06/01/2025
(Original Date Published: 26 Oct 2018)
[Part 3]
2018 World Time Attack Challenge
Sydney, Australia - This year was by far the worst weather the event has experienced to date. Even Thursday's practice was hampered by poor conditions. A torrential downpour that started late Thursday night, early Friday morning continued until approximately 9:30 to 10am.
The track opened at 9am, but only a few competitors were brave enough to head out and risk an accident, or consuming precious fuel/tyres in the poor conditions.
RX7 had the track almost to themselves as they were one of only a handful to brave the wet track. RP968, the event winner was the other main car to collect data and run test laps during the rain.
As I said, the rain mostly dissipated, but the entire weekend saw intermittent showers. These showers were mostly light and would only last 10-15 minutes. Raining just enough to annoy spectators track side and to apply a fresh coat of water where the previous cars had dried the track.
The wet track caused chaos with cars designed to push their limits in the dry. The entire weekend was plagued with red flags as competitors came unstuck or, as WTAC cars do, blow up. It must have been frustrating as a driver having every session cut short.
There weren't a lot of spectators on Friday, due the severity of the earlier downpours, but attendance on Saturday, the main day, was high. I was actually surprised by how many people came along prepared to cheer and get soaked.
Literally within minutes of the commencement of the final event, The Nulon Superlap Shootout on Saturday afternoon the heavens once again opened and dumped an unholy amount of rain on the track. I witness Under Suzuki drift around the hairpin, turn 10, in Fire Ando's car.
Suzuki's car didn't get finished for the event, he came to spectate. Lucky he brought his race suit along. Fire Ando suffers from a condition similar to tendonitis, he'd struggled with it all weekend. He thinks it flared up due to the flight to Australia. He didn't have the forearm strength to steer properly. He was going to retire his car, but instead offered the seat to Suzuki so that TEAM JAPAN could finish the event properly.
There wasn't a lot of visible changes to aero this year, I'm sure a lot of cars had been refined, but most of the changes this year looked to be the addition of carbon brake packages, and custom suspension uprights. The past couple of years saw a number of accidents due to suspension being unable to cope with the additional down force either by snapping uprights, or blowing out tyres.
Horsepower was also another change from previous years. The failed billet blocks of the last couple of years seem to have been honed and refined enough to work without blowing up as easily. A number of teams did still blow engines, but not as many as previous years.
The J-Spec Evo X blew a massive hole in the side of their block. The team that travelled was very small and ill-equipped. A quick message asking for mechanics to help the guests resulted in around 35 mechanics from different teams and countries offering to help out.
In the end, about 8 or 10 were selected and the new team got to work and put another team's spare engine into the Evo X. Their garage was a constant hive of activity. It was interesting to watch people with no common language trying to rebuild and fit an engine. In the end, hand signals and the trust that lives between each of us in the car community got the car rebuilt just in time for the last session of the day.
Photographically, there's not much to show, but this was my personal highlight of the event. Strangers all coming together to help someone else go fast.
The black Tunehouse 86 crashed due to a bump on the inner left corner of Turn 1, which caught many drivers by surprise as it unsettled the car. The driver of the 86 hit the wall at around 150km/h. The on board video is scary to watch. He was fine though. He even managed to stop a small engine fire before the safety team made it there.
Tilton Evo, a three time winner, crashed around midday on Saturday. I spoke to driver thereafter. It was a result of a driver error through turn one, and it was also the first session he tried running the car on higher boost. Previously the car was piloted by Garth Walden a professional driver. but this year Kosta Poroukov, the owner, decided to race it in Pro-AM. He suffered a few cracked ribs but has since told me they're rebuilding a new shell. They plan on attacking Japan’s tracks soon.
Official Press Release from WTAC
A massive crowd at Sydney Motorsport Park has applauded the winners of the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge 2018 presented by Track Warrior this afternoon.
After two hard-fought days and with a record-setting performance, Barton Mawer (Royal Purple Pro) was heralded as the Royal Purple Pro Class Champion and holder of the outright fastest time of the event.
Joining him in receiving top honours for their classes were Kosta Pohorukov (Royal Purple Pro Am Class Champion), Adam Casmiri (Link ECU Open Class Champion) and Brett Dickie (V-Sport Clubsprint Class Champion).
The V-SPORT CLUBSPRINT class’ available top five were the first to complete their Nulon Superlap Shootout this afternoon.
Unfortunately, the class’ fastest to that point, Stephen Wan, would not take part as he crashed his BYP Racing & Development Honda Civic in the earlier afternoon session.
Brett Dickie (Elusive Racing Honda Integra) meanwhile headed into the Nulon Superlap Shootout third in the standings and pulled out a bell ringer of a lap, with the 1 minutes 38.756 seconds time coming in almost two seconds under his previous best to see him become the V-Sport Clubsprint Class Champion.
“I still don’t know (how we found those two seconds), I wish I could tell you that. Going out for the start of our lap, it was wet and it is still raining now, and someone upstairs obviously helped us out, because the sun came out and dried the track pretty quick,” he said right after taking out the win.
“It is a credit to everyone involved, the Elusive Racing guys have put in a massive effort. The car caught fire this morning and we thought we were done – we pushed it over to the corner and thought we would worry about it another day.
“The guys are so stubborn though, they hosed it off, blew it all off, cleaned everything, fired it up and said, ‘go out there and see what you can do.’
“It is (a fairy tale), I am pretty stoked to be involved and build this car with Kenny and Dave and all the Elusive guys, to actually be in the project has been amazing. I can’t say enough about everyone that has helped us. It is a fairy tale, I don’t know what else to say, I am speechless.”
