This “Triumphs” section would not be complete without mentioning LYFE Motorsport. The guys from Salt Lake City in Utah did it the hard way. Worked tirelessly to get the car ready for testing. Suffered numerous teething issues during practice, fixed them all only to suffer a fatal engine failure on Friday. Sourced a replacement engine (thumbs up to Brian Bugh for donating an R35 GTR motor) and worked overnight to have the car ready for the first morning session.



They started with 1:34.31 and got the lap times progressively down to finally arrive at 1:32.4050. While this lap time may not look comparable with Tilton’s time it’s worth noting that is the fastest Pro Class R35 time ever recorded at WTAC, and it was done with a stock motor! In our books that’s a win.

Heartbreaks

When we saw Under Suzuki pull over on Saturday morning with smoke coming out from his engine, we were, as most of the spectators, on the verge of tearing up.



Like LYFE, Suzuki had engine troubles on Friday but after setting 1:25.8476 he was well within the ball park (remember Tilton’s best at that time was 1:25.09). Suzuki-san worked through the night to replace the engine and was out on his warm up lap on Saturday when disaster struck.



Another engine failure prematurely ended Suzuki’s dream of winning WTAC though the time he set on Friday secured him a place on the podium.



As the event drew to a close we caught up with Andrew Brilliant and asked him if the Scorch S15 (had it not been out of action) was capable of matching Tilton’s new record. “Definitely,” he replied, “it was built to do those lap times. And lower!”



Another victim of WTAC’s demanding conditions was Andy Forrest whose car suffered gearbox failure on Friday and despite everyone’s best efforts we were not able to get the car back on track for Saturday. Andy’s WRX spent the event on display at the Whiteline tent.



Last but not least is the SVA Imports. With a lap time of 1:29.9280 run with a very conservative setup, Gareth Lloyd was in with a shot at the podium at the very least. The car went out on Saturday with the NOS and the boost turned up ready to shave some seconds off and have a good crack at getting into the top three.

The very next thing everyone saw was the immaculate white Evo VI parked on the side of the track with flames bellowing from the engine bay. Gareth Lloyd managed to put the fire out but by then the damage was done and SVA’s chances of standing at the WTAC podium crushed.



WTAC is a tough event that places extraordinary demands on the drivers, the crew and their machines. While time attack racing is not classified as an “endurance” race, endurance is exactly what the teams need to survive and succeed.

The passion, dedication, perseverance and the sheer staying power displayed by the WTAC teams this year is nothing short of amazing. And for that, we salute you!