The Japanese time attack teams were out in force last weekend at Fuji Speedway as part of the Motor Games that featured the second round of Formula Drift Asia and amongst many other things a Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge invitational demonstration.
In attendance were HKS in their blisteringly fast R35 GTR now with a claimed 1300 horsepower and having witnessed the acceleration down the main straight at Fuji this is certainly a believable claim. This was the first public viewing of this car in its final livery and to say it looks stunning would be an understatement. It is actually a deep “gun smoke chrome” finish with the traditional HKS livery applied over the top.
Over the course of the weekend the team had an early battle with a fuel issue and were also seen trying several brake pad compounds with the HKS engineers continually pulling data every time Taniguchi entered pit lane. Like all the other teams they were keeping their lap times close to their chests but needless to say they were all smiles as they packed up on Sunday afternoon.
In the very next garage was an equally impressive Top Secret R35 GTR. In this instance it was driven by Kikuchi Yasui but we will see Tarzan take the wheel in October. While Top Secret claim less power (1100hp to HKS 1300 hp) it was immediately obvious how much more developed aero-wise this car is over HKS. On the Saturday it could be seen full noise on the wet track emitting a huge rooster tail behind it.
Both of the cars sounded extremely strong particularly down the straight where the noise echoes off the stands. Top Secret have made it clear from the outset that their mission statement is to “beat HKS” and any other scalps that dare take them on are simply a bonus. The refinement of the Top Secret car was clear with the team barely laying a spanner on the car all weekend and looking every bit as fast as the competition.
Smokey Nagata gave us the thumbs up after the last session and explained that he cannot wait to meet the Australian fans. We certainly walked away thinking that the HKS/Top Secret battle may be an awful lot closer than people realize.
There is no question the car that everyone wanted to see was the radically re-engineered Under Suzuki S15. This car was fresh from the shop having undertaken an extensive aero re-design with the help of Andrew Brilliant. As well as the aero upgrade the car also had a major increase in power thanks to a new GCG/Garrett turbo.
Even a casual glance at the rear end reveals how much work has been done to the aero package with the car now resembling an early IMSA Le Mans style car with two very distinct tunnels running deep under the rear of the car. This, along with the frontal revisions have seen the car make an enormous leap forward in the aero department.
“This car now has the goods as far as down force is concerned” said Andrew Brilliant who was with Suzuki-san in the pit garage to assist with set up. “The CFD shows more downforce than the Nemo car which is believable seeing as we are now four years down the track from when I designed that car. The big thing will be getting it all to work together.”
“Once you introduce this type of aero there are other things that come into play from engine cooling to suspension travel and we are slowly working our way through the list. Provided we can sort all these niggling issues this car could be a winning car for sure. But that as usual is always easier said than done.”
“The other big attraction of working with Suzuki-san is that he probably has the smallest budget in the Pro Class field but gets around this by doing all the work himself from building the engine to making the moulds and laying up the carbon fibre he does the lot!” said Andrew “I think this is something that so many enthusiasts including myself can relate to. He has given up his entire life in the pursuit of this dream and I admire that”
Suzuki-san has given up his entire life in pursuit of his dream – you’ve got to admire that.
“We have been involved with the Suzuki for many years and are really seeing some results now” said Daniel Farrand from GCG Turbo Japan “Suzuki has been running a GCG/Garrett turbo for many years but we have recently upgraded him to the latest GTX 40/88R with a .85 housing. The latest Hypertune exhaust manifold lowers the turbo right down in the chassis rails and we have fitted a pair of high boost Turbosmart Comp-Gates. It is now making well over 800hp”
Along with the other revisions Suzuki also added this neat titanium side pipe made by, yep you guessed it, Suzuki himself. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
Also running were Aussie ex-pats and long-time time attack supporters AVO with Ross Wilson behind the wheel and father Terry Wilson twisting spanners. Many of the younger generation may not realize this but Terry Wilson is one of the true pioneers of turbocharging in Australia with a history dating way back to the 1970s.
These days he lives in Thailand and is a scrutineer for Formula One but still likes to “keep his hand in” with a bit of racing. The Subaru BRZ they have built is seriously fast whilst still retaining full street ability and looking at their lap times would be very competitive in the WTAC Clubsprint class. “Everything in this car you can buy from our catalog” said Ross Wilson “You never know, one day we may even make the journey to Sydney with it!”
Finally, the RE Amemiya Hurricane was out lapping with some more power and claimed reduction in weight. The aero has also received some minor revisions. Though the car was in the hands of the new Thai owner, Taniguchi was still in charge of the driving duties.
A return to the Yokohama World Time Attack in 2014? Watch this space.
LINKS:
www.yokohama.com.au
www.worldtimeattack.com
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