Ahhhh - I really, really miss racing.

I am not particularly great (I am upper average), but I really enjoy it and I go to have fun. I autocrossed for a few years and then due to family commitments (ahhh - kids!) didn't even get out at all last year and only once this year. I used to race my B6 1.8T and also the S4, but yesterday was the first night that I was able to try out the B8, and what a great couple of nights it has been!

The weather here in the midwest has been terrible - cold and rainy all year. So because I knew I was not competing in the championship, I didn't bother going to stand out in the rain for many hours and opted to wait for a gorgeous week, which was this week. Hot, hot weather.

The course for these two evenings of racing was pretty smooth - nothing too technical and relatively open - no 1st gear pins or killer chicago boxes. A few tricks, of course, but overall a really good course after almost two years of being away.

The first night turned out to be pretty good, time-wise, and all things considered. I was 5-6 seconds off the top guys in raw times. Not too bad. Middle of the pack but I definitely left a lot of time on the track. I thought that I had everything covered until I discovered that there was no air at the track (like there used to be 2 years ago) and so I was rolling at regular driving 36psi and I should have been at 45 for the day! I felt like such a n00b! So I was squealing like a pig going around that course! I made it halfway down the sidewalls! So... yeah... I am sure it would have been a better night with a better setup. And the Pirelli P7s are not anything I would choose if I had my druthers.

But the car performed really well. The car was nice and nimble. Pretty good steering, even if it is light. But it got me where I wanted to go and was precise enough for my skill level. The turn-in was noticeably better than my B6. I did not get the major plow that I am used to. It is definitely still there, but not nearly as painful (oh - I am a nasty late-braker, so, man, do I know understeer!). But it was great. And the back end would come around much nicer. The car feels less heavy, although it is still one of the heaviest cars on the track. The power would come on really smooth. Still not incredible going from hard brake to full power (no heel-toeing it), but much better than the 1.8. Again, there was nothing extremely slow where I was getting back into first gear. I was hoping for that as I can see this being a problem, or at least tricky, to pull off smoothly. Second to first at any kind of speed is not nearly as nice in this car as it was in the 1.8. I could being at 20km/h and it would smoothly get into place. Not so with this gearbox. But I guess it will be just finding the sweet spot. Launches were pretty good, although it was so hot and this car doesn't like the first half second of standing launch. But after that it really does launch! It is not much of a comparison, but my brother in his B6 S4 was only 1.5s faster, and he is a better driver than I am.

My second evening (tonight) was even better. I was smart enough to pump up the tires before I got to the track. My confidence was better, although I still felt really clumsy - I would do one section of the track great and then muff it up on a different section. And then the next run I would suck on the first section but do it really well on the second. If I could have done all together, I am sure I would have dropped a second. And if I was a better driver, I am sure 2-3 seconds. Again, I was 56.4 seconds with top guy 52 on street tires, 51.3 on racing compound. So - for me - a really positive night! Pretty good for a stock car, and a heavy one at that, second time driven by a mid-pack driver!

Overall, I just fell even more in love with my car. It is just SO nice to drive and so easy to push the car into fun zones. I still get wistful for my B6, which was such an incredible car for me, but even that will fade if this car keeps making me as happy as it did tonight.

Anyway, it was just plain nice to get out for a night of cars! I have been working around the clock for months now and I am WELL beyond exhaustion. So it was a good break. I am hoping that i will get out for the last couple of events and maybe I will be back next season for the full championship!

Cheers!
Chris

Cool post. I used to AX some of my previous rides but haven't thought about taking the A4 out there. With the 2.0T's low-end torque, I thought you might be able to stay in 2nd gear the whole time (sacrificing a little time), but sounds like your course had some tight technical corners. I also find the 2-1 shift (in Tiptronic) to be tricky. My throttle position seems to dictate how smooth or firm the shift happens.

I'll be autocrossing mine also in the next few weeks since its broken in. So you filled all 4 tires to 45 psi? When I autocrossed my previous front drive car I always filled the fronts about 5 psi higher than the rear. Also, 45 psi seems pretty high even for those tires, no?

Whoops - didn't see the responses.
BMWBig6 - I have not really been liking the low 2nd gear performance from a hard brake, around a pin/tight corner and then out again. Just a general lack of oomph! If I was better at heel-toe then I might be happier. But seems to do good on the 2-1-2 shift.

MGM - just read your AZ post and made me come looking for this post. Glad you had fun. 40 psi was definitely not pumped enough as there was lots of rollover. I have played with higher in the front to help against the oversteer, but for a first time out I wanted to see what it was like.

Did you notice a hard time shifting quickly from 1st to 2nd?