AWD Class
HPA Motorsports
2004 VW R32
*Overall Winner, Best AWD, Best Drag
HPA Motorsports knew they had neither the most powerful nor track-ready car coming into etGP, but the Canadian tuner set itself a goal to build a well-rounded package that could be driven on the street or withstand a severe beating at the track.
This year is HPA's third and most successful entry in etGP. The R32 is owned by Jesse Brimhall of Montana and it was recently overhauled when HPA took it into the workshop and updated it with new Garrett turbos, a DSG transmission swap and a widebody.
"It's definitely one of a kind," explained Marcel Horn of HPA. "We wanted a balance between daily performance and a weekend track car.
"Every year we drive to the event and this year, Jesse drove the car home to Montana directly after the drag racing had finished."
Fueled by 91-octane pump gas, the R32 finished every event and capitalized on its all-wheel drive advantage on the drag strip.
Contact:
www.hpamotorsports.com
604/598-8520
034Motorsport
2001 Audi A4
*Best Dyno
Almost no introduction is needed for 034Motorsport. The tuner is synonymous with Audi and VW tuning, having developed its own performance parts from its Fremont, CA home. They also built the 848hp engine in the Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge (et 12/08) and have developed a portfolio of racecars, including this '01 Audi A4. The car debuted last year with hopes of winning etGP, but were beaten by arch rivals from EuroCode Tuning and Stasis Motorsport. Now, with a new VR6 motor using an R32 head, plus RS4 widebody, the car was destined for glory, or was it?
"After losing by such a small margin last year, we wanted to do a clean sweep," Javad Shadzi, president of 034, told us. "We spent four months installing the new engine, widebody, wider tires, everything we wanted to do in the beginning.
"We tested the car on our hometown track at Sears Point and it was running 3-4sec faster than last year. So we expected it to be 2-3sec faster at Streets of Willow," Javad continued.
034 embarrassed the entire field on the dyno competition, producing a record-breaking 807.11whp. However, the crankshaft developed a fracture, which worsened on the road course. Despite that, 034 posted a 1:28.662 on its timed lap. Amazingly, this was only 2.5sec slower than last year even though the car had a broken crankshaft, and was enough to secure second place on the road course. But after diagnosing the problem, it was too late to fix the car for the drag strip.
"There was a couple of times we weren't sure if we would make it to the event at all," Javad concluded. "But we pushed through and came up with solutions. So we're happy the car made so much horsepower and did well on the road course considering how it was running."
Contact:
www.034motorsport.com,
510/657-6707