– Words: Jason Hanif. Photos: Stefan Trajkovski.
It’s one of the most anticipated events on our calendar, and it’s finally here. As World Time Attack competitors are announced in the months leading up to the event, nothing quite compares to the buzz and excitement right before race day. Luckily, that time is now.
As final testing went underway for this year’s event, our photographer Stefan Trajkovski made his way down to Sydney Motorsport Park to bring you a pre-event look at some of the vehicles as they were loaded off containers and put through final tests.
An impressive total of seven international competitors will sprint for first place in the Pro Class category, alongside a slew of local entrants.
This year, one of those international competitors is the Redbrick Racing Mitsubishi Evo, which joins us from the UK. The team spent plenty of time testing out at the track to get the car setup and ready for intense racing over the next couple of days.
Here we have two international competitors in the pit space that will become their home over the next few days. The Panspeed RX-8 and Scorch Racing S15, both from Japan.
A bright sunny day at Sydney Motorsport Park provided the perfect opportunity for last minute testing to ensure that the cars will be running at full pace over the course of the two-day event.
It was also the last chance to make final touches and check all components of cars that will race at this year’s event.
Nik Kalis conquered the Open Class last year with a winning 1:34.826. This year, the IS Motor Racing 2.3L stroked motor will be put through its paces again to take out first place. Indy and the team have put in countless hours of work and the car’s consistent performance means that this will be a serious competitor for the Open Class category.
Nik has raced in every World Time Attack Challenge to date. Here he can be seen putting final touches to the red livery of his AME TM-02’s.
Time attack cars feature some of the most unique aerodynamic enhancements possible. Shaving every fraction of a second off your lap time counts.
These aerodynamic modifications we’ve seen over the last few years have been even more impressive than previous ones. Take for example the Project Nemo Racing Evo which features carbon front and rear diffusers, carbon under floor, carbon gull-wing doors, a carbon roof, carbon side skirts and a carbon dual element rear wing.
Once the sun sets over Sydney Motorsport Park, the Tectaloy International Drift Challenge will see nothing but smoke and sideways action. Here we have Gaz Whiter’s S14 from New Zealand, which will be part of the Tectaloy International Drift Challenge.
The Scorch Racing S15 joins us once again this year, under the guidance of driver Suzuki-san. The ongoing project has hand-made wet carbon panels that the team created themselves.
The car was spotted still wrapped in the plastic it was shipped in from Japan. If you’re heading out to this year’s event, be sure to check out the carbon panels up close in person.
The RE-Amemiya ‘Hurricane’ RX-7 may look completely new, and that’s because it essentially is. The car was first shown in a public display at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon and is supposedly making around 700HP.
This is the car’s debut at a competitive track event, and it was also one of the first announcements by organisers as a Pro Class competitor. All eyes will be on the car to see how it performs.
A serious local Pro Class competitor to watch this year will be the Tilton Interiors Evo IX. It took fourth place outright at last years event and word is that it did a 1:27 sprint out at the track today. Last year, the Cyber Evo, which took first place was almost two seconds slower than that time. The heat is on!
Drifters, Naoto Suenaga and Nobushige Kumakubo from Japan will be giving their all in the Team Orange Evo IX and Subaru Impreza WRX, respectively.
If watching Time Attack cars isn’t enough of a spectacle, then the Tectaloy Drift Challenge is sure to get your attention. Last year, Mike Whiddett (Mad Mike) put on a stunning display around the drift section of the track with his RX-7. This year, he’s back with the 20B turbo RX-8.
If you’re in Sydney, we highly recommend you make your way down to Sydney Motorsport Park to spectate. Full event details can be found on the official website.
Today was the last opportunity for drivers to test their cars out on the track. The pressure’s now on, but only one team per class can be given the crown. There’s not long to go until we find out just who that will be. The comment fields have been left open for your thoughts and predictions.