash in Race 3.


Our friend Phil Laughton was on site and provided us with some beautiful photos. Here is the very best of Rob Austin Racing from the Brands Hatch weekend.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

Video: Rob Austin crash at Brands Hatch in BTCC

By Tarek Ramchani

Today's British Touring Car Championship opener was a mixed one for Rob Austin. The Audi driver was able to take a fine third place in race 1. Later he had two hard races with two DNFs. The third race was the hardest with a massive crash after contact with a Toyota Avensis. Big contact and car damaged, but fortunately Rob Austin is OK and unharmed.

Here is a video showing how massive the crash was. We hope the Audi A4 will be ready for Donington Park in three weeks time, the team said the car is repairable.

BTCC: Drama for Rob Austin Audi in race 3 at Brands Hatch

By Tarek Ramchami

The third BTCC race of the day was a hard one for Rob Austin. The #13 WIX Racing Audi A4 NGTC had a DNF in race 2 and was forced to start from the back of the pack.

As was the case in the first two races, Rob Austin had a phenomenal start. The Audi driver was able to jump into the middle of the group in only a single lap. Entering lap two Rob Austin collected a spinning Toyota Avensis, the #17 car of Dave Newsham. The Audi hit both the Toyota and a barrier, coming to a stop in the middle of the track. Rob Austin was OK but the car is heavily damaged. Another case of contact with a Toyota and a second straight DNF.

Rob Austin himself was very disappointed when he spoke to ITV4: "We are very disappointed. We had a very quick car today and I believe we are going to suffer next time by"

Will Bratt with the sister #14 Audi A4 finished in fourteenth, not bad after all the drama he faced in the second race. The race win went to Matt Neal with the factory Honda Civic ahead of team mate Gordon Shedden, third was Sam Tordoff with the MG.

The Brands Hatch weekend was a mixed one for Rob Austin Racing. A lot of bad luck prevented the team from scoring big points and taking more podiums. Yet the car is very quick, Rob Austin's performances and lap times are more than proof that the 2013 updated Audi A4 is a front running machine. Next stop for the British Touring Car Championship is in three weeks time at Donington Park.

Race 3 results are here

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Extreme bad luck for Rob Austin Audi in race 2 at Brands Hatch

By Tarek Ramchani

After a fantastic BTCC race 1 at Brands Hatch earlier today, Rob Austin Racing faced a very hard second race.

Both WIX Racing supported Audi A4 NGTC faced troubles. First it was Will Bratt with the #14 Audi A4, which was unable to start as the car stayed in pitlane facing a driveshaft failure.

Next it was the turn of team owner Rob Austin with the #13 Audi A4. As in race 1 a great start from Rob Austin promoted him into second place behind the leader Jason Plato. Right after Rob Austin fought hard with Andrew Jordan's Honda and lost his second place. A few laps ahead contact with Frank Wrathall's Toyota Avensis sent him off track. The car was damaged and it was the end of the race for the yellow and black Audi A4.

Same as in race 1 victory went to Jason Plato with the factory MG6 GT ahead of the customer Honda Civic of Andrew Jordan and Gordon Shedden in third with the factory Honda Civic. Race 3 is next, we hope both Audis will be on track.

Race 2 results are here

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography