TTOC and TT Forum now even closer Audi Driver International

EVENTS
EVENTS
Another fantastic
Alpina ITTalia run
Perfect day out—
Haynes’ museum
FEATURE
TECHNICAL
Audi approved
bodyshop insight
Tracking down a
fuelling problem
More
awards!
Audi Driver
International
report and pictures
PLUS
Issue 25 Winter 2010
TTOC and
TT Forum
now even
closer
Official TT Owners Club magazine | Free to TTOC members
CHRISTMAS
IS COMING!
Christmas comes but once a year
and if you are looking for a last-minute
Christmas present or some stocking
fillers then why not visit the TTOC
shop for some incredible bargains?
Ordering is easy, just log on to the
TTOC shop and place your order.
If you have missed any
issues of absoluTTe or
yours is past its ‘best
before’ date, then stock up
while there are still some
back copies available. Back
issues are £2 each, three
issues for £5—or treat
yourself to the full set of 24
issues for only £35, plus
post and packing.
Once they’re gone,
they’re gone for good.
This of fer will not be
repeated! So get one of
the last available headturning ladies’ NiceTTs
cotton T-shirts. Various
sizes. £3 each, plus
post and packing.
And once these are
gone, they are gone for
good too! This of fer will
also not be repeated!
Men’s cotton T-shirts in
black, short sleeves, TT
image printed vertical
on one side. Various
sizes, £3 each, plus
post and packing.
Surprise your unsuspecting
guests with a small TT in their
glass and make sure the
drink is never too warm by
using ice cubes in the form
of your beloved TT. TT Ice
cube trays—£2 each,
plus post and packing.
Works well for making
TT chocolates too!
Wake up to this tantalising
smell of fresh cof fee or
beat the winter chill with
a hot cuppa sipped from
your EvenTT10 mug, the
pride of every breakfast
table. Only £6 each, plus
post and packing.
Be a parTT of iTT with this joint TTOC/
TTF lanyard to celebrate 10 years of
The TT Forum. This is something very
special! EvenTT10 Lanyards with both
logos of the TTOC and the TTF next to
each other. They are yours for only £2
each, plus post and packing. They are
also the bonnet stay of choice at shows!
Brand-new and exciting! New web-only
based membership, which includes access
to a special TTOC discussion area, new
content on The TT Forum and priority
access to TTOC club stands. Also included
in the package is an online newsletter and
TTOC gel badges. Get all of this for £10.
Maybe not for you as you have the premium
magazine option but perhaps you know
someone who would
appreciate a surprise gift!
Never be without your
favourite TTOC key
ring again! This small
(approximately 2.5cm)
chromed TT key ring
is machined to a high
standard. Available in
chrome finish only and
the design is available
as a MkI or MkII style.
£5 for a limited time,
plus post and packing.
Just log on to
www.ttoc.co.uk
and click on ‘shop’
news
INTRO
FROM OUR CHAIRMAN . . .
You sneaky lot really know
how to keep things secret!
I’LL not explain our big important news feature
here—see pages 6/7 for that.
This year’s Audi Driver Awards evening was
quite surprising. Not only because we managed
to retain the Gold award for Club Events for
the sixth year running but mainly for the fact
that after collecting our award, while sat using
my phone to post the good news and only half
listening, I suddenly heard my name called. . . .
Slightly stunned I proceeded to collect
a joint Silver award for the Audi Personality
of the Year for my efforts with the TTOC,
along with Calvin Chinsang for his work
organising the Audis in the Park events. After
rejoining the TT table it transpired that
Andrew (aka Wallsendmag) had set about
a stealth campaign to club and forum members
alike nominating me for this award. How
I didn’t get wind of this I really do not know,
so congratulations to everyone involved!
The Gold award for Personality of the Year
was again taken by Allan McNish, something
he’s now retained for a good number of
years. He attended the ceremony taking
time out of his hectic schedule to accept
the award in person. A brief outline of Allan’s
day seems to have consisted of flying into
the UK around midday from wherever he
was last testing or training, arriving at Castle
Combe for 3pm, changing into a race suit
and driving a handful of passenger hot laps
in the R8 for the winner of the raffle prize.
Allan then went over to Swindon to
change into evening attire for the reception
at Swindon Audi and then the awards dinner,
changing again and leaving for the airport
to fly out for the next day’s testing.
As if my award itself wasn’t enough
what happened at the end of the evening
was in some ways even better. For Allan
to spot me as he was practically running
out of the hotel and stop for a couple
of minutes to personally congratulate
me on my award was simply amazing!
