Early morning flights may be usually frowned upon, but then it’s not every day that you get a call asking if you’d be interested to come to the Buddh International Circuit and drive Audi’s range of performance machinery flat-out. By the time I make it to the abode of the Indian Grand Prix located in Greater Noida, I have been awake for seven hours, from the time that alarm went off in what seemed like the middle of night. At this point, the only thing that keeps me awake are visions of being strapped into a supercar, hurtling along the 1.1-km long back straight at speeds I can’t even fathom on public roads.
The Audi Sportscar Experience promises this and much more, and getting a chance to push cars like the R8 and the lunatic RS7 in a controlled environment is just a part of it. As easy and accessible as Audi’s quattro-equipped performance cars are to drive, the sheer amount of horsepower can still get you into trouble rather quickly, even on a track layout as generous as BIC's. A set of expert driver coaches, along with Audi India prodigy Aditya Patel being at hand to guide the participants was no bad thing.
The briefing covered basics of vehicle dynamics and some basic technical information, and then it was time to hit the track. Luckily for us, the pièce de résistance of the experience was not saved for the last, but was served immediately. The new Audi R8 V10 Plus, all 610 hp and its clever quattro system was ours for the taking. This second-gen R8’s quattro system allows for almost all the power to the rear wheels if required – something I was eager to experience within the safe confines of a nice, wide racetrack with loads of run-off.
In a convoy of three cars led by the very experienced Rayomand Banajee, an aggressive lead and chase format of hot laps followed. Despite the Buddh Circuit being quite familiar to me, having marker cones at braking, turn-in and exit points helped us stick to the right lines as corners come up quite quickly in the R8. Braking too late and accelerating too early is something you don’t want to do in a 610hp rocket ship.
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