Aussies to take out WTAC

As we mentioned earlier this month, the 2012 World Time Attack Challenge is getting closer by the day and with the entrant list beginning to take shape, we are certainly getting excited.

The Pro Class title is heavily contested, with the quickest time inevitably dropping by a couple of seconds each year as teams look over the wealth of data accumulated and refine their vehicles to become more competitive.

The WTAC podium is yet to be graced by an Aussie but with the top competitors from last year (Cyber and Sierra Sierra Evos) not returning for 2012, the crown is truly up for grabs. We caught up with 3 teams with their sights set intently on the top spot and got the run down on what you can expect from this year’s World Time Attack Challenge.

JOSH COOTE - MCA SUSPENSION S13

Performance Garage: From what I understand, your entry in the 2011 WTAC was fairly last minute yet you were able to finish in the top 10 of Pro Class with virtually no testing. What made you decide to enter time attack racing and how did the car come to be so competitive?

Josh: I’m fairly sure it all came about while Ian Baker and Dad shared a couple of beers. We’ve always liked a challenge and Ian just kind of talked Dad into it I guess. Time attack always seems to be dominated by 4WD cars, I mean they can just keep adding horsepower and always have grip.

We are always up for a challenge and due to our experience with the 2WD S13 chassis, we thought we'd have a go with that. We’ve got a background of playing around with Nissans and my 180SX drift car is a very well sorted car so we just basically copied a lot of its setup into another shell.

With the right people on board we managed to get the car done pretty quickly as we were just focusing on the basics. We still had full glass windows with electric window motors. We wanted to get 100% of the car 80% right instead of spending time in areas that wouldn't really show on the stopwatch.

PG: Your car was sporting one of the wildest aero setups out there, what was the inspiration behind that?

J: To be honest, it mainly came from not having the time to make a proper front diffuser. Barry Lock who used to work for the McLaren F1 team came up with the idea of the big front wing.

He said that since we weren’t actually racing anyone, there were no rules on how wild we could go and how far it could stick out. It had its pros and cons but this time round we are going to scale it down a bit and incorporate a better front diffuser.

PG: Earl Bamber did a great job piloting the S13 into the top ten last year. How did you come across him as a driver and will he be remaining behind the wheel?

J: We all agree so he will definitely be staying behind the wheel! Dad came across him many years ago over in New Zealand. Dad’s been involved in events over there for years and Earl must have impressed him so he’s kept an eye on him ever since.

He’s got an impressive portfolio and a lot of experience in cars with big aero. Neither Dad nor I do so he seemed like the best choice.

PG: Looking through the list of top WTAC competitors, many seem to be running your suspension gear with great results. Is time attack a large part of your business and has being involved with it helped in developing new gear for MCA?

J: Yes a lot of the guys in Pro Class are running our gear but it is really pitched at the higher end of the market so it isn’t a large part of our business. It is high quality stuff so it is quite expensive and people are still getting used to our name as we don’t advertise much.

Some guys in the open class are running our suspension gear but really, the price limits it to the more serious competitors. This has, however, prompted us to look into developing a more affordable range of suspension, which is currently being finalised.

In regards to our development, because we had zero testing time last year until the actual event, there wasn’t really a chance for much development. A couple of drivers running our gear have given us some feedback but it really needs to be first hand to get it right. So we haven’t really done much in that sense simply due to a lack of testing time; but once the car is running again that will change.

PG: A huge part of being a competitive team in time attack racing is being in a constant state of refining and developing the package. What did you guys learn from last year and what is changing for 2012?

J: A big issue for us last year was the SR20VET we were running. With all the boost we were running it would lift the head and push all the water out. It would come back in from a warm up and be boiling hot and nearly out of water.

We have since fixed that and it’s been getting a real work out in my drift car without any issues. We were a bit down on power last year so not only is it more reliable, it packs a bit more of a punch as well.

With no testing going into the event last year we knew the car was under-developed but we learnt what we wanted to learn; that it was down on power and too heavy. It still had full metal doors and glass windows so this year we are coming back a lot lighter.

We also found out just how strong aero is as we bent most of the mounts! We’ve strengthened that all up this year so it’s going to be interesting to see how it goes.

PG: With a full year of preparation under your belt this time around, are hopes high for the 2012 WTAC?

J: This far out you can’t really be confident but we are definitely optimistic. The car is a fair way away from running and we have a bit of work to do, but as long as we get it finished in time to get some testing done, it should be very competitive.

In time attack, everyone steps it up each year kind of like F1, so the times all get quicker but the leader board looks the same. A lot of the cars we competed against last year were already fairly refined but we are moving forwards in leaps and bounds from a largely untested car. I’m hoping we will be able to drop 2-3 seconds and move up the board a couple of spots which isn’t too bad for a Silvia!

MARK HANSEN - MERCURY MOTORSPORT GT-R

Performance Garage: What history have you had with time attack racing before WTAC 2011?

Mark: I have always followed motorsport but only recently felt I had the time and money to get involved in it myself.

Initially I entered a few local track days put on by Paul Stokell and went along to a few Porsche driving events but it wasn’t until a few years back that I had a go at the time attack format here in Queensland in the series hosted by Paul Ruzic.

Paul runs a great event with a good mix of cars and a relaxed professional atmosphere.

