The Australian Racing Drivers Club

For members and guests

Ian Hansen

WTAC 2013 Day 2 Wrap

EVENT RELEASE: After two tumultuous days of time attack competition, racing has finished for another year. Positions were still being decided in the final sessions, and records have been broken across the weekend.
With Tilton setting the pace early on, the Pro Class field was playing catch-up.
Nobuteru Taniguchi was pushing the Top Fuel / Voltex S2000RR and posting some very fast times. The car went almost a second faster than last year but fuelling problems prevented the team from giving it the final big push on Saturday.
MCA Suspensions’ S13 in the capable hands of Earl Bamber was consistently fast and beat their last year’s time of 1:27.8080 with a new PB of 1:27.3670 moving ahead of Nemo into the second overall and the fastest RWD of the event.

The Nemo Racing team were not able to overcome their overheating problems and only managed to get out for one low-boost session. The 2012 champions still ended the event in an honourable 3rd place.
After having some mechanical issues on Friday, Suzuki went out all guns blazing resetting his 2012 time and edging closer to Nemo’s time.

Unfortunately it was not to be for Suzuki-san as he once again narrowly missed out on the podium finish with a time of 1:27.958. Scorch Racing was the fastest international team at this year’s WTAC, ahead of Top Fuel / Voltex, RE Amemiya and Esprit.

Despite not being able to make the podium, RE Amemiya RX-7 was one of the most popular cars on the track, turning heads wherever it went.
Tarzan had a love-hate relationship with the Esprit NSX, ending the event in 8th place with a time of 1:30.139
Precision Maintenance Evo was the pace setter in Pro Am with a time of 1:30.9570
Sutton Brother’s S15 was spectacularly fast and only a 0.9 second slower than the class leader Precision Maintenance Evo. A well deserved runner up spot for the Sutton Brothers.
Flying the Subaru flag, the Auto Engineering Hulk was in hot pursuit of the Sutton Brothers and completed the Pro Am podium in a third place.
Open Class saw several leader changes during the day with BC Automotive R32 GTR taking the win in the final session.
V-Sport’s Evo X set the best Open Class time early on Saturday but was relegated to the runner-up position by BC Automotive.
Legions of Honda fans cheered Benny Tran who pushed his BYP Racing Integra to its limits, not only placing it on the Open Class podium but also earning the title of the Fastest FWD of the event.
Jason Wright took out the Clubsprint win in the Prcess West WRX STi putting an end to the general assumption that you need an Evo to win at WTAC.
The “mult-tasking” award of the event has to go to Jason Wright and Benny Tran both of whom drove two cars, in two classes and managed to put both of them on the podium!
Jason drove the Autotech Engineering Hulk in the Pro Am and the Process West STi in Clubsprint while Benny Tran drove the BYP Racing Integra in the Open and a BYP Racing S2000 in the Clubsprint Class. Top effort guys!
Jason Naidoo took a well-deserved third place in the Clubsprint Class in his SuperPro Evo 9.
And once again, the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge is over for another year. We have a new World Champion – a team that has not only been the fastest at this event but managed to break the seemingly unassailable lap record set in 2012 by Nemo.

 