To everyone who took the time to vote for
myself and the club, this year, I would like to
say a huge thank you. The award was totally
unexpected, but very greatly received.
Nick (aka Nem)
ADI
REPO
A RT
PICTND
URE S
P10
Our Nick scoops major
Audi Driver Awards title
Dani (aka A3DFU)
reports from the
2010 Audi Driver
Awards night…
Left: Nick
receives his
award from
Sally Appleby
of AutoMetrix
Publications.
T
HE annual Audi
Driver Awards
ceremony is the
reason many of
us attend the Audi Driver
International weekend, as
I suggest on page 11 of this
issue. And this year’s event
proved even better as our
chairman, Nick (aka Nem),
gained the Silver award
for Audi Personality of the
Year—closely behind ace
Audi Motorsport driver
Allan McNish.
Held at the Swindon
Hilton hotel, the atmosphere
is always fantastic and it is
the time for anyone who has
excelled in the world of Audi
to accept their well-deserved
trophies, whether for
aftermarket service, tuning,
accessories or clubs that have
done particularly well.
Voting for the awards
usually starts in June and
this can be done on line
or via ‘donkey mail’ at
AutoMetrix Publications.
This year there were 14
categories and of course it
was easy to vote for the club
events and communications
as well as the Audi
Personality of the Year.
No sooner was the voting
form up than Andrew (aka
wallsendmag) sent out PMs
to many TTOC members
suggesting that Nick
deserved some recognition
for all he’d done (and
still does) for the club.
Of course, this needed to
be kept secret and it was!
So we filled in voting forms,
electing our chosen Audi
THE EDITOR SAYS . . .
–13
Centre, tuner, club event—
and we all chose Nick as Audi
Personality of the Year. So
now we just needed to wait
until the big evening arrived.
Once the most delicious
meal was consumed and
everyone relaxed around
the table, Paul Harris, owner
of AutoMetrix Publications
and editor of Audi Driver
magazine, opened the
official part of the night by
introducing Jon Zammett,
head of Audi UK PR, who,
together with AutoMetrix’s
Sally Appleby, had the job of
handing over the trophies.
I won’t mention all of
them but the ones which
I find most interesting
are listed below.
A surprised and
unsuspecting Nick was
happy to collect his very
special and well-earned
award. Well done Nick!
The official evening ended
with some nice anecdotes
from Allan McNish. T T
Looking forward to
some exciting times
AS promised, we’ve included Poole Quay and the first
half of Alpina ITTalia in this issue, along with plenty more
excellent articles to enjoy as you settle down in front
of a nice log fire, trying to keep warm as we come up to
Christmas.
Talking of Christmas, we’ve got some great gifts
discounted for sale in the club shop, one of which
is completely new and will hopefully lead on to
something big.
As part of the TTOC and TT Forum partnership, we
will be producing an electronic newsletter to send out
to a new tier of web-based TTOC members we hope
to welcome on board. Content and format for this
newsletter are still being worked on. It certainly won’t
challenge the content of your premium printed magazine
but it will include some of the useful information we
provide here and hopefully generate some of the great
interest and enthusiasm
we see among readers in
the club.
It’s all quite exciting and
personally very gratifying that
we are all pulling together.
John (aka John-H)
DANI’S PICK: MOST INTERESTING AWARDS
z Audi club – Events
Gold: TTOC
Silver: Club Audi;
Classic Audi
z Audi club –
Communications
Gold: A2 OC
Silver: S2 Forum
Silver: AutoTechnica; Autotechnics
z Audi club – Information
Gold: Audi SRS
Silver: Audi-Sport.net
z Audi Centre – Customer events
Gold: Swindon Audi
Silver: Poole Audi
z Independent accessory supplier
Gold: TT Roadsport/The TT Shop
Silver: Forge Motorsport
z Independent Audi service provider
Gold: Russell Automotive Centre; APS
z Audi Personality
Gold: Allan McNish
Silver: Nick Goodall
Silver: Calvin Chinsang (Audis in the Park)
COMMITTEE
4
Chairman
Nick (aka Nem)
chairman@ttoc.co.uk
Club Secretary
Mervyn (aka B16TTC)
club.secretary@ttoc.co.uk
Events Secretary
Steve (aka TT Law)
events.secretary@ttoc.co.uk
Mark (aka conlechi)
Dani (aka A3DFU)
event.team@ttoc.co.uk
Merchandise Secretary
Vacant
merchandise.secretary@ttoc.co.uk
Webmaster
Davey (aka MonTheFish)
webmaster@ttoc.co.uk
Vice-chairman
Dani (aka A3DFU)
vice.chairman@ttoc.co.uk
Membership Secretary
Andrew (aka Wallsendmag)
membership.secretary@ttoc.co.uk
Events Team
Declan (aka 04dtt)
James (aka blackers)
Reps Secretary
Paul (aka Redscouse)
reps.secretary@ttoc.co.uk
Treasurer
Peter (aka phope)
treasurer@ttoc.co.uk
absoluTTe Editor
John (aka John-H)
editor@ttoc.co.uk
absoluTTe Sub-editor and
Competition Secretary
Dani (aka A3DFU)
sub.editor@ttoc.co.uk
competition@ttoc.co.uk
Marketing Secretary
Andy (aka YELLOW_TT)
marketing.secretary@ttoc.co.uk
TT OWNERS CLUB, PO BOX 756,
WALLSEND NE28 5DF
Official website: www.ttoc.co.uk
absoluTTe is a publication about the Audi
TT and is completely independent of
the manufacturer and importer of these
cars. Copyright for all material published
in absoluTTe remains with the TTOC.
