Audi A4 Quattro Audi Sport UK Team - British Touring Car Championship - BTCC 1996
Car scale model kit in 1/24 scale manufactured by Nunu (ref. PN24035, also 4545782086515)

The arrival of Audi into the BTCC came courtesy of experienced racing heads Richard Lloyd and John Wickham (former Arrows Grand Prix team manager). Experienced personnel were signed and soon sent off to Ingolstadt to learn more about the quattro racers while helping to build the race cars.

Audi Sport in Germany provided engineering assistance from Rainer Kamergruber, and engine specialist as the four wheel-drive A4s needed expert set-up work, but otherwise it was a British-run operation. The team raced with the same two cars all year with the spare car based in Germany and allocated on a share basis with the Audi Italia team.

In the 1996 season Biela only had one major shunt, in qualifying at Thruxton when he hit oil, but a day’s grace allowed the team time for a remarkable rebuild of the A4.

The team’s stringent engineering standards were an important part of the success of the operation, with parts “lifed” and tested to an extend that has rarely been seen in the BTCC. Perfect finishing records for both cars; the team’s only non-finish was when Biela was excluded for a driving offence at Snetterton.

At the end of the 1996 season, Frank Biela became the champion with a total of 8 victories, achieving the podium in another 12 occasions, and Audi secured also the Manufactures title.