Thursday, January 3, 2013

Audi Racing History in South Africa Part 5: The mighty S4 GTO


Audi Racing History in South Africa Part 5 of 10 
The mighty S4 GTO 

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi 200 Trans Am cars had demonstrated the dominance of quattro on the South African race tracks. However, development never stands still and a new car was on the horizon. Based on a North American monster, the new S4 GTO was ready to take Audi SA to the next  level.

1992

Wesbank Modifieds: 1992 would see the partnership of Moss and Aberdein reunited again in their respective Audi 200 Trans Am cars. 1992 was a very competitive season with Moss taking the Class A title, narrowly missing out on the overall title at the final round. By the end of 1992 the first of the new S4 GTO cars was ready for competition. Hans-Joachim Stuck came to South Africa to drive the car for its debut race at Killarney in Cape Town, the penultimate round of the 1992 season. Stuck was in top form winning both of the races on the day, clearly showing the car’s potential. The final round at Kyalami would see both of the new Audi S4 GTO cars compete with Stuck and Moss driving them in Rothmans colours. Graham Duxbury drove Moss’s 200 Trans Am (#TA4) at the final round.

1992 Terry Moss 200 Trans Am (MP)
1992 Chris Aberdein 200 Trans Am (WG)
1992 Hans Stuck S4 GTO (VF)
1992 Terry Moss S4 GTO (VF)


1992 Graham Duxbury 200 Trans Am (VF)

Footage of the 1992 S4 GTO debut race HERE.
Footage onboard Chris Aberdein 200 Trans Am during 1992 finale HERE. 

Cape Town Regionals: During 1992 Louis Powell raced the Deon de Waal owned Audi Space frame race car with the monstrous six liter Chevrolet V8 Engine. He raced in the Killarney Super Saloons Championship in Cape Town. The car was seen in oval racing in later years with Chris Liebenberg driving.

1992 Louis Powell Audi V8 Spaceframe (KG)

1993

Wesbank Modifieds: 1993 saw four Audis on the grid. The factory team again had Terry Moss and Chris Aberdein as their drivers, both driving the new Audi S4 GTO cars in Rothmans colours. The two 200 Trans Am cars were now in the hands of privateers. The ex-Terry Moss car (#TA4) would be raced by Larry Wilford and the ex-Chris Aberdein car (#TA1) by Richard Sorensen. By the end of 1993 Terry Moss once again claimed the Class A title as well as the overall championship title.

1993 Terry Moss S4 GTO (MP)
1993 Chris Aberdein S4 GTO (WG)
1993 Larry Wilford 200 Trans Am (WG)
1993 Richard Sorensen 200 Trans Am (WG)

Footage onboard Terry Moss S4 GTO during 1993 HERE. 

1994

Wesbank Modifieds: 1994 brought major restrictions and stronger competition for the Audi S4 GTO cars, and the team had a hard season. Three Audis were on the grid. The factory team again had Moss and Aberdein in the Rothmans Audi S4 GTO cars. One privateer, Larry Willford, was on the grid in the 200 Trans Am (#TA4). By season's end the team showed a lot of good performances but the restrictions kept them out of the title chase. The rules formula of the Wesbank Modifieds was about to change to a new all-V8 rulebook, thus these Audi cars would not compete again in this championship after 1994. The team did however win the final two races of the 1994 season with Chris Aberdein taking two suburb wins at Killarney.

1994 Terry Moss S4 GTO (WG)

1994 Chris Aberdein S4 GTO (RP)
1994 Larry Wilford 200 Trans Am (WG)

Footage of the final round of 1994 HERE. 

Mozambique Championship: 1994 would also see the South African 200 Trans Am, the ex-Chris Aberdein car #TA1, which did not compete in the 1994 Wesbank Modifieds Championship, compete in Mozambique. Peter Lanz competed and won with the car in the newly revived Mozambique Championship during 1994.

1994 Peter Lanz 200 Trans Am (WG)

S4 GTO post 1994: The end of the rules formula meant that the two 200 Trans Am cars would be sold off to collectors while the two S4 GTO cars were sold to race again. The ex-Terry Moss S4 GTO was sold to Finnish driver Pertti Kuismanen who campaigned the car in Nordic, Finnish and German Championships from 1996 to 1998. The ex-Chris Aberdein S4 GTO was sold to South African Ashley Landman who competed at selected events of the regional championships based at the Killarney circuit in Cape Town from 1995 to 1998, after which he sold the car to an American collector in 2000.

A replica of the S4 GTO was built and it is on display at the AutoPavilion, the Volkswagen/Audi Museum in Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth South Africa..

S4 GTO replica (WG)
Ashley Landman S4 GTO (WG)

Pertti Kuismanen S4 GTO (WG)


Photo sources:
MP = MotorPics from www.motorpics.co.za
RP = RacePics from www.racepics.co.za
VF = Video footage screenshots
WG* = Wesbank Modifieds Racing 1986-1994 Facebook Group HERE.
KG* = Killarney - 50 Years On Facebook Group HERE.

Article cover photo = Eurospec Sport from www.eurospecsport.com/
Bottom cover photo = Johan Laubscher / Tarek Ramchani 

All the images are labeled with an abbreviation within brackets in their caption which indicates the photo source as listed above. 

*May not include the original photo source. 


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//PART 2