RAR burn the midnight oil to repair damaged Audi

Rob Austin says his team have worked several all-nighters to repair damage to his Audi A4 after a bruising Donington Park weekend.

Austin’s mechanics have been putting in the hours to fix the rear end of the car after a hefty whack from Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram in the final race, which saw the BTCC newcomer excluded from the results.

The Audi will be ready for the Thruxton weekend, and Austin was quick to praise the efforts of his team in making sure this happened.

He said: “The damage was worse than we first thought but the work that’s gone in since Donington has been unbelievable and yet again my crew have done the most remarkable job in the timeframe.

“After the graft the lads have put in the least I can do now is go to Thruxton and drive the hell out of it.”

Austin rates Thruxton as his favourite circuit on the BTCC tour, but feels he may be at a disadvantage against his front wheel drive competitors.

He said: “The speeds are incredibly high all the way round the lap – we’re nudging 150mph in some places with some of the corners taken at over 130mph. It requires massive balls as well as huge respect and that’s why I absolutely love it. It really sorts the men from the boys.

“I’ve gone well in everything else I’ve raced there but for some reason it remains a bogey circuit for our Audi in the BTCC. Rear-wheel-drive seems to put us at a disadvantage there against the front-wheel-drive cars which make up the vast majority of the grid, so it could be a bit of a damage-limitation exercise.”