The TTOC and its agents can accept no
responsibility for the veracity of claims made
by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers.
Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing
Company, www.magprint.co.uk
5
UPCOMING EVENTS
TTOUR OF DUTTY, SUMMER 2011
PAUL (aka Redscouse) and his team of organisers had so much
fun during this year’s trip to Italy (see pages 16–21) that he
proposes a similar TTOC-assisted trip for next year.
The format will be similar to this year’s, albeit with more time
for you to enjoy the scenery, localities and fresh mountain air, as
Paul suggests the trip should last a full week. Some of the hotels
will be the same as this year and, yes, the Stelvio Pass will be on
the driving agenda. Paul is already taking deposits and if you
want to be part of it, then don’t delay in contacting him.
GTI INTERNATIONAL, JUNE 25/26, 2011
GTI International will be in its 24th year in 2011 and going by
this year’s success—with more than 1,700 runs on the quartermile Sprint, 200 top-quality cars in the Show ’n’ Shine, more
than 60 clubs and 80 traders, a hugh campsite and many
new models from Vindis Volkswagen—it is an event not to be
missed! So make sure you put this ever-popular event in your
diaries now so you can make it to next year’s TTOC stand.
GTI International is again at Bruntingthorpe Proving
Ground, Leicestershire, not far from junction 20 (Lutterworth)
of the M1, south of Leicester.
APS: Servicing and Tuning for
high-performance Audi and VW
Q Bespoke software upgrades written in-house with
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Q With many years of writing software upgrades for
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to offer software upgrades for a broad but select
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and Land Rover.
Q Check our website for current latest deals on our
APS Stage 1 remaps and complete vehicle upgrades.
Q APS are the UK sole distributor for Sportec and
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Q With award-winning service from our dedicated team
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For listings of our complete range visit www.autops.co.uk
or call Ed Jackson on +44 (0)1280 840491
VW/Audi/SEAT/Skoda/Porsche
Tuning Specialists
Brackley, Northamptonshire
+44 (0)1280 840491
8
by Dani Unwin (aka A3DFU)
TTOC ISLE OF MAN WEEKEND, MAY 20–22, 2011
PREPARATIONS for this all-time
favourite TTour are now well under
way. We will be staying at the same
hotel we did last time: the Mount
Murray Hotel and Country Club.
Prices for TTOC members and their
partners/family are £250 per person,
assuming two people sharing a car
and room, or £380 per person for
a single person in a car and room.
As this event is exclusive to TTOC
members you will need to ensure your
membership is current at the time
of booking, so remember to renew
if it should run out before then.
Prices for the trip include:
z Ferry crossing Liverpool–Douglas–
Liverpool.
z Friday and Saturday night
accommodation at the Mount Murray
Hotel and Country Club.
z Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday
mornings.
z Evening meal at Mount Murray on
Saturday evening.
z Handouts as appropriate.
Ferry times are to be confirmed but
will be either Friday morning or evening
departure from Liverpool and Sunday
afternoon departure from Douglas.
news
TTOC EASTER WEEKEND
SCOTTLAND,
APRIL 22–24, 2011
HEATHER (aka Hev) is organising
another of her famous knees-up
meets over the Easter weekend in
April next year and it will be again
around Blair Atholl, near Pitlochry.
And as everyone enjoyed the
location last time, the same hotel will
be used: the Atholl Arms. With it being
Easter weekend, minimum stay will
be two nights.
For room rates please ring the hotel
on 01796 481205, contact Hev or check
The TT Forum events section.
