J_C Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Last year I joined 'Club Audi' and went along to their annual AGM and Concours d'Elegance. Being a new member I was asked to co-judge the Concours, and that experience taught me that the scrutineering is at least as tough as actually competing! It was a real eye-opener in terms of what judges look out for at these sort of events, so after bagging an encouraging runner-up spot at last year's Audi Driver International Concours I thought I'd have a crack at this year's club event last Sunday. After a (very!) gentle sixty-odd mile journey up to Gaydon where it was being held my heart immediately sank as I parked up and saw Robin Pink's immaculate pearl white RS2. This famous car is a regular at Audi events all over the country, and Rob usually wins or at the very least takes the runner-up spot in every Concours or show 'n' shine he enters. In fact I remember he lost out by only one point last year - myself and the other judge agonising for ages over how to separate this car from the eventual winner. After a sneaky look round it I could see that he'd really gone to town on it this year; the wheels were clean enough to eat off of (inside and out) and the engine bay and interior were literally spotless... As I sat there trying to rid my S4 of bug splats and brake dust I resigned myself to a top three finish at the very best. Luckily there were a few hours to prepare before the judging started so I got my stuff out and got stuck in, trying to ignore the RS2 in the process! There were fourteen or so cars competing, split roughly 50/50 between the 'classic' and 'modern' classes - and of the latter there were at least two other cars that I thought would give me a serious run for my money, especially this '02 A4 Cab: The girl who owned this car was clearly a cleaning fanatic and her attention to detail was astonishing. I was in no doubt that she and Rob were the ones to beat! After lunch the judging began, and as my car was one of the last to be looked at, I had a few extra minutes to check for any missed bits. There's always something else to do, and as the bloke with the Ur-quattro next to me kept saying, "You have to stop somewhere, leave it alone!" Eventually the moment came so I opened the car up and wandered off to talk to people, I couldn't bear to watch! After what seemed like an eternity the judges 'retired to consider their verdict', and we were all kept in suspense. Everyone was then called over for the presentation of the awards, the top spot for the 'Classic' category going to the owner of this 100: On to the 'Modern' class and the moment of truth. Third place went to the black A4 Cab, and with baited breath I awaited the second place decision; I was convinced that if I'd been placed it would be me, as I thought there was no way I'd beaten that white RS2. To my astonishment Rob Pink was called up to receive the runner-up award, and at that point I just assumed that I must have been the Concours equivalent of our entry at this year's Eurovision and not been placed - back to the drawing board for me! As I scratched my head trying to think who the winner must be, my name was called out. I was stunned! It was a very pleasant - and unexpected if I'm honest - surprise. I was presented with the winner's trophy by someone from Audi UK, together with an engraved glass thing which was mine to keep: A word of thanks is due to Big_Al, without whose help I would never have got the car ready in time. Saturday was a scorcher and he came to my rescue with his fantastic filtered water. I really need to get something like that! Thanks again mate On the way home I celebrated by having a bit of a blast back down the Fosse Way, including a 'play' with a 4.2 A6 quattro S-line. My mpg for that was a little over half the 29.8mpg I achieved on the way up! The front of the car is now spattered with ten million flies, the wheels are black with brake dust and I couldn't care less Last but not least, my pride and joy in its winning glory. As with the other cars above, my photos don't really do it justice (and I forgot to take any interior shots ): Now to do danksy's S4 before we head off to Le Mans in it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Nice one mate! Looks like you saw off some stiff competition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpsmith Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Awesome fella! Great write up too as we wait with baited breath to see if you won even thought we guessed you had already! Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kite Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Well done John, the new detailing guru. The PC is reaping its rewards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted June 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Cheers, it certainly is! Best money I ever spent on car detailing gear. Don't tell the judges, but the car still isn't finished - there are still some panels left to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activa Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Amazing work from all entrants,and well done for taking the honours from some very experienced competition. That old Audi 100 certainly puts my car to shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted June 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 To be fair, it put most of the cars there to shame - including my own (which has the advantage of only being three and a half years old). IIRC it was featured in the Audi Driver mag two or three months back; here's another pic: There were cars in the Audi museum at Ingolstadt which weren't as mint as this, and it's his daily driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activa Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Just astonishing that a car of that age,and one that isn't what you would call an enthusiasts model(like a Quattro)can look like that all these years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted June 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 This is the Ur quattro that ran it very, very close. Apparently there were only three points (out of a total of one hundred) separating the top three in the classic category! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 [ QUOTE ] [/ QUOTE ] You could have at least cleaned the finger prints off it.... Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabGirl Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 That cabriolet looks stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avus_Bub Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Well done JC, you must be well chuffed!! Now you just need to spend a couple of days under the car with your toothbrush and some Autosol........ I gave my wheel arches a little going over a couple of weeks ago after I fitted some S4 front brakes. I thought I'd done a good job untill I saw the pic's above BUB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markpaq Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Well done John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Congratulations John. Most impressive. You are getting much better at blanking car number plates out nowdays. No longer shall I call you 'Crayons Carter.' Oh and your S4 is quite clean too. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Some serious cleaning action there. You car looks great and to keep a DD up to that standard is just amazing or totally insane!! Keep up the good work. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Cheers all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_m Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Good job you didnt enter Danksy's car Your standards were slipping today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneforsorrow Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Great write up John and congrats on winning. Thanks also for the positive comments on my A4 Cab (also a DD). I was very pleasantly surprised for my car to get placed in it's first show. Love the pics - I didn't take any of mine - I was too busy drooling over the rest of the cars there. Cheers Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danksy Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Well done John Your car looked good too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Welcome to TSN. Come along to the Windsor Park / Virginia Water meet sometime, the last Wednesday of the month. John Carter might even be persuaded to bring his S4! Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneforsorrow Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Thanks Ian. Windsor meet sounds like a good idea - any excuse to take the motor for a spin and ogle cars all night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Good job you didnt enter Danksy's car Your standards were slipping today [/ QUOTE ] Erm, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Great write up John and congrats on winning. Thanks also for the positive comments on my A4 Cab (also a DD). I was very pleasantly surprised for my car to get placed in it's first show. Love the pics - I didn't take any of mine - I was too busy drooling over the rest of the cars there. Cheers Sarah [/ QUOTE ] Hi Sarah - it's good to see you here! Stick around, this is a great place to be. It was quite refreshing to meet someone of the fairer sex who takes detailing as seriously as us saddo blokes! It would be good to catch up with you at the next Virginia Water meet. Keep an eye on the meets section for the next one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lottiefox Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Well done John, hadn't realised you'd won when you mentioned this yesterday - not on TSN as much nowadays. Car looks superb, well done for such dedication. I know I just can't be fussed with it - doing 20k a year in the TT means as soon as it is clean its dirty again so it gets Megs washed and clayed twice a year and thats it. Now clean that trophy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexc Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Well done, some stunning Audis there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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