ROYAL PURPLE PRO CLASS
1 – Garth Walden (NSW) Tilton Evo – 1:24.8550
2 – Earl Bamber (QLD) MCA Suspension S13 – 1:27.3670
3 – Warren Luff (QLD) AugerTorque/Nemo Evo – 1:27.7080
4 – Under Suzuki (JPN) Scorch Racing S15 – 1:27.9580
5 – Nob Taniguchi (JPN) Top Fuel S2000 – 1:28.8660
GARRETT PRO AM CLASS
1 Mick Sigsworth (QLD) Precision Maintenance EVO – 1:30.9570
2 Andrew Sutton (NSW) Sutton Bros S15 – 1:31.8320
3 Jason Wright (NSW) Autotech Engineering WRX STi – 1:32.4040
4 Andy Papageorgiou (CYP) Simply Racing Evo VI – 1:33.2980
5 Atsushi Shimaya (JPN) Endless/R Magic FD3S RX-7 – 1:33.5550
V-SPORT OPEN CLASS
1 Dean Lillie (VIC) BC Automotive R32 GTR – 1:31.7980
2 Rick Bates (NSW) V Sport/Go-Pro Evo X – 1:32.4260
3 Benny Tran (NSW) BYP Racing Integra – 1:32.6800
4 Nik Kalis (NSW) Piazza Doro EVO – 1:33.5330
5 Simon Podlewski (SA) Move Yourself Racing 180SX – 1:34.4456
JUST CAR CLUBSPRINT CLASS
1 Jason Wright (NSW) Process West WRX STi – 1:39.2470
2 Benny Tran (NSW) BYP Motorsport S2000 – 1:41.0360
3 Jason Naidoo (NSW) Superpro EVO 9 – 1:41.2560
4 Dan Farquar (NSW) IS Motor Racing/Royal Purple Evo – 1:41.5450
5 John Richardson (VIC) Motul/Advan R33 GTST – 1:42.0590
Our congratulations to all competitors.

– See more at:

WTAC 2013 Day 1 Wrap

EVENT RELEASE: Day 1 of the 2013 Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge certainly didn’t disappoint with some of the Best Time Attack Racing to date.
With Nemo’s race day on the skids Tilton have capitalised, setting a blistering early pace and smashing the existing WTAC lap record. In today’s third Royal Purple Pro Class session Garth Walden has broken Nemo’s record from last year with an incredible 1:24.855 flying lap. This team are well and truly breaking new ground.
We asked the team after the second session how they were going and if they were holding back. “No, we go out and try to get better and faster with every lap. Were trying to play our own game.”
As for what’s changed since WTAC 2012, “It’s a years worth of really small steps. We went to Japan and had bad luck at Tsukuba but it was a great learning experience. We collected a lot of data.”
“For WTAC 2012 we were on the back foot. We were having to fix things all the time just trying to keep the car going rather than going faster. The trip to Japan gave us a lot of insight into what was wrong with it.”
Fans will no doubt notice the aggressive new aero on Tilton. Underneath the external changes is a new suspension setup with reconfigured geometry. Horsepower remains the same as last year with the addition of a new BorgWarner EFR turbo, similar to that found on Nemo.
“There’s a big difference. We’ve pretty much eliminated any lag that was giving us issues before.” The team says aero alone wouldn’t have made that much of an impact but the new package is potent.
“Garth is very comfortable in the car. He adjusted to the new aero quickly and is loving it. We’re running 30psi right now and can run more, we’re not all out yet. The car is about 10km/h slower down the straight than we would like but the speed through the corners makes up for it.”
“What the team loves most about this year is they’re not fixing anything. Every tweak they make it making the car faster. With a full day still to go tomorow, we could well see that record smashed all over again.”

With only a second seperating Nemo, MCA, Under Suzuki and Top Fuel – we should be in for some close racing on Saturday. Will Nemo be able to snatch victory back from Tilton? Who will reign supreme in the battle of the rear wheel drive cars?

 

Local Heroes take on the Worlds best

This year’s Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge is set to break all the records. A new track lap record has been set every year since the event’s inception in 2008, and it looks like 2013 will be no different.

The reigning champions – the Queensland-based Nemo Racing team (with driver Warren Luff), will be fronting up with a more powerful and faster incarnation of their 2012 winning car and are ready to break the lap record once again.

However, the local heroes will face their fiercest competition yet, with highly-competitive local entries plus international stars from Japan, USA and even Cyprus lining up to challenge them – and the clock – for the coveted World Time Attack title.

