Written by Johan Laubscher
There exists a special type of motorsport enthusiast. You find many types of hardcore motorsport enthusiasts who all focus on specific formulas, maybe formula 1, touring cars, rallying, sports car racing etc. But there is one type of enthusiast that is rare, a type of enthusiast that I like to call “the chassis hunters.”
The chassis hunters are people who not only follow the sport in detail; they follow it on a car specific level. They hunt for and record the chassis numbers of cars that compete at races. This allows a history to be developed for each individual car and one can track its individual race history: where it was, when it raced, who drove it, who owned it etc. The one formula where this is evident is sportscar racing. There are many chassis hunters who follow sportscar racing and record the chassis histories. There are countless books about the sport and individual cars, all listing the chassis numbers. Many websites offer databases for chassis numbers, allowing you to follow a specific car through its race history.
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| Le Mans 2002 - Chassis #602 - Second place |
It is very interesting information, for example: Did you know that the Audi R8 that finished second at Le Mans in 2002 with Team Joest later won Le Mans in 2004 with Team Goh?
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Le Mans 2002 - Chassis #602 - Race Winner
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What exactly are chassis numbers? These are the numbers given to every car when it is built. The numbers serves as an identification number for that specific vehicle. All vehicles have these numbers including all road cars and race cars. The number system used for each model of car is specific to the individual manufacturer.
Below is a photo of the chassis number from the second last Audi R8 race car that was built. The chassis number is WAUZZZ8RZAA100606. The last three numbers of each Audi R8 chassis number differ, in this case it is 606, and hence this R8 is referred to as Chassis #606.
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| Chassis number of Audi R8 #606 |
Image hosted at http://www.autocourse.ca/
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| This is Audi R8 chassis number #606 being driven by its owner Travis Engen. |
Image hosted at http://www.autocourse.ca/
Chassis histories allow for this level of understanding of the sport and it falls on the true hardcore enthusiasts who hunt for this information. To normal people it may seem weird to have an interest in chassis numbers, but for Sports Car fans around the world it had become very common to hear requests about chassis numbers in discussions, internet forums and books. It is a very positive endeavour, one which helps document the sport.
For Audi fans there are a couple of great websites and books to look at, regarding chassis numbers.
The best database for any chassis numbers from all manufactures in sportscar racing can be found at racingsportscars.com. They offer a brilliant database allowing for very easy and effective searching.
Audi database: www.racingsportscars.com/make/Audi.html
R8 LMP database: www.racingsportscars.com/type/archive/Audi/R8.html
R10 TDI database: www.racingsportscars.com/type/archive/Audi/R10%20TDI.html
R15 TDI database: www.racingsportscars.com/type/archive/Audi/R15%20TDI.html
R18 TDI database: www.racingsportscars.com/type/archive/Audi/R18%20TDI.html
Another great source of chassis numbers is dossiers.endurance-series.com:
Great books of the greatest of all Audis, the R8 LMP include:
"The R8 Born to win" by Thomas Voight
"Audi R8 – WSC Giants" by Ian Wagstaff
Chassis hunters are true hardcore enthusiasts who play an important role in documenting the sport’s history.
