It was that time of year again where all eyes are on Sydney, and car enthusiasts from across the country arrive for another instalment of World Time Attack Challenge. Teams across Australia and across the world touched down with aspiration of breaking personal bests, class records and even lap records.
Straight away, reigning champions Trent Grubel and DC Jap broke the Clubsprint record by half a second. Unfortunately, two sessions later the engine threw a rod, throwing another Clubsprint victory for the team in jeopardy. Alex Michalsky driving the Plazmaman Mitsubishi Evo made it close in the Clubsprint shootout setting a time of 1:32.276, but Grubel’s lap time of a 1:32.234 set in the early morning would stand, granting DC Jap Automotive two Clubsprint victories in a row. The unmistakable red Got it Rex Impreza RX piloted by Michael Garland would hold onto third with a 1:33.917 lap put down in his first session out.
Misha Charoudin, Nurburgring content creator would fly down to debut EV power in World Time Attack competition, getting behind the wheel of a Hyundai IONIQ 5N. Miji Kang, South Korean racer was another international competing in Clubsprint, driving the NeoTech Australia Civic with a fastest time of 1:49.916. Both drivers made sure to get as much time on track as possible, with Misha pushing the limits of the IONIQ 5N seemingly every corner, with his best lap being a 1:41.404.
Two fan favourite international teams were the pair from Japan competing in Open class: Yashio Factory and Scoot/Auto Rescue Izu. Both drivers were all smiles as they tackled Sydney Motorsport Park, as Kazuyoshi Okamura set a time of 1:39.573 in the S15, whilst Ando Yasuhiro went faster in the RX-7 with a 1:34.466. As always Cole Powerson was delighted to be at WTAC, this time driving the Team Coore WRX STi to eighth in the Open class after clocking a 1:32.528 before catching fire in the final session.
As Benny Tran crossed the line on Friday – setting a lap time good enough for P3 in the Open class at that moment – the BYP Integra suffered an engine failure, blowing an impressive plume of smoke behind. On Saturday, Justin Gaujenieks WTAC attempt came to a dramatic end, as the rear wing collapsed on his Toyota MR-S as he went into the fast Turn 1.
Like Benny Tran the day before, Tim Slade in the Extreme GTR had a front-end failure as he simultaneously went P1 with a 1:25.935. The team would have until the final shootout to repair the damaged aero and suspension.
In the shootout, Nathan Morcom in the GAS Evo reclaimed the fastest time with a 1:25.883. Morcom and co were elated, but only for a moment as Rob Nguyen set an even faster 1:25.543 lap out of nowhere in the Dream Project S15. The Queensland family and crew would have to wait to see if Tim Slade could deny them, but Extreme GTR broke as it ran wide at Turn 5 allowing Dream Project to hold onto the Open class victory in breathtaking fashion.
Rob Nguyen wasn’t done yet either, pushing the legendary Mighty Mouse CRX to third in its return to Pro-Am with a 1:27.080.
Feras Qartoumy’s 2024 WTAC adventure would begin with a midnight engine rebuild on the carbon Corvette before the Thursday practice day and a turbo change during Saturday morning. All this, and he still secured second place with a personal best of 1:25.450. However, Pro-Am honours would go to the fun having team from Finland and the mad Audi R8 1:1 as Sami Sivonen put a storming lap of 1:24.832 together in the shootout. Finland, the U.S.A and the Sunshine State, all on the podium together in Pro-Am.
There wasn’t as much competition in the Pro category as previous years, with the Evasive Motorsports S2000 getting stuck at the Los Angeles harbour, and the Scura Motorsport Exige retiring before the main event due to engine complications. This left two cars, including the Rodin Sintura built by Rodin Cars and driven by Josh Buchan, he filled the Western Sydney area with V10 song on his way to a 1:27.010.
The second car was none other than the four-time WTAC champion Porsche RP968 with Barton Mawer at the wheel and straight away would set a 1:17.9, proving last year’s record was no fluke. On Saturday, Barton Mawer would go quicker breaking the lap record once again with a 1:17.672, and the celebrations would begin, but they weren’t done yet. In the shootout, all eyes turned to the RP968 as it clocked an astonishing 1:17.444. Two years ago, a time like this would have been a fantasy, but it has become a reality. In other forms of motorsport, domination can be boring and only appreciated years later, but in Time Attack, the domination by RP968 has become lightning in a bottle, leaving everyone impressed and exhilarated. This is what Time Attack means.
Words & Images – Noah Thorley