MTM
Press Release
Once
again, sport-auto had invited an illustrious selection of members of the pedal
to the metal industry to the Tuner Grand Prix 2013 and almost all came to the
Motordrome Short Course to show what's what when it comes down to metres and
tenths of a second. The selected track measures not quite 2.6 kilometres, which
is demanding for test drivers and machines alike.
Driving
the Audi R8, Florian Gruber, MTM's chief racer and test driver, emphatically
answered every question about who was the day's fastest with a lap time of
1:06.695 minutes. Nobody in the field of 66 starters was able to better it. In
addition to its dominant role on the track, the 606 hp ten cylinder engine has
also received the blessing of the TÜV (German Technical Inspection Authority) for
use on the public highway; equipped with a height-adjustable chassis with
three-part BBS wheel rims with central locking and tyres to match (Michelin
Pilot Sport Cup - VA 295/30 - 18, HA 345/30-19) and a passenger seat.
All the same, Florian Gruber recorded a best time of 1:14.0 at the wheel of the MTM A1 quattro, enabling him to break into the ranks of the next higher class dominated by hot VW Golfs.
Roland Mayer, MTM's Managing Director and petrol head in one and the same
person, voiced his satisfaction with the performance: "Armed with a
stopwatch and under comparable conditions it's always good to show what a car
prepared by MTM is capable of. On some another occasion, we will then
demonstrate that our success is built not just on peak performance but on our
reliability as well.
This
year a racing edition of the MTM R8 is putting in an appearance at the
international GT Sprint Series but with 40 hp less than the road version
because of restrictions imposed by the rules. Up-and-coming racer Thomas
Schöffler is available to the MTM team, as he was last year. Who will be
driving the second MTM R8 at the next race meeting at the Slovakia Ring (8 - 9
June 2013) near the capital Bratislava will be decided shortly. The 10-cylinder
naturally aspirated engines with their 560 hp will then have to prove
themselves against international competition with illustrious names such as
Porsche, Maserati and Ferrari. Noblesse oblige.
Photo credit: MTM
