Story: DEAN EVANS I PhotoS: PErFECt PrINtS hoBArt (ACtIoN), JoEL StrICKLAND PhotoGrAPhy (StAtIC)

One of the biggest surprises of Targa Tasmania 2011 was the speed of Matt Close’s Audi TT RS. Placed second outright for much of the event, a podium was sadly lost in the 11th hour. We find out what’s gone right, and what went wrong.

CLOSEUP!

ROAD SECtIoN

At 36km, Riana is the third longest stage of Targa Tasmania, but there’s a focus just south of the small town of Natone. An arrow-straight 1.5km road is punctuated by a hump, which at the road legal speed of 100km/h is little more than an elevated section that provides a better view of the vast countryside. But on leg four of Targa Tasmania 2011, it’s a tempta-tion for competitors to see if they have to courage to tackle the event’s biggest jump – flat out. Many cars reach 200km/h, but the Audi TT RS of Melbourne’s Matt and Casey Close are touching 235km/h as they approach the crest.

This is no time for caution; the Audi is sitting second outright, between a pair of Nissan GT-Rs, with a brace of event winners and fast cars close behind and poised to strike over the final two days of racing.

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On his eighth Targa, Matt holds the throttle flat and the 2010 TT RS leaves Earth. All four tyres lift clear, before touching down nose first, grabbing traction and then speeding off towards Natone’s famous drop-away right-hander.

“I don’t think I’d do that again, it was a bit scary,” explains Matt after the event. “I’d probably be a bit more cautious next time but I knew we still had to push.”

Sitting in second outright at that point, the husband and wife pairing were holding off the likes of Dean Herridge’s Subaru STi, Nissan GT-Rs and Porsche GT2s, but it wasn’t without its risks. Faster in the dry, Matt was more cautious in the wet and bled time to third-placed Herridge over four following wet stages.

Going into the final stage of day four, the wet 33km Rinadeena, Matt pushed a little too hard and just 1km into the stage while trying to aggressively warm the tyres, lost control and spun into a small ditch: bogged, undamaged, but his podium lost.

It was a harsh result for a promising effort and what would probably have been his best result after finishing seventh, sixth and fifth at previous Targas, plus it would have been the perfect way to bounce back from his disappointing 2010 Targa crash due to component failure.

But the underlying point was that the Audi TT RS was the right choice. Having sold his 2000

Porsche 911 Turbo, Matt wanted something that offered all the qualities of the 911, but at a higher level: all-wheel drive, a torque-laden turbocharged engine and surefooted handling in the dry and – crucially in Tasmania – the wet. The TT RS ticked the boxes on paper, but it wasn’t until the car hit the stages – and the top five – that the decision was ratified.

The standard specs of the TT RS are already impressive, the 2.5-litre five-cylinder making 250kW and 450Nm. Through Revo Technik ECU tuning, and a boost increase from 0.9 to 1.4 bar along with a single three-inch exhaust system, power increased to around 310kW, with around 580Nm of torque, on 98 octane pump fuel.

The other changes include a more efficient intercooler and pipe, and a serious lightening session. Starting with 1450kg, Matt changed the wheels from 19s to Volk 18s, removed the rear seat and trim, carpets and heavy front seats. He fitted a lightweight battery, while a chrome moly cage was welded in, along with race seats, harnesses and extinguishers; the net result was a saving of 85kg, shedding around six percent overall weight.

Of course it isn’t devoid of all its luxuries, with the air-con and sat nav both remaining on board.

“The problem was,” explained Matt, “most of the weight saving came from the rear end, so I could have gone further, but not from the front, where I wanted.”

Not that it understeers, as a full set of KW Competition external canister coil-overs trans-forms the car. “If I made just one change, it’d be the KWs,” says Matt. “With the low- and high-speed tuning, they make a huge difference to its grip and roadholding.” At $12,000, they are arguably the most serious performance upgrade.

The brakes also got upgraded, with the standard four-piston callipers being replaced by RS4 eight-piston front callipers and rear discs.

Probably the most difficult part of running the TT RS has been development and idiosyncrasies. Of course the manual six-speed is up to the task, but it doesn’t allow for left-foot braking, cutting the throttle if there’s any crossover of pedals. And the dual-clutch gearbox due in Australia soon is still unproven in competition. Tuning the ECU was also a challenge, at least until AUdvolks

The decision to swap his Porsche 911 Turbo for an Audi TT RS proved to be an inspired choice.

QUICK SPINtarmac supported Matt Close during targa tasmania 2009 when his Porsche 911 turbo twice set the fastest time around the George town Prologue.

