Dane Tom Kristensen, as winner of eight 24 hour at Le Mans races - the most by any driver - is not known for his prowess on surfaces other than bitumen. Not to us in Australia anyway. The hint that he may be as capable on ice or snow comes in the first word of this story. He’s a Dane and they apparently have plenty of the white fluffy stuff in that northern European country.
We are in New Zealand’s South Island - another place known for the white fluffy stuff - at a place called the Snow Farm, between Queenstown and Wanaka. It is situated on a plateau atop the snow covered peaks that turn this part of New Zealand into a winter wonderland.
Tom is at the wheel of a red Audi S5 and I glance over to see we are doing around 125 km/h sideways down the back straight of a two kilometre track graded out of the snow on this wonderful white plateau. The temperature is around - 6, but with wind chill it is closer to - 17.
The weather is as cold as Kristensen is hot. The S5 is quattro - Audi speak for all wheel drive - and Kristensen is pushing the car to its limits. The Snow Farm is a place where car manufacturers come in the northern summer to test their vehicles’ systems: brakes, suspension, gearbox, tyres, all wheel drive, engine. Think of the Snow Farm as a theme park for people whose job - yep, they call this work - to test vehicles in cold climate conditions.
We are here to put the new Audi 6 through it’s paces and when we’re not doing that Audi has brought along it’s Le Mans winning works driver to show us how its really done. You soon realise there’s a gulf as wide as the Tasman Sea as there is between the ability of the ilk of Kristensen and mere mortals.
Basically he puts the S5 into a permanent oversteer on both sides of the car as we work around the track. He seems to set the car up around 50 metres ahead of what he wants to do, like take corners. To sit in the passenger seat and soak in what he is doing with the car, with a minimum of fuss, is like watching Monet, Rubens or Michelangelo at work in the studio. The car is his brush and the Snow Farm his canvas.
Earlier, Audi had let us loose on the snow in gymkhana-style trials. The idea was to weave in and out of a series of orange cones set up along a 300 metre track - meaning a graded snow field. What we quickly learned was that everything we knew and use about driving in a dry, warm place like Australia goes out the window with snow driving. The goal posts don’t just move, they are chopped down. Accelerate, brake, steer, accelerate, brake, steer etc etc. Sounds easy. It’s all about rhythm and timing. I find I am driving like comic Steady Eddy walks. Awkward, ungainly, from side to side. I am the anti-rhythm. Yet, at the end of the day it will pay dividends and I will be the envy of all other motoring journalists at this launch, apart from one.
In the afternoon we get to race against the clock to see who has learnt the most about snow driving in the new A6. In a nutshell I overcooked it on the gymkhana, the adrenalin pushing my right foot and what little rhythm I had was left in the shed where we sheltered from the cold, and I came stone, motherless last. Colleague Peter McKay took the chequered flag in a less-is-better performance on the snow that turned to ice. For my efforts I was presented with a scale model Audi R8 LMS, autographed by Tom Kristensen. The R8 is the car in which Kristensen won several of his Le Mans victories. My ego might be damaged but my collection of model cars never looked so good with the autographed Audi R8 taking pride of place. Even the land of the long white cloud has a silver lining.
|
Print Article
Submit Feedback
Email This Article
