I got that rumor off the quattro list....Anybody heard anything about this....I guess they didn't like being in 8th and 9th place. Kinda different from the 96 and 97 racing seasons.<p>That does it...can't get Speedvision now...there will only be A4 racing in Germany, Italy, Norway, and Australia now.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

Steve,<br>Hope that news about the A4s not being in the BTCC next year isn't true, but you can still look forward to Audi racing in the FIA GT Endurance Championships (LeMans, etc.) next year......and maybe even in the new Petit LeMan Series here in the USA...a very long shot on this last one. Why we might even see the Audi race at Laguna Seca a year from now.<p>I don't think we'll get Speedvision here in Fremont any time soon. Seems I remember hearing that TCI and Speedvision or Speevision's parent company are competitors or someting that may make it unlikely for us to get it on TCI. Hope I'm wrong on this one.<br>Or are you thinking of getting a dish?<p>Bob B<br>98.5 2.8 QTS <br>

One of the most recent Audi Driver mag (JulyAug 98) discusses the problems Audi had with the front drive cars:<br>1: no quattro<br>(A duh from the crowd.) More than just having awd, but the engine is mounted such that it cannot be rotated as the other transverse-engined competitors can. The center of gravity is too high and makes the car more unbalanced then the rest.<br>2:Michelin tires<br>They ran Dunlops last year as everyone else ran Michelins. More to have to sort.<br>3: Another Duh- the front drive layout.<br>(Different than #1) Everyone else has years of front drive experience, Audi is apending alot of time sorting out the car for each track... and need twice the time to do so.<p>Is it surprising that AudiSport is bailing the BTTC? Nope.<br>I'm surprised AS-UK allowed the cars to be painted silver, knowing they were not going to be competitive...

Jim Simone told me that Circuit City, Good Guys, or Anderson's TV & Stereo has a sale on them right now....$295 I think, plus $40/month. I never considered that TCI was gonna offer it.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

But I have heard now that in the German STW, Christian Abt and Pirro are now getting their cars sorted out and are doing quite well now - even a pole or two. So it would be wrong to leave the BTCC now.<p>But then I have also heard that even though the STW has a larger number of cars/drivers, the BTCC in England is looked at as the BEST racing series with the best cars/drivers. So it again would be wrong for Audi to pull out of BTCC. But then, . . . BMW has been absent there since 97. ???????

Steve, do you HAVE to have the dish on the roof? I live in an apartment complex - so I am not too sure on their rules as to modifying your "roof". So can the dish be IN the apartment? Cuz I am really SICK of my cable company - TelePro (anyone EVER hear of them???), and I have to have them cause that is the only one offered by my complex.

That STW had tougher competition than the BTCC. I don't know, this is just what they said.<p>Steve<br>

I did "shoot" a dish through a window once. Got about a 60 on the signal meter. 90-95 is about perfect but a picture can be viewed as low as about 30. Being digital, it is either on or off. Also, a couple of manufacturers make through the glass systems if you are unable to pull the dish coax into your apartment. No matter what your cable company says, the picture quality from a DSS unit will always be superior. <p>David <br>98 2.8QMS<p>FYI- I design high-end music and video systems and there is nothing like watching racing on a 7 foot wide screen !

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FoxSports has a thing called MotorWorld on at 10am Saturdays Eastern Time that shows STW (German). Their season is over now but I assume they will do it again next year. I dont know if you get the channel but its part of my basic cable.<br>

Speedvision is partially owned - about 30% - by News Corporation who is TCIs biggest rival. TCI is mostly owned by TimeWarner.<p>You may remember the EchoStar/AskyB merger that never happened because it couldnt get approved by the gov't? Well, News has announced a while ago about trying to acquire TCI altogether. Its a crazy mess in the cable/sat wars and to make matters worse everyone will start seeing Digital TV coming around real soon.<p>Anyway, the deal with Speedvision is bad because News and TCI never like giving each other rights to run their channels on each others cable providers. What is good is that FoxSports tries to rebroadcast some of the stuff you see on speedvision on their FoxSportsWorld/FoxSportsNet channels which many people do have. The biggest problem with that is that they dont have the best schedule and its never consistent.<p>I think you will see major changes in the sports broadcasting arena regarding the less watched sports in the US. It wont remain a satellite only thing forever...<p>

The dish doesn't have to be on a roof to work. You can put it on a south-facing patio, deck, balcony, wall, etc. I just installed my RCA system two weeks ago, and it's mounted to a vertical beam on the side of the house. Having live Runoffs and Petit LeMans coverage this weekend was great!

Geez, I have Fox Sports West, ESPN, and ESPN2 - but what do i get? Cheerleading contest, tennis, boxing, baseball (now football on ALL THREE, UGH!), SKATE boarding, baton twirling, ice skating, roller hockey, Muscle Beach, airhead Aerobics bikini contest (well, . . .err, . . .I saw it while channel surfing looking for racing) oh, and at certain times, . . . NASCAR, NASCAR, and NASCAR Pickup Trucks! I swear, in europe you can't even go out your door without some auto race nearby! But here, specailly in LA, THE Car Capitol of the world, . . . I can't even get one on my TV!

While I wouldn't argue that DSS/USSB is better for people who like all kinds of PRO sports, I'm a fan of DISH Network. More bang for the buck, especially for movie-lovers like me (e.g., $220/yr. gets me 14 movie channels). They are in the final stages of deciding how to package Speedvision (probably with at least a couple more sports-oriented channels), but I assure you it's coming REALLY soon. Plus, they offer more college and international sports.<p>Just trying to make your choice that much more complicated....<p>-- David F.<br>1.8TqMS<br>E30 325is

As we cannot run the quattro again next year, we'll gladly take the ex BTCC cars.<p>The other thing I headr was that whilst in Germany they can run the quattros with the rear wheels disconnected, in the BTCC from next year they would have to use real front wheel drive cars.<p>So what you may say?? Well how about having to develop a torsion beam rear axle from scratch to replace the double wishbone independant rear used for the past three years.<p>Also, the cars weer silver way before quattro was banned when they were wining everything - in answer to a previous post.<p>Graham