Engen Xtreme Audis prepare for Killarney

The Engen Xtreme Team has been working overtime in the last few weeks to get their cars in peak racing condition in preparation for the Cape Town leg of the WesBank Super Series at Killarney on 09 May. After what can be described as a wretched outing at Kyalami in March this year, the team are starting to feel the pressure to seal some much-need victories and move up the points standing.

Both Audis at Kyalami on the whole performed below standard with the drivers performing well in practice on the Friday but in qualifying on Saturday the gremlins of 2008 seemed to rear their ugly heads with Shauns falling victim to a broken throttle pedal and with jammed full throttle, kept slipping the clutch while trying to finish the lap. This eventually led to total clutch and pressure plate failure, which the team managed to rectify, starting last in Race 1 and finishing 5th, a very good performance considering the circumstances. Michael on the other hand had a pressure plate failure in qualifying, a failure probably due to extensive Dyno testing, and this caused severe damage to flywheel, gearbox and electronics. Race two was slightly better with Shaun finishing 3rd, while Michael circulated finishing in 7th spot after he lost power as a result of the original pressure plate blow up.

The team travels to Cape Town in just over three weeks for the third instalment of the Bridgestone Production Cars in the WesBank Super Series competition. Killarney has proven to be happy hunting grounds for the Audis but has also dished out its fair share of disappointments in the past. In 2008 when Michael was in arms length of clinching the title, but in a twist of fate he suffered a tyre burst forcing him to leave the track and limp across the finish ending his title hopes. Shaun on the other hand stormed to a convincing win at Killarney after suffering a miserable testing spell and qualifying laps, but just falling short of the top spot.

Terry Moss ahead of Killarney comments, The Engen Xtreme drivers love the Killarney circuit and generally fare very well, as it not only suits the Xtreme Audi setup but also the guys driving styles, unlike Kyalami, where the track suited the BMWs and Nissans brilliantly, which was evident in their dominance on the day.

The Xtreme team will undoubtedly be putting in the hours ahead of the race fest which takes place at Killarney in May ensuring that the hard work on the track in order to secure the titles gets done early on in the season.