Held over two action-packed days, from Friday October 18 through to Saturday October 19 at the Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek, the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge is a true motorsport festival with a number of supporting events taking place on and off the track:
• Turbosmart Flying 500 – a 500m rolling start race featuring Australia’s fastest tuner cars.
• Motul Turbo Legends – see the cars that shaped the history of Australian motorsport back in the 80s and the 90s. Far from being extinct, these fire-breathing monsters are alive and well and just have to be seen in a full flight to be appreciated!
• Tectaloy International Drift Challenge – as soon as the sun goes down, the show moves to the South Circuit for a drifting spectacular under lights, featuring the very best drifters from Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Japan.
• A Freestyle BMX Show, Miss Time Attack contest, and the biggest outdoor Show’n’Shine display in the country

The records may keep falling at the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge, but this year’s event is guaranteed to reach all-new heights.

What: Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge
Where: Sydney Motorsport Park (formerly Eastern Creek Raceway)
When: Fri 18th – Saturday 19th October
Parking: At the venue – Free.
For more information go to www.worldtimeattack.com

 

V8 Supercars to grid up twice at SMSP in 2014

The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC) is proud to announce that not one, but two V8 Supercar Championship events will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP) in 2014. Round nine of the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship Series, the Sydney Motorsport Park 400, will be held at the Eastern Creek circuit on August 22 – 24, joining the Sydney 500 and the Bathurst 1000 as the third NSW venue for the premier touring car series.

Earlier this month, V8 Supercars announced that SMSP would continue to hold the official Sydney.com V8 Supercars Test Day until 2016. The Test Day, which precedes the Championship season, is free for all fans to attend, and saw numbers in excess of 18,000 in 2013.

“We are excited and delighted to announce that Sydney Motorsport Park will host a round of the V8 Supercars series next August, in addition to the pre-season test and fan day on February 15,” said Glenn Matthews, CEO of the ARDC.

ARDC President Andrew Leithhead said: “The ARDC is keenly looking forward to welcoming V8 Supercars back to Sydney Motorsport Park for round nine of the 2014 Championship. Our Members and all motorsport enthusiasts will be delighted to have four separate V8 Supercar events in NSW next year, and we anticipate some exciting racing at SMSP.”

Sydney Motorsport Park is owned by the NSW Government and operated by the ARDC, and is the only permanent Australian race facility that holds a FIA/FIM Grade 2 International licence.

In August last year, the V8 Supercar Championship was one of the first major racing events to sample the $11 million track and facility redevelopment undertaken at the Western Sydney circuit, which was completed in May 2012 and jointly funded by the ARDC and the NSW Government.

“The support of the NSW Government has been important to the ongoing expansion of Sydney Motorsport Park’s contribution to economic activity in Western Sydney, in terms of infrastructure, employment and major events.” “We would like to thank Minister Souris and Destination NSW for their support in helping to bring a Championship round to Sydney Motorsport Park,” added Matthews.

“This is yet another great event that we have brought to SMSP, and 2014 will be a very exciting year with these premier events – the two V8 Supercar events, Top Gear Festival Sydney, and more still to come.”

The Championship round is just two weeks before the 10th anniversary of the Australian Muscle Car Masters, which celebrates the heritage of V8 Supercars with a weekend of racing and memorabilia from the glory days of the Bathurst 1000. Other major events on the 2014 Race Calendar at Sydney Motorsport Park include Top Gear Festival Sydney, World Time Attack, the Shannons Nationals, the NSW Motor Race Championships, FX Superbikes, Australian Superbikes, and the HSRCA.

A full calendar will be released shortly on www.sydneymotorsportpark.com.au.

Event Wrap- 2013 NSW Motor Racing Championships, Round 5

On a beautiful blue-sky weekend, 198 entrants brought Round 5 of the NSW Motor Racing Championship back to Sydney Motorsport Park on September 21-22.

Racing was spirited, and several competitors were sporting new livery and cars this round. Simon Pace in Formula Vee ( Mako MK111) had a new paint job, and his racing successes have continued strongly into this round with one second, one third and a fifth placing over the weekend. Steve Lacey (Sports Sedans) drove a very quick Camaro to a second and third place, but ended with an unfortunate DNF in the third race.

