Event: World Time Attack 2018 V.2 – One Perfect Lap

‘One Perfect Lap’. Described perfectly in the simplest form by the zealous talents behind what is arguably the spearhead of time attack motorsports, World Time Attack Challenge. The art of time attack really comes down to a singular “perfect lap” and consistency in both car and driver is key, but so is luck. A lot of luck. As followers, supporters, and enthusiasts of NDF and the brilliance that is attack, most of you will already know the formula to going breath-takingly fast: boosted power, balanced suspension, immense grip, talent, substantial amount of heart, and gigantic balls of steel. Oh yes, looking aesthetically good-looking and wild for our eyes to behold is vastly important as well! Yet, the elements and timing are really what brings all the hard work and dedication together.

Words: David Kim / Photos: David Kim/Sean Lucas

Throughout our stay in Sydney, the weather has been… well… an asshole at best. Sure, landing to light to heavy rain with a beautifully overcast sky was a nice change of scenery. Especially as a photographer from Southern California that faces a gorgeous but often times atrociously hot days, but for WTAC, I was a bit… mmmm… let’s say concerned. Wet races always make for awesome photographs, but I wanted to see with my own eyes, the limit to which these drivers could push. After all, we were at the center stage of the best, the fastest, and arguably the most ambitious series to date. Unfortunately, a ceiling is placed when it rains and achieving record breaking times seemed almost impossible in the beginning of day 1, to me at least.

To my amazement though, each driver in all classes really surpassed everyone’s expectations and shattered any concerns. Though wet conditions persisted regularly, it didn’t really phase any of the drivers or teams. Everyone pushed hard at the edge of their limits and some even matched or came close to their personal best times from 2017s dry conditions. As a result, times were almost across the board much faster than last years. And when the skies opened up and dry conditions swept in for brief moments throughout day 1 and 2, many grabbed the opportunity to be crowned the fastest in the world.

Times were inscribed, podiums were established, and casualties were had. Here are the top three contenders in V-Sport Clubsprint, Link Open, and Royal Purple Pro-Am class.

V-Sport Clubsprint

Jim Tu in the EXE OTR Evo IX placed third with a time of 1:40.0480.

Driver and owner of the BYP Racing EK9 Honda Civic, Stephen Wan, went a second and half faster than last year (1:41.6500) at 1:39.9400 which set him and the team at a respectable second place in Clubsprint. A hard-fought achievement though, as Clubsprint battled out not only the sporadic weather conditions, but also the regularly waved red flags throughout both race days that seemed to curse this class. With the sparsity of clean sessions ahead, drivers had to push and make the most of whatever runtime they had. Regrettably, Stephen foreshadowed the demise of his beautifully put together EK9 on day 1 by tapping the wall at Turn 1. With no major damages, the BYP team scrambled overnight to fix what they could and get the car realigned for day 2. On midday of the second race day, during an extensive cleaning of on-track oil spills midsession, Stephen Wan once again collided with the wall on Turn 1. This time though, the impact was a hard one that retired both Stephen and his EK9 for the rest of the event. According to the team, the lengthy wait midsession caused the tires to drop below optimal and the addition of slightly damp conditions were a factor into the incident. Thankfully, Stephen emerged with great health and is looking to comeback stronger and faster for WTAC 2019.

 

Brett Dickie and the Elusive Racing DC2 Integra earned first place with a respectable 1:38.7560.  A hard fought battle for the team, and a well deserved win.

 

Link Open Class

Matt Longhurst in the Integrated Motorsport Nissan R34 GTR took home third place with a 1:28.6650 which is roughly two tenths slower than last year’s 1:28.4500. Which was a common occurrence for the Open Class this year.

Josh Coote and the wild 1000hp, VR38, MCA Suspension, Toyota GT86 nabbed second with a 1:28.4590. A huge improvement to last year’s 1:32.1990.

Adam Casmiri, for the third and final time in the JDM Yard / Hardrace EG6 earned top spot with a solid 1:27.7500.  You can find a full feature of the history of this car here.

 

Royal Purple Pro-Am Class

Serse Zeli and the murdered J-Spec Evo produced a 1:31.7750. Good for third place in Pro-Am.

William Au-Yeung, while hit with motor and transmissions issues throughout Day 1 and the first half of Day 2, was able to hot swap and repair most issues through his personal mechanical expertise and with the help from teammates, friends, and fellow competitors. Naturally from the current king of the FF platform in North America, Will was able to put down a solid 1.27.9350 for second place which is an upright improvement to last year’s 1.28.4730. What’s next for Will and the Vibrant / PZ Tuning Honda Civic? Tsukuba!

The Tilton Racing Evo achieved first place in Pro-Am with a 1.24:6300 with Kosta Pohorukov behind the wheel. A full second and a half faster than last year’s fastest time of 1:26.2760 which was laid down by crowd favorite, Robert Nguyen and the Mighty Mouse CRX.

When preparation, dedication, and opportunity gets splashed with a little luck = “One Perfect Lap”