Boersma Racing: SLB Limited FWD Record
Chris Boersma has been preparing himself and his car for years. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes as he sat in the hot sun at Buttonwillow. He was ready for another victory. He was confident entering Super Lap Battle. You have to be confident to put out money on a flight from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Los Angeles, California. Self-assured to load your car in a transporter to be sent across country. Comfortable with your ability as a driver to take on the best that North America has to offer in the world of time attack. Chris, backed up by wins and records in events across two countries, felt that he had a great chance for another victory. Special thanks to MotoLyric/Rommel Estrada the above photo taken at Buttonwillow.
Early in the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) at the Driver Development Track (the smaller of the two road courses at CTMP), the car is prepped and ready for action. Built to Global Time Attack specifications, this bumped him into the same CSCS class as his teammate and now rival, James Houghton. Photo by Boersma Racing.I asked Chris to discuss the difference between this event in 2016 and the first year he competed at Buttonwillow back in 2013. Chris laughed and stated that he and Jimmy (James Houghton) had been discussing that recently. That on their first foray into the arid countryside that comprises Buttonwillow they were the novices. The track was new. The countryside was new. All of the competitors were new. They were as green as grass (which is not very plentiful in the dirt and sand surrounding Buttonwillow). Chris and Jimmy were out on the track the day prior to Global Time Attack in 2013 and he was comfortably putting down lap times in the 2 minutes and 5 seconds range. Nice times for a new track and certainly not times that would embarass anyone. Yet, it was a long drive to put down nice times. That was 2013. Just a few weeks ago Chris was out on his first timed lap and it was a flyer. A snap could be heard across the track compound. In 2015 Chris demolished the GTA SLB street class record by 3.5 seconds. 2016 and running in the Limited class, that snap was Chris breaking another record. Which he subsequently reset a few more times over the course of the two day event.
The start of the 2016 season saw Boersma Racing competing with CSCS at CTMP in snow. Running on slicks, no less. The end of the season saw them competing in a heatwave with GTA in California at Buttonwillow Raceway. Extreme conditions for any competitor. Photo by MotoLyric/Rommel Estrada.Competing on street tires, Chris Boersma from Canada set the Global Time Attack SuperLap Battle Limited Front Wheel Drive Record with a time of 1 minute 49 seconds. This time is amazing! To top it off he broke a record held previously by fellow Canadian William Au-Yeung set in his Integra RSX in 2014. Chris' time was only 4 seconds off the pace of the 2015 Record setting time of the Spoon Civic. Think about it – in Unlimited class the cars are running the best tires available and there are virtually no build restrictions.
Chris at Road Atlanta with Global Time Attack. This was early in the season and the car wasn't fully sorted. Even so, in the first session he put down a time a 1:32.963 which was just shy of the record time of 1:32.613. As he lost his transmission in this first session, Road Atlanta's record will be waiting until 2017! Photo by Boersma Racing.I first met Chris when I was instructing with Ontario Time Attack at Mosport's Driver Development track. Chris was just entering his second year of competing in events and he and his dad were there to sort out the car and pick up a few more driving tips. At that point in history I did not and could not know that Chris would be a record breaking driver competing against the best that two countries could offer – on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts. But Chris is a driver who never stops learning. He is always seeking to expand his skillset. And he is always looking for ways to improve his car. During the off-season between 2015 and 2016, Chris and his dad Mike started prepping the car for the new season. They took it to Eric at R-Division where together they made some significant changes. The car was being built for the 2016 Global Time Attack Limited class. This move was very logical as Chris had attained all of his goals in the street class. 2016 was going to be a year of stretching, setting new goals, and as we have seen, breaking records!
There's no questioning the look in his eyes… Chris Boersma from Boersma Racing is ready to bring home another record for his dad Mike, and his racing team, R-Division. Photo by Amanda Gift from Snap Studio.