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LEFt: Going from 19s to 18s widened tyre choice and dropped weight too.ABoVE: trick KW race suspension with remote reservoirs was one of the most important upgrades.BELoW: revo technik tune increased power output from 250kW to 310kW.

rear end was where most of the weight was removed. the heavy battery is removed for targas, while the extensive roll cage offers incredible safety and strength.

Seconds after his jump, Matt and Casey head into Natone’s iconic drop corner.

George town’s prologue was a Matt Close specialty, winning the stage twice before in his Porsche 911 turbo. In the Audi, his time of 3m:20.4s was 10th fastest.

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Melbourne found the Revo Technik, but frustrat-ingly Audi HQ is always trying to develop new ECUs and parts to hamper aftermarket tuners. The Revo unit comes with a controller allowing users to set defined parameters, so it needs somewhat of an experienced hand like Audvolks.

But the biggest issue has been the lack of similar cars running elsewhere in the world, with Matt being a pioneer for TT RS road tuning to this level. So far, it’s been getting faster with each event, and there’s still development to be done.

With Matt distracted, we jumped behind the wheel, and discovered that this TT RS is a right bullet, appreciably faster than the Evos and STis, and using its torque as its forte to punch out of slow and medium speed corners.

It’s agile, and the while the KWs feel firm, it

still allows the TT to shift its weight around under braking and accelerating to maximise traction. Its slippery aerodynamics don’t hurt either, with Matt seeing 255km/h on the Cethana stage at Targa this year. Top speed, in standard trim, is 278km/h, provided the limit-free option is chosen from the factory, identified by the carbon fibre engine cover.

Lined up on the drag strip with our VBOX, it rolled off a 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds, against the standard car’s 4.6 seconds, on the way to a 12.4 quarter-mile. The key is its massive 193km/h trap speed – not far off a Dodge Viper SRT10 and the second fastest car we’ve tested!

“Moving up from the ageing 996 Turbo was the best thing we did,” explains Matt. “The technology in the Haldex 4WD system is streets ahead and the

AUDI SPORT RSMatt’s tt rS isn’t the only rS racer in the world, with the factory building the Audi Sport tt rS, in front-drive, for the VLN German endurance series. on its debut in october 2010, it won its class and finished 8th outright. A larger rear wing is optional. Maybe.

overall balance and confidence the TT inspires is far better in every way – the times we’re doing now smash the Porsche’s!”

Targa Tasmania 2011 was looking like a very strong event for the Closes. From 10th in prologue/qualifying, they moved into seventh after day one, and an incredible second outright after day two, which they held until the final stage of day four when the self-confessed silly mistake sent them, undamaged, into the muddy ditch.

Though irritated at his lost podium, Close rejoined the race after being pulled out and went on to set some sizzling times, winning stages and fighting back to win his class in the inaugural three-round 2011 Australian Targa Championship.

An Audi winning rally stages? It’s like the Group B days all over again.

The Audi is a right bullet, appreciably faster than the Evos and STis, using its torque to punch out of every corner.

TT ON DEBUTAt targa 2010, Matt’s Audi tt rS made its debut and was up to sixth place when he hit a railway crossing too hard and broke a front suspension arm, sending him into a fence and letterbox – which he dutifully replaced!

Faster than a Porsche 911 turbo, able to park in front of tall buildings with a single bound.

Aircon and satnav are retained. Matt’s not a barbarian, after all.

Matt fitted a ‘guard’ around the ESP button to prevent knocking it during shifts.

Stack tyre pressure monitor checks all four tyres’ pressures and temps.

Car: Audi tt rS

Engine: 2.5-litre five-cylinder

Power/torque: 310kW (est)

Weight: 1365kg

Power to weight: 4.4kg/kW

Price: $136,900 (std)

Performance (tested)

0-100km/h: 4.2sec

0-400m: 12.4@193km/h

Best result: 5th 2010 targa high Country/2011 Wrest Point

TEARDOWN

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R8 NOT ENOUGH?Why not an Audi r8? “Under the current regs, it’d be slower,” suggests Matt, who thinks the heavier r8 would be harder on its brakes and tyres and would be limited by its normally aspirated engine, whereas the tt rS can simply twist up the boost.It didn’t stop Laurence Kalnin running his r8 V10 at targa 2011, and while he wasn’t challenging for the outright lead, it was an awesome sight to see and hear, and he capably finished in 27th.

TT RS TOO MUCH?Proving you don’t have to spend big bucks to race an Audi was the 1994 Audi S2 of Lloyd Berge and Morgan Matthews. running in the ‘Early Modern’, Lloyd proved its reliability by crossing the Wrest Point casino finish line in 30th.

An Audi winning rally stages?It’s like the Group B days all over again!

Walter was here.