Well, it seems like it can be a weekend filled with bad language as a frustrated driver descends through a downward spiral. What’s most impressive is how Richard Meaden, a very talented driver in his own right, manages to get up and battle well with some very young, very experienced hotshoes. Perhaps more telling about the entire series is the fact that Meaden managed second fastest lap in the race, yet somehow finished dead last. These one-make series are renowned for their fierce competition, but that seems like an understatement.

As always with these kinds of series, it’s the car that’s the real star. Based off a TT-S, the Cup version boasts slick tires from Hankook, and all the racecar fixings, but a very limited scope of setup options to keep competition close. The cars are all prepared by Audi, so no private teams are allowed into the fray.

The motors, a 2.0-liter TFSI, is almost entirely the same as the production car’s engine.  And yet, a very cool overboost button has been implemented to give drivers a straightline advantage and keep the racing from getting boring. The drivers are all given a fixed number of these “push to pass” overboosts, where the engine outputs a total of 340 horsepower -30 more than the standard allotment – for 15 seconds!

With this many cars each sharing near-identical performance, a few crashes are bound to occur. Source: Audi Motorsport

Visibility is quite bad, especially with the head restraints in the bucket seat, but that can only explain away so much bad luck. Meaden, a man who just drove alongside F1 great Gerhard Berger for the Six Hours of Spa this year, suffered an accident, and left his with a mood that was “pretty black, but that’s often a good way of finding a bit of aggression, and finding a bit of speed.”

Unfortunately, that darkened mood didn’t win him the race, but it helped ensure one full of drama. Since this series acts as a feeder into the the DTM-bound ladder, it’s not surprising that many of these drivers are willing trade paint and exchange some amusing hand gestures.