Fresh from his debut win at Invercargill's Teretonga Park Raceway last weekend, Audi of New Zealand S3 Sportback driver, Simon Sceats, is confident of further success at the Timaru round of the 2010/11 New Zealand Production Racing Championship this weekend.
"We've proved the car is capable of it now, particularly if, like last weekend, we get rain," said Sceats, the defending category champion.
Sceats threw down the gauntlet when he joined early season standout Grant Liston on the podium at Teretonga last Sunday, tying for second place overall behind round winner Logan Childs.
Having claimed a win and two fourth placings at Teretonga, Sceats and the Audi Dealer Network/Mondiale-backed S3 Sportback are now fourth in the series points standings after three of the six rounds.
The tight, technical nature of the Timaru circuit could also play into Sceats' hands this weekend, development work by International Motorsport, the Auckland-based team running the car, not only producing more power but also more grip, particularly through and out of corners.
"The Audi's quattro four-wheel-drive system is definitely superior to those of the other cars in the category - we proved that in the rain at Teretonga," said Sceats. "By trying different suspension set-ups, we've also been able to improve the drive off corners. The car is now hooking up really well and that's something else which is going to help us this weekend."
Audi of New Zealand General Manager, Dane Fisher, was at Teretonga to see the S3 Sportback cross the finish line in front. He will also be at Timaru this weekend and is understandably keen for a similar result.
"We're the first ones to put an S3 Sportback on the track," said Fisher, "and we've been developing the car as the series has progressed. We made a major step forward between the second and third rounds so the challenge now is to continue the momentum to the point where our car is the one the beat."
Audi is no stranger to being first, having lead the New Zealand luxury market for four years now.
The Audi Dealer Network/Mondiale S3 Sportback will be on the track at Timaru from today (Thursday) with a second day of testing on Friday. The qualifying session and the first race of the weekend will be on Saturday before two more races on Sunday.
The New Zealand Production Racing championship then heads back north for the penultimate round at Feilding's Manfeild circuit in February and the final at the the Taupo Motorsport Park in March.
