Redline Champion Rydquist enters MotoIQ wheel2wheel action
In 2010, Carl Rydquist won the Redline Time Attack Modified RWD Championship title, racing the City Tire Nissan 350Z, sponsored by Hankook and supported at the track by AE Performance. The City Tire Z was equipped with Hankook Ventus RS-3 tires, which is a street class tire, yet in battle with competitors who used full R-comp tires, Carl knew how to set the chassis up to maximize the tire grip and could stay ahead of the pack to win 4 out of 7 races, as well as set a new class track record at “Big Willow”, a true driver’s track.
This weekend at Redline Time Attack, the City Tire Z, originally a Formula Drift car and soon to appear sideways at the infamous annual All Star Bash drift event, will see a tire more resembling a slick for the first time, as it is set to compete in the MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Championship.
We’re going to try out Hankook’s C51 tire, which at a glance looks similar to a slick but actually is DOT approved. Mostly, the improvement I’m expecting is sustained performance over the 30-minute race, which is what the MPTCC-series is all about.
Wheel2wheel racing is nothing new to Carl, or the Z. Carl has numerous wheel2wheel racing seasons and several victories from GT-races in Europe, and the City Tire Nissan 350Z was a strong contender in the 2010 Redline Super Session races.
I like time attack because I love the process of chasing and improving laptimes, and now to have MotoIQ put on the Pacific Tuner Car Championship under the Redline umbrella just adds to the overall experience on the race weekends. Wheel2wheel racing is ultimately what real racing is all about. We are curious to see what the competition will be like, and how the technical regulations will assimilate the performance levels between cars which otherwise race in different time attack categories. I think we’re going to see some great battles this weekend.
The MotoIQ PTCC teams and drivers have their practice and setup sessions today, Saturday May 28, and the MPTCC race is scheduled to line up at 11.30 on Sunday May 29. Hope to see you all there and don’t forget to print out your gift vouchers!
