World Time Attack Challenge 2012 – Competition Day 1
By Martin Gonzales
After one day of competition the 2012 World Time Attack Challenge is more than living up to all expectations. Yes it's unfortunate Team America ended up on the wrong continent, but that has not slowed the fierce competition and there is still plenty to talk about. Track records are continuously falling as teams in all classes have stepped their games up.
The most talked about topics on track on the first day of competition were the strong showings put on by the Australian efforts. The Nemo Racing and Tilton Interior teams clearly separated themselves from the rest of the Pro Class field by turning lap times faster than last's years winning time of 1:28.8510 set by Cyber Evo. Yep, the Aussies were not here to mess around, but they weren't the only ones with plans for domination. A total of 5 teams made the trek from Japan to compete and there was no way these guys made the trip to just show up.
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| Just like we reported in our feature of the Scorch Racing's S15, the team showed up with a freshly completed rear aero package. Would it be enough to overcome the Aussies? We'll just have to wait and see. |
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| A close look at Redbrick Racing's Evo IX engine bay. Just look at the size of the piping feeding that Garrett GT35! (note: WTAC and Redbrick Racing websites say GT42, but in the picture is a GT35 compressor housing) It looks like the exhaust manifold has some fancy ceramic coating too. |
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| PanSpeed left the RX7 at home this year and brought out their new RX8 to Eastern Creek. This was by far one of the loudest cars on track. The BRAP-BRAPS clearly let everyone know who was coming around the corners! |
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| Though the stars of the show are the time attack competitors, I really got a kick of some of the old school cars on hand. Not only were there some seriously clean examples on display, but they all did a few laps together during the mid-day break in the “Legends of the Turbo Era” session. It was a really nostalgic site that any motorsports buff would appreciate. If you don't know who Carlos Sainz is…look it up! |
