What: Audi A4 quattro Super Touring
Model Family: A4
Model / Generation Code(s): type 8D, R7
Chassis / Matrix: B5
Class: FIA Class 2 / Super Touring
Era: Audi Sport Competition Cars R Era
Built By: Audi Sport
Year Built: 1996
Competition History: BTCC, STW, Campionato Italiano Superturismo, European Super Touring Cup, FIA European Super Touring Championship
Championships: 1996 BTCC — Frank Biela
OVERVIEW
Audi A4 quattro Super Touring chassis ST16 is identified by the Super Touring Register as Frank Biela’s championship-winning car from the 1996 British Touring Car Championship. Built by Audi Sport in 1996, it later passed through German, Italian and European competition with Tamara Vidali and Guido Lucchetti Cigarini.
1996 BTCC CHAMPIONSHIP
Biela competed as number 45 for Audi Sport UK alongside John Bintcliffe in number 44. Eight victories and 289 points secured the drivers’ championship, ahead of Renault’s Alain Menu on 197 and Volvo’s Rickard Rydell on 194. Audi also won the manufacturers’ championship, while Audi Sport UK claimed the teams’ title.
The campaign began with victories in both Donington Park races and the opening race at Brands Hatch. Biela ultimately reached the podium 20 times in 26 races, combining eight wins with eight second-place finishes and four thirds. His final victory came in the second race at the Brands Hatch season finale.
Biela secured the title with four races remaining, despite the weight penalties imposed on Audi’s all-wheel-drive package. The British championship formed part of the A4 quattro’s seven-country touring car title sweep in 1996.
BTCC RACE RESULTS
| Date | Circuit | Race 1 | Race 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 8, 1996 | Donington Park (GP) | 1st | 1st |
| April 21, 1996 | Brands Hatch (Indy) | 1st | 4th |
| May 6, 1996 | Thruxton | 1st | 3rd |
| May 19, 1996 | Silverstone (International) | 11th | 1st |
| May 27, 1996 | Oulton Park (International) | 2nd | 2nd |
| June 16, 1996 | Snetterton | 2nd | DSQ |
| June 30, 1996 | Brands Hatch (GP) | 2nd | 8th |
| July 13–14, 1996 | Silverstone (GP) | 3rd | 2nd |
| July 28, 1996 | Knockhill | 1st | 2nd |
| August 11, 1996 | Oulton Park (Fosters) | 2nd | 1st |
| August 26, 1996 | Thruxton | 2nd | 3rd |
| September 8, 1996 | Donington Park (GP) | 4th | 3rd |
| September 22, 1996 | Brands Hatch (Indy) | 4th | 1st |
Results: Frank Biela, number 45 Audi Sport UK Audi A4 quattro. Chassis attribution follows the Super Touring Register.
GERMAN AND ITALIAN COMPETITION
The register assigns ST16 to Tamara Vidali’s number 4 STW entry in 1997. After a year out of competition, Guido Lucchetti Cigarini acquired it in 1999 and entered Italian Superturismo and selected German championship races.
EUROPEAN COMPETITION
Lucchetti Cigarini continued in the European Super Touring Cup in 2000 and FIA European Super Touring Championship in 2001. A notable result was third place in the opening Monza race on June 11, 2000, driving number 15 for Nath Racing. He finished behind fellow Audi driver Roberto Colciago and Honda’s Peter Kox.
DOCUMENTED ENTRIES
| Year | Series / Event | Driver | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | BTCC | Frank Biela | 45 |
| 1997 | STW | Tamara Vidali | 4 |
| 1999 | Italian Superturismo | Guido Lucchetti Cigarini | 26 |
| 1999 | German Super Touring championship — Misano | Guido Lucchetti Cigarini | 29 |
| 2000 | European Super Touring Cup | Guido Lucchetti Cigarini | 15 |
| 2001 | FIA European Super Touring Championship | Guido Lucchetti Cigarini | 23 |
Chassis assignments follow the Super Touring Register.
LATER OWNERSHIP
The register records selected Italian outings in 2002, retirement that year and storage in a private collection. Stefan Rupp acquired ST16 in 2020.
PHOTO GALLERY
[Insert period and later photographs.]
SOURCES AND NOTES
- Chassis history: Audi A4 ST16 — Super Touring Register.
- BTCC season: 1996 British Touring Car Championship — Wikipedia.
- BTCC results: Frank Biela — TouringCars.Net, cross-checked against the chassis register.
- European podium: 2000 European Super Touring Cup, Monza Round 7 — TouringCars.Net.
- Date discrepancy: The register dates the July Silverstone races July 13 and July 14; Wikipedia groups the meeting under July 14.
- Coverage: The register lists no racing in 1998. Its detailed 2001 results stop after Magny-Cours, while its narrative mentions selected Italian races in 2002 without identifying those events.
- Chassis attribution: The BTCC results reproduce the register’s ST16 assignments; they do not independently establish whether a spare chassis was substituted at any meeting.
- Ownership: The documented 2020 acquisition is the latest ownership information cited here; current ownership and condition have not been independently verified.
PHOTO GALLERY
