By Tarek Ramchani and Johan Laubscher
Rob Austin and his WIX Racing team (Rob Austin Racing) had a sensational 2013 season in the British Touring Car Championship. The only Audi team in the field showed great performances all season long. The Audi A4 NGTC is now a race winning machine, after a maiden victory at Rockingham and an amazing pole position at Knockhill. The team also faced a lot of bad luck and some hard moments, yet Rob Austin was always able to bounce back. Credits also to the "Sherman" fans, massive support for RAR, clearly one of the most popular efforts in the demanding BTCC.
The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below.
Special thanks to our friend Phil Laughton from Phil Laughton Photography, for his great support throughout the BTCC season. Great photo coverage of Rob Austin Racing in the BTCC all season long.
Round 1: Brands Hatch (Indy)The 2013 BTCC got underway at Brands Hatch. The pair of Audi A4 NGTC cars from WIX Racing (Rob Austin Racing) showed good pace during testing, and Rob Austin continued this good form by qualifying in the top ten. Austin chose to use his soft tires for the first race and he rocketed from seventh to second after the first sequence of corners. He then took the lead and led the first lap of the new BTCC season. Ultimately the soft tires gave in and Austin finished in third. Race two and three saw DNF finishes for Austin with race three seeing a large crash for him. The driver was unharmed and the car has been reported as repairable. Rob’s teammate Will Bratt fought hard and achieved a twelfth and fourteenth.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (30-31/03 - 01/04/2013)
Round two of the British Touring Car Championship was held at Donington Park. Rob Austin Racing completed a brilliant repair job, as they successfully repaired the #13 Audi A4 after a massive crash at Brands Hatch last time out. The Audi team expected to perform well at round two, however issues with their straight-line speed hampered them all weekend long. Ultimately they qualified and finished outside of the top ten in all of the races.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (20-21/04/2013)
Thruxton is the fastest circuit in Britain, and hosted the third round of the British Touring Car Championship. Rob Austin Racing have been plagued by low top speed performance this year. It was evident at Donginton, but even more so at Thruxton. The team struggled for pace and qualified in the lower half of the field. The three races on the day yielded similar results for the team and their Audi A4s, as they were confined to the rear of the grid.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (4-5/05/2013)
The fourth round of the British Touring Car Championship was held at Oulton Park this weekend. It looked like another tough outing for Rob Austin Racing and their two Audi A4 NGTC race cars. They qualified well down the order with the highest placed RAR Audi in eighteenth. The first race saw both Audis recovering, but they finished outside of the top ten. Rob Austin put in a great drive to grab a top ten in race two, finishing in eighth. The third and final race of the day saw Austin starting third on the reverse grid. He rocketed into the lead and lead half of the race, before being punted out of the lead, he ultimately finished in fifth. His teammate, Will Bratt, came from much further behind and stormed into the top ten finishing in sixth place.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (8-9/06/2013)
Croft hosted the fifth meeting of the British Touring Car Championship this weekend. Rob Austin Racing and their two Audi A4 NGTC cars were at the event and showed good initial pace during practice. However they qualified in the lower half of the top twenty. The first race saw both Audis improving as Austin got up to thirteenth and Bratt fifteenth. Race two yielded similar results as Austin finished in fourteenth and Bratt eighteenth. During the third and final race of the day Rob Austin was able to finish in eleventh.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (22-23/06/2013)
The British Touring Car Championship concluded its summer break this weekend as the series headed to Snetterton for round six. The two Audi A4 NGTC cars from Rob Austin Racing showed good pace this weekend, following a few difficult outings. Rob Austin was the highest placed Audi during qualifying with twelfth place. Race one ended with Austin finishing fifteenth and a retirement for his teammate Will Bratt. The second race saw Austin battling well and he progressed into the top ten, but he dropped to fourteenth on the last lap. He was followed by his teammate in sixteenth. Austin was as high as sixth during race three, but he ultimately finished in twelfth place and Bratt had a second retirement for the day.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (3-4/08/2013)
Knockhill in Scotland was the setting for round seven of the British Touring Car Championship. Both Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 NGTC cars were entered, driven by Rob Austin and Will Bratt. Rob got the weekend off to a good start by setting the pace in free practice one. He continued this good form by highlighting the day with pole position for race one. This was Rob Austin’s first BTCC pole, and the first Audi on pole in the BTCC since 1997. Race one saw Austin finishing third, followed by second in race two and fifth after the reverse grid in race three. His teammate Will Bratt had a difficult day, but he was able to recover to eleventh in race three.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (24-25/08/2013)
The British Touring Car Championship held round eight at Rockingham. Both of Rob Austin Racing’s Audi a4 NGTC cars showed good pace this weekend. Rob Austin qualified third for race one followed by his teammate, Will Bratt, qualifying in tenth. Race one saw Rob dropping to ninth on the first lap, along with a crash further back involving Will Bratt. Bratt unfortunately retired and was out for race one and two. Austin was able to storm back to third by the finish. Austin stormed to the front during race two and successfully defended his lead to take his first ever BTCC race win, the first Audi BTCC victory since 1997. The third and final race of the day saw Austin finishing ninth after the reverse grid and Bratt unfortunately retiring once again.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (14-15/09/2013)
The penultimate BTCC round headed to Silverstone, running on the national circuit this weekend. Rob Austin Racing was back on the grid with their two Audi A4 NGTC race cars. The team was on a high following their maiden BTCC victory with Rob Austin at Rockingham last time out. Qualifying saw the Audis in seventeenth and nineteenth, with Bratt ahead of Austin. Rob Austin was able to recover during race one, as he went from nineteenth to twelfth. Race two saw an unfortunate crash for Rob Austin, but his teammate, Will Bratt, was able to score twelfth place. The third and final race saw Rob Austin finishing in seventeenth.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (28-29/09/2013)
The BTCC finale was held at Brands Hatch this weekend. Rob Austin Racing fielded both of their Audi A4 NGTC cars, with a new look. Rob Austin Racing was back with his #13 Wix Racing A4 and he was joined by a new teammate. Youngster, Jake Hill, joined RAR driving the #9 Exocet Racing Audi A4. Hill showed excellent pace all weekend long and was able to qualifying in tenth place, followed by Rob Austin in thirteenth. Races one and two on Sunday saw Hill finishing fourteenth and eleventh respectively, whilst Rob Austin unfortunately retired from both races. The third and final race of the day and the season saw Hill finishing fifteenth and Austin eighteenth.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (12-13/10/2013)
Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography
