Teams testing early for WTAC 2015

The conditions were far from ideal when we headed out to Sydney Motorsport Park with the whisper of several WTAC teams sneaking in some private testing.

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The first car we stumbled upon was a very familiar looking Mitsubishi EVO. The reigning champions, Tilton Interiors, were out with a full team of mechanics, engineers and of course their driver – Garth Walden.

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While the team wouldn’t disclose what they were actually testing, we did manage to find out they will be using a larger Borg Warner EFR turbo for 2015 and “several other changes” from the 2014 package.

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“To be honest we will be focusing on refining what we have already got” said team principle KostaPohurukov. “The more data we collect the more we can refine and dial it in.”

“We certainly know that we did not run a perfect lap when we won last year as we lost half engine power turning back onto the straight so we know it could have gone faster. In saying that we expect the competition to step it up this year as they have every other year so we need to be ready.”

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“We have kept this car true to the Japanese style of time attack cars meaning this is still a full bodied car with everything bolted on. It doesn’t have any crazy rocker arm suspension or full carbon fibre body.”

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“This is an old street Evo Lancer and 90% of the parts you see on this car you can buy as an aftermarket part. Even the whole carbon body kit you can buy from Voltex. Don’t expect it to be cheap, but you CAN buy it.” said Kosta.

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“That is not to criticize the beautiful builds that are competing these days it is merely stating the facts. Our goal for 2015 is to beat them all for the third time in a row.”

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“Then we will probably retire this old girl and I will look at something new. Who knows? I may even bring this one back in 2016 in Pro Am and have a drive myself!”

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The wet track certainly made for some spectacular images with the rain providing a fair indication of the aerodynamic down force via the rooster tail emitting from the rear which at times was several times higher than the car itself.

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We noted that Tilton was lapping Sydney Motorsport Park in the mid 1.35 second range in the pouring rain testament to both the driving skill of Walden, the well sorted package of the Evo and the Yokohama A050 tyres.

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Moving along in the next pit garage was the incredible R32 GTR of Chris Alexander. This is a car that really must be seen in person to be appreciated.

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It is another Barry Lock designed car as is evident by the “hammerhead” design front and long up swept rear diffuser. The TRP guys enjoyed the assistance of Tilton’s crew with data and setup as well as dialling the car in.

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For those unfamiliar with the name TRP it stands for Tony Rigoli Performance and these guys have been a dominant force in Sport Compact drag racing for many years having campaigned many of the fastest WRXs on the planet and more recently a Mitsubishi that covers the quarter mile in under 7 seconds.

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“I offered my guys to help them out” said Kosta “We are all about helping this sport grow as a whole and it was clear to us these guys are new to all this so we put out our hand.”

“It will not take them long to learn as they certainly know how to make cars go very fast. It is just a little bit different when you have to turn the corner at the end and preferably not take your foot off the throttle. This is an amazing car and these guys will do well for sure.”

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“Today is really all about getting more seat time for me” said Chris. “Every time I drive it I am getting quicker. These high aero cars are just so different to anything else so they take some getting used to.”

“It is unnerving going through a corner without lifting and knowing the four tyres are planted firmly on the track. No question I will have my A game by October though. It is just a question whether it will be an A plus or an A minus!”

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The level of engineering on this car is incredible and really needs to be seen in the flesh to be appreciated.

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The engine bay almost resembles a JGTC car from the nineties with the original strut towers still in place as per the rules but the shock absorbers moved inboard via a rocker arm setup and a blade anti roll bar mounted in the scuttle panel.

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The spray show from this car was mind numbing. Clearly these designs have some serious down force. We call this “nature’s wind tunnel”.

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The last garage housed Matt Cole’s old school RX7. It’s great to see a car with design dating back to late 1970s being turned into a competitive time attack contender.

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Matt and his buddy were out testing their new aero package. When we asked him what it consisted of, his reply was straight to the point: “Trial and error that is about it.”

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“I come up with an idea. Make it up in the garage at home. Come out here with my buddy and a stopwatch and it either gets pulled off and goes in the bin or we see a difference in lap times and continue to develop it further.”

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“Today we are playing with side canards. Last time it was the bigger diffuser. You have to be careful though, you can’t make too many changes at once or you will not know if you are going backward or forward.”

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“If you are persistent enough it can reap you rewards. We still have a long way to go though and I do this on a very strict budget. But that is what is cool about time attack racing, if you are handy and a little smart and do it all yourself you can make something pretty cool for not a stupid amount of money.”

“If some support did come our way this year though, we are confident we could make something REALLY cool and that is something we are working on as well.”

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This car finished inside the top ten in Open Class last year and we would not be at all be surprised to see it move up the ranks this year.

LINKS:
www.yokohama.com.au
www.worldtimeattack.com