By Tarek Ramchani :
Last year the Audi S4 B8 debuted in the South African Bridgestone Production Cars, competing in the upper Class A division of this touring car style racing series, featuring the AWD quattro. The new car replaced the old generation B7 A4 3.2 quattro, which had won the series in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
For the 2011 season, three Audi S4s were fielded by two teams. Terry Moss Racing with two cars, and the third joined the series later on from Johan Fourie Racing who still raced the old Audi A4 B7 during the beginning of the 2011 season. The S4 was immediately in winning form, taking a debut victory in its very first race, round 2 of the series at Killarney, Cape Town. Great battles developed during the season within the Audi squad. The Audis faced strong competition from the other competitors, most notably the Team Afrox BMW 335s which were very strong in both short sprint races and the endurance events. Despite strong competition the Audi S4 proved to be superior as the championship battle went to the season finale at Zwartkops Raceway, with two Audi drivers fighting for the title. In the end it was Michael Stephen from Terry Moss Racing who was crowned ahead of Johan Fourie. It was Michael Stephen’s first Class A Production Car title, after a season were consistency proved to be the winning factor. A great accomplishment for Michael as he was part of the Engineering and design team that built these race cars and by season’s end was crowned champion.
The successful 2011 debut season of the new S4, delivered no less than 17 Audi victories: Michael Stephen with 10 wins, Johan Fourie with 6 and a single win to Tschops Sipuka. A great result from two fully privateer teams. With more Class A cars joining the field, including more Audis, let us hope 2012 is another successful year.
Photo Credits : http://www.racepics.co.za
