The 18 full-time drivers for the inaugural Audi Sport TT Cup have completed a positive test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, with around 7,700 kilometres completed during the test.
During the two day test the 18 new TT Cup cars, which delivers around 310 bhp from its 2.0 litre engine, completed an aggregated total of 1,584 laps, clocking an aggregated driving time of 100 hours, leaving Rolf Michl, Project Leader of the Audi Sport TT Cup, impressed by not only the car but the grid of drivers for 2015.
“For everybody in the team it was an impressive experience when the drivers started the engines on Saturday morning and went out on track for the first time,” said Michl. “Our young drivers did an outstanding job too.
“Their instructors, Markus Winkelhock and Marco Werner, expressly praised how quickly all 18 entrants familiarized themselves with the TT cup and how meticulously they worked out their individual set-ups.”
One driver left ‘buzzing’ for the second test and the season is Josh Caygill, with the UK’s only entrant left looking forward to the season, which starts in May.
“The test in Barcelona was amazing”, said Caygill, who won the seven kilometre run during the recent Audi Fitness Camp. “When we did a qualification simulation at the end of the two days I was really happy with my pace, very pleased for my first time there.
“The bar has definitely been raised again this year, it’s going to be a huge challenge as there are some quality drivers on the grid but it should be an absolutely mega season.”
Detlef Schmidt, the Technical Project Leader for the Cup, was pleased with both the cars reliability and pace, saying: “I’m very pleased with the reliability of the car and the performance of the drivers. All race cars are completely undamaged, and after nearly 7,700 kilometers at that.”
Commenting on his machine, Caygill said: Audi has done an unbelievable job with this car, you’re grinning ear-to-ear when you drive it but that’s nothing other than you’d expect from such a professional manufacturer.”
The next on track action from the Audi TT Cup comes at the end of April for their second and final pre season test, with the season starting Hockenheim alongside the DTM, World RallyCross, Formula 3 and Porsche Carerra Cup championships.