PG: Purpose building your absolutely insane GT-R and stepping up to Pro Class must have been an unreal experience. How did it feel to be mixing it up with the big boys?

M: It certainly was daunting heading down to Eastern Creek with a car I had little seat time in, let alone never having driven the track before. It was good fun though.

We all learnt a lot from our first trip to Sydney last year and it was great to see how the top teams ran the show. Sharing a pit garage with the Cyber team and co driving with Tarzan was a great experience.

PG: I understand that Tarzan actually got behind the wheel of your car and took it for a spin. How did that come about?

M: We wanted someone with more experience to help with driving duties and Ian Baker mentioned Tarzan might be up for it. Trent from Mercury Motorsport was judging the drift competition with Tarzan so it worked out well for us.

Admittedly it was difficult to communicate car setup with him due to the language barrier but Tarzan is a really nice guy and pretty quick too. We all had a blast.

PG: Your car was finished just before the event and you had very little time for testing. With the lessons learnt last year and a full year of preparation time, what changes can we expect coming into 2012?

M: Last year we ran a conservative tune with low boost as in the end we ran out of time to prepare the car like so many other teams.

This year we will be pushing it for time again but we will be coming back with a few different tunes and hope to set the car to maximum attack once we have everything dialled in.

We had an issue with front end lift which made the car a dog to drive but I have Scott Beeton from Aerodesign working on a revised package for us and we will be making plenty of changes.

Another area we have focused on is weight, and I think we have managed to shave a little bit more of that off the car this time round.

The biggest area we will need to focus on though if time allows is setup; hopefully when the car is all back together and running smoothly we will have enough time to sort out the chassis.

We will also have a new, local pro co-driver and race engineer to help with setup, both of whom I am really excited to be working with.

PG: Finishing just outside the top 10 was impressive in your first year of Pro Class. After your experiences last year, what do you hope to achieve at WTAC 2012?

M: We’ll see. Predictions at this early stage are tough. We hope to be right up there though with the best of them. I guess we will know more once we get the car out on the track in June if all goes well.

PAUL FISHER - PULSE RACING EVO

Performance Garage: What was it that attracted you to time attack racing and the inaugural Superlap event back in 2008?

Paul Fisher: Having a race car is a great way to show what the workshop can do, you couldn’t ask for a bigger billboard.

Other types of motorsport have all sorts of limitations while time attack is just balls to the wall racing and it is a better representation of what we can do as a workshop.

We have built some awesome rally cars but with all the restrictions, you go for a ride in it and think ‘woo hoo, 200kw at the wheels; I have customer’s street cars that are quicker than this!’

PG: Attending every event since, your Evo has evolved from a daily driver into an all out time attack weapon. How important has collecting data year after year been in the development of the car?

P: It’s a pretty big factor; I mean by 2010 we had pretty much gone as far as we could while still keeping it a street car. It had 440awkw, would turn tyres in second gear with ease and blitzed open class by a good 3 and a half seconds.

We pulled the plates off and made it a proper race car but what we didn’t realise is how much this would change the data we had.

In testing before the 2011 event we just set it up to the specs we had used when it was a street car and it chewed a set of tyres in 4 laps!

This year we have a lot more data logging capabilities so it will be interesting to see where we can improve.

PG: You guys were sidelined last year by an oil starvation issue and unable to test out the car in its new Pro Class guise. With the new dry sump setup fixing that situation, has the Evo seen much development on the track and is anything else set to change for the upcoming event?

P: The main two things that we have done to the car coming into 2012 is fitting the dry sump and a MoTeC data logging system.

Even in the short testing time we had last year, we felt limited by the data we could collect. For example, we had an issue with the front end getting pushed around so we added a bit more downforce and although it did help, we didn’t really have a clear idea of why.

We had shock height sensors and other sensors but it just didn’t give us enough data and the data it did give us was cumbersome and hard to put into practice.

Now that we’ve gone with the MoTeC we have sensors on absolutely everything and everything is so much easier to interpret. It basically spits us out a number showing us what we need to improve and we can make educated changes at the track.

PG: With the Sierra Sierra and Cyber Evos not competing, will this be the year we see an Australian team on the podium and will that team be Pulse Racing?

P: I certainly hope so! Last year we had all of the gear to contend the podium but couldn’t run so this year we’ll be having an all out crack at it. I will be semi-bummed that the Cyber Evo isn’t there because they are really the team to beat and I reckon we would give them a run for their money.

The Tilton Interiors/Insight Motorsport Evo is probably our closest Aussie competitor, but I’m good mates with Scott from Insight and we both just want to get up there.

Once we get on top, I want to head overseas with the car and compete internationally. WTAC has become the time attack event to compete at but a proper race team should be able to pack up all their stuff and be competitive wherever they go so that’s what I want to do.

So there you have it, a behind the scenes scoop of what can be expected of World Time Attack 2012. These are just three of the Australian teams that will be gunning for the podium and with news being announced almost daily, it would be wise to keep your eye on the World Time Attack site and of course Performance Garage.

We are dedicated to taking you guys behind the scenes and will be keeping an ear to the ground to bring you the latest as it happens. Next up will be interviews with three of the top drifters set to smoke out the Tectaloy International Drift Challenge so stay tuned!