As for the cruising part of the
weekend, Hev still needs to come up
with routes but the plan is to have
a Friday afternoon small tour, Saturday
day trip and a small tour on the
Sunday. As usual everyone is invited,
even the Southerners, and it promises
to be a really good weekend away with
loads of laughs, fantastic driving roads
and new friends to be made.
EVENTT 2011, JULY 17, 2011
CRICH TRAMWAY MUSEUM
OUR national event has now been
confirmed for the third weekend
in July. As always, there will be
the annual meeting taking place
the evening before, followed by
the auction. During the AGM, the
committee will be elected and it is
the time to show your support for the
club and also to voice your opinions.
TTOC ARCTTIC TOUR
THIS fantastic tour has now been
rescheduled for June 2012, so
keep your eyes firmly trained on
the Upcoming Events pages of
absoluTTe and/or The TT Forum
Events section. Alternatively you can
contact James (aka blackers) directly
if you can’t bear to miss being on the
already long list of 20 interested TTers.
AS ALWAYS THERE ALREADY ARE END-OF-YEAR AND CHRISTMAS MEALS ARRANGED, SO PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR REP FOR DETAILS OR VISIT THE EVENTS SECTION OF THE TT FORUM
9
We are increasing the reach of the business to include modification
parts at better prices than can be found elsewhere, so please
keep logging on and looking around our website—there are some
exciting new projects in the pipeline. The website is designed
to appeal to those of us who are constantly on the lookout for
unusual and effective modifications without having to spend
a fortune to stand out.
z We aim to reply to all contacts within 48 hours absolute
maximum; however, invariably we will respond within a few hours.
z We are based in Milton Keynes, so are relatively central for those
36
wanting to pick up
We offer a full range of
larger parts, but we
Audi TT modifications from names
will continue to ship
such as BMC, Forge and Bilstein
anywhere in the
world. Please contact
us for accurate postage costs.
z We accept payment via PayPal or direct bank transfer.
z Should you require something that you cannot see on the
website, please get in touch on 07814 365147 or
email sales@TTspares.com.
ola
Charlie and Nic
Magazine Highlights
C
ar Highlight of the Audi enthusiast’s year in the UK, Audi
Driver International goes from strength to strength. After
hitching a lift with editor John (aka John-H), Dani (A3DFU)
recalls a truly memorable event PICTURES: JOHN-H
P
oole Quay once again provided a
beautiful setting for Poole Audi’s
annual TT on the Quay gathering,
with almost 100 TTs turning up.
Richard Taylor (aka mighTy Tee)
reports
PICTURES: MIGHTY TEE,
MATTWARNER
After what seemed an eternity, the day finally dawned for the start
of our drive to Livigno in Italy, taking in some spectacular passes
and the Nürburgring. One of the organisers, Paul France (aka
Redscouse), gives a blow by blow account
PICTURES: BRAVOTEK, STEVECOLLIER
Famed for their workshop
manuals, Haynes also has
a huge collection of classic
cars and motorcycles.
TTOC Somerset Rep TT_RS
spent a nostalgic day at
their museum along with
members from nearby
regions
PICTURES: TT_RS, CHARLES
HARMAN
Les ‘The Organiser’ Melling (aka
les) headed an eager convoy to
take in the famous Illuminations
at Blackpool. Impressive as they
were, the local BMX boys were
just as impressed with our TTs!
PICTURES: LES
The men and maids of Kent
(and Essex!) take a jolly jaunt to
Southend, accompanied by a
couple of Ferraris. Ian Railton
(aka ian222) was there
After last year’s successful
rolling road day at Awesome, it
was time for Les (aka les) to
organise a similar event this year
PICTURES: JOHN-H, LES
Magazine Highlights
C
ar Cosmetics in Trafford Park is
Manchester audi’s approved repairer. The
company’s publicity claims a £3 million
investment went into the new facility to
create an “industry leading repair centre”.
So what was all the money spent on? Their
gleaming entrance is certainly impressive
but what goes on inside their new building?
We asked Managing Director Dave Gage
some in-depth questions
Magazine Highlights
A
t some time or other, you’ve all probably experienced
that nagging feeling your car isn’t running quite as it
should. John Handford (aka John-H) sensed his car was
suffering a slight, barely noticeable, drop in performance.
. . but it was only after some in-depth exhaustive testing
that the somewhat surprising cause of the problem
became clear
A
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trsome
ABSOLUTTE
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a chance
John-H)
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sensedin
his
the
car was
suffering
magazine?
a slight, barely noticeable, drop in performance .
. . but it was only after some in-depth
exhaustive
Email: drabsolutte@ttoc.co.uk
testing that the somewhat surprising cause of
the problem became clear
To buy this three page article click here: