Race track comparison: Ducati Superbike versus STW Audi

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Race track comparison: Ducati Superbike versus STW Audi

rabbit and Hedgehog

They couldn’t be more different, Andy Meklaus Superbike-Ducati and the Audi A4 quattro from Christian Abt. But their lap times are almost the same.

From the finish curve in Hockenheim, Andreas Meklau accelerates his Ducati 996 fully and confidently pulls, even suggesting a joyful wheelie, past an unusual opponent, Christian Abt in his Audi A4 quattro. Much to the fun of the two-wheeler faction present at this friendly dispute between the motorsport worlds.
However, the Meklaus crew reacted a bit puzzled when their hero had to tackle the home straight again from the slipstream of the yellow Audi at the end of the lap on the small circuit, which they drove together at high racing speed. Where does the world-class superbiker lose time on the German super touring car champion, even though the Duc accelerates the car by 30 km / h? While meklau thunders towards the north curve at 238 km / h, Abts all-wheel-drive racer clearly lags behind at 208 km / h.
Before the bend to the right, however, the car comes out tremendously. The explanation is given by Andy Meklau, who in the meantime swapped racing gear and suit with Christian Abt, who was active as a motocrosser at the beginning of his motor sport life: “It is always unbelievable how a racing car brakes. You can easily override the braking point in front of the curve that is familiar from the motorcycle and only drop the anchor around 80 meters later, but very brutally. On the other hand, when you accelerate at the exit of a curve, not so much happens. “
In fact, it is not so much the 309 hp of the two-liter four-cylinder engine, which are already collected in full at a quite civil 8250 rpm, which is restricted by the STW regulations, but the powerful brakes, which are the not insignificant top speed disadvantage of the racing touring car compared to the superbike Dissolve air. Two internally ventilated steel discs with a diameter of 380 millimeters and eight-piston calipers work on the front axle of the Abt A4. And the 330 mm discs with four-piston calipers, which help slow down the Audi at the rear, would do the front wheel of any super sporty road machine credit. In addition, a special water cooling system increases the efficiency of the Audi braking system even further.
The two 320 mm discs in the Ducati front wheel with radially anchored four-piston calipers ?? the finest that brake giant Brembo currently offers for racing motorcycles ?? together with the 200 mm disc with double pistons at the rear, on the other hand, seem rather shy. Although Andy Meklau with the Italian tongs after the home straight in Hockenheim at least decelerated with 11.2 m / s² ?? for non-racing drivers, 9.8 m / s² is the ideal value.
At this point, however, an almost unbelievable 15.7 m / s² prevent the four drive wheels of the Audi from uncontrolled forward thrust. Even after braking, the car’s advantage is not over. At 145 km / h, the Audi is exactly 15 km / h faster than the Ducati in the slightly elevated north curve. This difference, however, is based more on the laws of nature than on particularly elaborate technology. Four 210-millimeter-wide slick tires on 8.2×19-inch wheels are much easier to transmit transverse acceleration than the 120/65 x 17 front and 180/55 x 17 motorcycle rubbers at the front.
Just as Andy Meklau was impressed by the Audi stoppers, car professional Abt was after his ride by the acceleration of the unfamiliar vehicle, the superbike: “If you even touch the throttle grip, the front wheel will rise, regardless of the gear you are right now At the same time, I was 2,000 to 3,000 revs away from the red zone when shifting. The motorcycle racers must be completely insane. “
This game ?? the car wins the braking duel by lengths and is then exhausted by the superbike when accelerating ?? is repeated in every corner of the route. Even in particularly blatant places such as the ant curve, where the Audi has almost twice the braking power of 13.7 m / s² compared to the Duc’s 7.7 m / s², the superbike’s acceleration phase is enough to close the gap again.
Around 170 hp with a curb weight of 162 kilograms for the Ducati are compared to the 309 horses of the Audi, which weighs 1,070 kilograms without driver and placement weights. With the consequence that the heavy Audi car lags behind the Ducati in 5.0 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h alone in the classic exercise.
The result of the completely opposite driving dynamics of the superbike and the super touring car is all the more surprising at the end of the lap on the small circuit in Hockenheim. The lap times are less than a second apart. While Andy Meklau got his spare motorcycle ?? the number one bike with the very latest in Bolognese racing technology was on the day of our two-plus-four appointment on the way back from the Superbike World Championship final in Japan ?? Drifted around the track in 1:05.7 minutes, Christian Abt drove in the Audi 1:04:09 minutes. The STW champion thus realized exactly the time that brought the German Pro Superbike champion Christer Lindholm to pole position on Yamaha in May.
D.he battle between barchial braking performance and superior acceleration ends largely in a draw. The main difference lies in the way it happens: with the help of the hammer brake system, Superbike rider Meklau and touring car hero Abt were in agreement, everything in the Abt-Audi is a little less spectacular.

Technical data Abt-Audi A4 quattro-STW –

Engine: four-cylinder in-line engine, longitudinal crankshaft, two overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, electronic petrol injection, bore x stroke 85 x 88 mm, displacement 1998 cm³, power 227 kW (309 hp) at 8250 / min, maximum torque 225 Nm at 7000 rpm Power transmission: permanent four-wheel drive with mechanical differentials, six-speed gearbox Chassis: front and rear independent suspension on double wishbones, mechanically adjustable stabilizers, gas pressure shock absorbers Brakes: discs all around, internally ventilated, slotted and water-cooled, diameter front / rear 380/330 mm, with eight or Four-piston calipers, front / rear tires 21 / 65-19 on 8.2-inch Magensium rims Dimensions and weights: Length x width x height 4479 x 1753 x 1311 mm, tank volume 100 liters, empty weight 1070 kg, power to weight ratio 3.5 kg / PS Mileage: 0 ?? 100 km / h around 5.0 seconds (depending on the gear ratio), top speed 260 km / h

Technical data Ducati 996 SPS –

Engine: 90-degree V-two-cylinder engine, transverse crankshaft, two overhead camshafts each, four valves per cylinder, electronic Magnetti-Marelli fuel injection, bore x stroke 98 x 66 mm, displacement 996 cm³, output 170 hp at 12200 / min, torque not specified 320/290 mm, four or two piston calipers tires: Michelin 12 / 65-17 on 3.5-inch rims at the front, at the rear 18 / 55-16.5, 19 / 50-16.5, 19.5, depending on the route / 50-16.5, 18 / 55-17, 19 / 55-17, 19.5-17 on rims 5.75 to 6.25 Dimensions and weights: length x width x height 2030 x 685 x 1080 mm, wheelbase 1430 mm, tank volume 24 liters, empty weight 162 kg, power weight 0.95 kg / PS Driving performance: 0 ?? 100 km / h 2.6 seconds, top speed 306 km / h

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