In the HQs, Tony Camilleri’s good-heartedness reached new heights as he helped his fellow category competitors to get (or keep) their cars on the circuit, including changing brake pads on Troy Hulbert’ #82, replacing a head gasket for Adam Leach in #42, loaning a carby to Chris Molle in the 23 car, and assisting to repair drivers side panel damage on John Baxters #51 car.

As usual, some campaigns came to a premature end, and Ahmed Bagdadi (Improved Prod) was unfortunate to have a power steering line rupture, and cause a weekend-ending fire in the VXSS Commodore. Misadventure plagued Tim Miller as well, after qualifying fastest, he finished second in race one, only to be sidelined for the rest of the weekend after a broken driveshaft left him standing motionless on the starting grid. Peter Foote shattered a gearbox on turn 15, leaving a legacy of oil on the track and gave an almighty scare to two competitors who were right on his hammer. It also caused a lengthy delay and subsequent shortening of race one.

Terry Robertson ( Reynard 913), who is currently supporting five entrants in the Formula R class, spoke enthusiastically about the probability of seeing up to seven competitors in this class for 2014. This class offers an economical entry into competitive racing on the back of a Dallara platform with a VW engine, providing incredible reliability and cost-effective racing.

Production Sports saw Russell Bayley win all three races in his flying 7-litre yellow Chev Corvette with Lachlan Higgins (Porsche 996) taking second in all three. Sports Sedans best performer was Birol Cetin (Chev Camaro) with a first and second placing, before he succumbed to a DNF in the third race.

Improved Production was hotly contested with a large field of 34 cars, the pointy end a battle between Mark Ruta ( Mazda 808) with two race wins, and John McKenzie ( Commodore) with two second places and a third.

Production Touring was ruled by the triumvirate of Gerry Murphy (EVO 10) with three race wins, Matthew Holt (HSV GTS) with two race seconds, and Bob Pearson (EVO 10) with three race third placings.

Formula Cars’ clean sweep went to Garnet Patterson ( Dallara 301), followed by Graeme Holmes (Dallara F3) recording two seconds and a third placing. Tim Reynolds ( Sabre 02) had two race wins in Formula Vee, while Tim Brook (LE 100) took the other win and a second.

As the sun started to set, the final session saw the ever popular vintage HQ’s dashing and spinning, with Troy Hulbert (#82) executing a graceful 360 degree spin at turn 15. With wickedly twitching rear ends disappearing into the distance, Jeff Mulligan (#69) piloted the Baxter Coaches sponsored car to two first places and a third. Brett Osborn (#86) was his closest rival with a second, third and fourth results.
– words and pics by Rob Annesley
look@shotbyrob.com.au

 

OFFICIAL RELEASE: 2014 V8 Supercars Calendar and race formats

OFFICIAL RELEASE: Innovation follows Consolidation for V8 Supercars in 2014

V8 Supercars has announced ground-breaking changes for 2014, building on a year which has featured multiple race and rookie winners, captivating racing and new generation V8 Supercars.

Innovation is the key to further broadening the appeal of V8 Supercars and making it accessible to more people than ever.

Key initiatives for 2014 include a shift towards prime time twilight racing and new standardised race formats; and an exciting new ANZAC Day weekend in New Zealand. Sydney will host three events in 2015.

“We have the opportunity to continue with an entrepreneurial approach, with high levels of innovation and commitment to our fans,” V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton said.

“There is a chance to build on the energy and passion of the business created through the course of this year; taking it to the next level in 2014 and even further in 2015.

“We have had the period of consolidation, now is the time for innovation, growth and building for the next five to ten years.”

A minimum of five Saturday twilight races are possible in 2014. V8 Supercars will announce timings of all races early in the New Year in consultation with host broadcaster Seven.

As a precursor the first 250km race at the Sydney 500 this December will run from 5.10pm to 7.30pm. The ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 next month will also be staged later on Saturday afternoon.

The prospect of racing at twilight has received unanimous support from fans with 85 per cent supporting a Saturday evening race and almost 50 per cent more people would attend or watch a twilight race.

