Audi (1996 - 1998)

1996 1997 1998
Audi A4 (4WD) Quattro Audi A4 (4WD) Quattro Audi A4 (FWD)
F Biela F. Biela Y. Muller
J. Bintcliffe J. Bintcliffe J. Bintcliffe
After an eagerly awaited arrival, Audi took the BTCC by storm from the moment the lights went green on the first race of 1996.  The 4WD A4 won it's first three outings of the season of that year and dominated the rest of the championship.  The teams stringent engineering standards were an important part of the success of the operation, with parts 'lifed' and tested to an extent that had never been seen in the BTCC.  Audi Sport in Germany provided engineering assistance but Audi Sport UK ran the day to day operation.  The teams only non finish all season was when Biela was excluded for a driving offence at Snetterton.  A combination of supreme traction, reliability and driver skill ensured that Biela, Bintcliffe and the A4 formed the perfect partnership, winning both the drivers and manufacturers championship at the first attempt.  Frank Biela went on to take a total of 8 outright race wins on his way to winning the championship.

Frank Biela - 1996 Audi A4 (4wd)

John Bintcliffe (front) & Frank Biela - 1997 Audi A4 (4wd)

 1997 saw Audi carrying a weight penalty (95kg) due to the dominance of the proceeding season, although this was reduced by 30kgs later in the season. The driver combination remained the same but the luck had changed. Lack of winter testing with the new car ensured the problem free season of 1996 wasn't repeated.  The first ever retirement of an Audi A4 was seen in the very first race of the season at Donington Park. Sadly for Audi the car was to repeat the performance at Silverstone as well. After the euphoria of '96 it was a disappointing start to the '97 season. However things improved as the season progressed and Audi still took 7 race wins (Biela 5, Bintcliffe 2), and managed to finish 2nd in the drivers and manufacturers championships.  Not a bad swansong for the quattro in the UK.
Audi Sport UK experienced many changes for the opening of the 1998 season. Biela was gone, replaced by Yvan Muller, front wheel drive cars replaced the 4WD Quattro, and Audi Sport in Germany had handed all the research and development work to one of it's long term partners - the French firm ROC.  The A4 struggled for pace all season and the package could not match the 'glory days' of the previous seasons. One problem seemed to be that the aerodynamic package produced less downforce than those of most of it's rivals.  The team continued to make good progress throughout the year, with Muller generally a top six runner in the latter part of the season, but there were no wins. At the end of 1998 Audi UK decided to withdraw from the series stating that it "had achieved all that it had set out to do....it's intention had always been to highlight it's technology and particularly it's quattro and while it had done that, without a quattro on track, the strategy could not continue".

John Bintcliffe - 1998 Audi A4 (fwd)
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