Text and Photos: George “GT R4C3R” Smolar

I just got back from my first Waterfest and boy was it hot. It must have been 95 degrees with 97% humidity. Either way, it was crazy fun. I cruised to the show with DubsOfQueens, a local group of VW and Audi guys I’ve started hanging out with lately.

The show was amazing, with hundreds of cars in the show area and hundreds more in the exhibition area. There were so many clean Mk3s that after walking around for a while I realized how much work I still need to do on mine.

The vendor area was packed with Mk4s and even more Mk5 GTIs. And of course, no Audi-related event would be complete without a few R8s, and there were plenty to be found. However, Volkswagen wasn’t prepared to let Audi steal the show. VW brought in the coveted GTI W12 from Europe. If you saw it on Top Gear, you haven’t seen anything. It looks that much cooler in person (though still handles just as poorly).

The drag racing was mediocre, especially seeing some cars run 20-second quarter miles and the single participating R8 that did one pass at 14 seconds. The burnout competition was far more exciting, but relatively uncompetitive with several FWD cars against one RWD. The RWD Audi won by a clear margin, blowing out both his rear tires. The GTI that faced him in the finals put on a good show though, engulfing his entire car in smoke to the point that it was no longer visible.

At that point I walked around for a bit more scouting cars and bragged to my friend that I got to see the W12 while he sat at home. Finally I met up with Ashley (VentoBabe) and called it a day.

Now I’m home, tired from a long hot day in the sun, eager to hear the date for next year’s Waterfest.