V8 Supercars also announced a move to three categories of events – SuperSprint, SuperStreet and the PIRTEK Enduro Cup – to standardise and simplify race formats into a consistent package. The 60/60 format of this year has been scrapped.

Accordingly the Townsville 500 and ITM 500 Auckland become 500km events in line with the SuperStreet formats, while all SuperSprint events are two 100km races on Saturdays with a single 200km feature race on the Sunday.

All SuperSprint races will count towards the Championship.

The 2014 V8 Supercar calendar consists of 16 events including the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and the hugely popular sydney.com V8 Supercars Test Day at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The Sydney 500 was locked in for a further three years earlier this month by the New South Wales Government, with an option for a further two years. This followed the recent the extension of the three Queensland events, also for a further three years.

Additionally, V8 Supercars will return to Sydney Motorsport Park for a Championship event in 2014 in August, meaning Sydney will host three events in 2014.

In New Zealand the ITM500 Auckland will be held on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the ANZAC weekend.V8 Supercars believes racing on ANZAC weekend in New Zealand is a huge drawcard for the event that will encourage fans to travel to Auckland on the long weekend.

The blockbuster Clipsal 500 in Adelaide kicks off the Championship year once again.

V8 Supercars will delay a return to Texas until 2015 because of a clash of dates with the recently signed X Games and the composition of the V8 Supercar and COTA calendars.

“The timing of COTA securing the X Games next year led to the mutual agreement of a gap-year before consolidating, planning and returning to Texas in 2015,” Warburton said.

“The first Texas 400 was an enormous success at all levels and a tremendous platform to build into the future; in conjunction with developing an extensive international strategy for 2015 and beyond.

“The prospects are virtually limitless; there is that much potential in the sport.”

COTA President Steve Sexton said he was looking forward to V8 Supercars return in 2015 after a highly successful North American debut in May.

“Circuit of The Americas is quickly becoming a year-round destination for a variety of large-scale sports and entertainment properties, and with our packed schedule, we were not able to find mutually workable dates to facilitate a return of V8 Supercars to Austin in 2014,” Circuit Chief Executive Officer Steve Sexton said.

“V8 Supercars continues to be one of the most exciting shows in world motorsports. We know our US and international fans really enjoyed the Austin 400 event this year, and we are very excited to have V8 Supercars return to the United States in 2015.”

V8 Supercars has had preliminary discussions with several venues in the US with a view to „twinning%u201F the Texas 400 in the future.

The 2014 V8 Supercars calendar:

Feb 15
sydney.com V8 Supercars Test Day
Sydney MSP

Feb 27-Mar 2
Clipsal 500 Adelaide
Adelaide Street Circuit
SuperStreet DS

Mar 13-16
2014 Formula 1 Aust Grand Prix
Albert Park
TBC

Mar 28-30
Tasmania 400
Symmons Plains Raceway
SuperSprint

Apr 4-6
Winton 400
Winton Motor Raceway
SuperSprint DS

April 24-27
ITM 500 Auckland
Pukekohe Park Raceway
SuperSprint

May 16-18 TBC
Perth 400
Barbagallo Raceway
SuperSprint DS

June 20-22
SKYCITY Triple Crown Darwin 400
Hidden Valley Raceway
SuperSprint

July 4-6
Townsville 500
Reid Park
SuperStreet DS

Aug 1-3 TBC
Coates Hire Ipswich 400
Queensland Raceway
SuperSprint DS

Aug 22-24
Sydney Motorsport Park 400
Sydney Motorsport Park
SuperSprint

Sept 12-14
Wilson Security Sandown 500
Sandown Raceway
PIRTEK Enduro Cup

Oct 9-12
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Mount Panorama
PIRTEK Enduro Cup DS

Oct 24-26
ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600
Surfers Paradise
PIRTEK Enduro Cup

Nov 14-16
Phillip Island 400
Phillip Island Circuit
SuperSprint

Dec 5-7
Sydney 500
Sydney Olympic Park
SuperStreet DS