Wan held on to second with Jim Tu (Team EXE OTR Mitsubishi EVO 9) third ahead of Dan Burton (Team Burton Racing Honda Integra) and Jamal Assaad (Evolution Racing Spares EVO 6), who also didn’t take part in the Shootout.
In the Nulon Superlap Shootout for the LINK ECU OPEN class, Adam Casmiri didn’t have to go out for the final stanza but he did anyway. The light dousing of the race track with rain affected the JDM Yard/Hardrace Honda Civic’s run, as it did all five of the Link ECU Open Class runners. Casmiri’s earlier effort of 1 minutes 27.750 seconds was enough to ensure he became a three-time WTAC class winner.
“With the rain and all the oil early in the day, it really affected everyone’s times I guess! All the other cars I think struggled, I am sure (Matt) Longhurst and myself and everyone would have definitely gone faster if the rain didn’t happen,” surmised Casmiri.
“I have enjoyed the event, Ian (Baker – WTAC CEO) has done a great job as has all of his team, I just can’t thank everyone enough and all of our sponsors and all of our crew.
“We will possibly be coming back next year, we have been running for five years now and I suppose it has taken a lot out of us, a lot of time and a lot of money!”
Josh Coote (MCA Suspension Toyota 86) appeared as though he wanted to better his time but a drama at the final turn before the start of his flyer, which saw the car all out of shape, made him think twice about it. He still finished second ahead of Matt Longhurst (Integrated Motorsport Nissan Skyline GTR R34), Nathan Morcom (Global Aircraft Services Mitsubishi EVO 9) and Steve Johnson (World Best Technology Skyline).
Despite his earlier crash and missing the Nulon Superlap Shootout for the ROYAL PURPLE PRO AM CLASS, team owner-come-driver Kosta Pohorukov (Royal Purple/Tilton Racing) has become the Royal Purple Pro Am Class Champion thanks to his earlier 1 minutes 24.630 seconds lap.
“It went pretty good, the car has a lot of speed in it – it is a pity I couldn’t put the numbers together for the team but it is a PB, it is a record for the track for the class, and I still think I have the best team in the world. The support is great, and what a machine of a car,” Pohorukov said.
“I made a little mistake coming out of one (in the morning), I started unwinding the steering wheel just a little bit early and just hit the edge of the ripple strip and I couldn’t bring it back and it just darted me into the wall,” said Pohorukov, who is nursing a broken rib as a result of the crash.
“I think there could have been an easy ’23’ (second lap) for me (in better weather), maybe not: I made a couple of mistakes on my ‘24.6’ that were worth about 1.4 seconds say the engineers, so there is a ‘23’; I just had to hook up all three sectors which I struggled to do all week, but I know there is a ‘22’ in the car – Garth (Walden) would have done a ‘22’ for sure on high boost.
“I am very happy to be here. I am okay, I have a bruised ego, that is about it, the rest of it can be fixed,” he concluded.
Like the earlier Nulon Superlap Shootouts, the weather didn’t favour the outing for the Royal Purple Pro Am class either with only Serse Zeli going quicker after an engine change in the J-Spec Performance Mitsubishi EVO. Even so, it wasn’t enough to jump the second-placed Canadian William Au-Yeung (Vibrant/PZtuning Honda Civic). Just behind him were Richard Perini (PR Technology Ginetta G55) and Dale Malone who had earlier undertaken a massive engine rebuild of his DM Motorsport Nismo Super GT.
When it came to the Nulon Superlap Shootout for the ROYAL PURPLE PRO CLASS, it was only draftee Under Suzuki who would take to the track in Fire Ando’s Es**rt Racing Mitsubishi EVO.
Suzuki upstaged the regular pilot, Fire Ando, taking the #25 Es**rt Racing Mitsubishi Lancer to third in class with a 1 minutes 27.5580 seconds lap despite having only completed limited laps in the car. Second place went to Warren Luff in the 2017 winning MCA Hammerhead Nissan Silvia S13 – Luff did not appear in the Nulon Superlap Shootout and missed out on the top spot by 1.184 seconds.
While Suzuki impressed, it was Barton Mawer in his RP968 Porsche 968 who was heralded as the Royal Purple Pro Class Champion and holder of the outright fastest time at the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge 2018 presented by Track Warrior.
Not only did he set a new WTAC record, his 1 minutes 19.825 seconds effort was also just seven tenths of a second off the official track race lap record.
“It is pretty amazing isn’t it, this has been a long time coming – those who have been following World Time Attack Challenge will know this car is in its fourth year now,” Mawer said.
“We have known its potential, we have talked about it, it has been written about, so to finally do a ‘sub-20’ which we thought it would have in it is amazing.”
“The first time I drove the car since last year’s event was the Monday just gone, so we were behind the eight ball. But the PR Tech Racing guys just got their heads down and worked and worked.
“After official practice I wasn’t that confident. We had major engine problems, but we pulled through and to get that time is a massive reward, not just for this year but for the years and years of having a go.
“Yeah (we wanted to push for the outright record), we were seven tenths off. I think if we had been able to run this afternoon we may have had another half a second in it, but maybe not outright.
“We didn’t run as we did a valve spring and bent a valve in the last run. It was repairable but not in the time frame that we had – it is lucky that we got the time in this morning when we did!
“Ian Baker (WTAC CEO) here does a great job, the event is truly world class and we love coming here, so let’s celebrate tonight but yes I would be here (next year) in a heartbeat.”
With the winners of Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge 2018 presented by Track Warrior now crowned, the attentions of the crowd here at Sydney Motorsport Park have now turned towards the conclusion of the International Drifting Cup presented by Garrett Advancing Motion.
International Drifting Cup
On debut at the event, Japan’s Naoki Nakamura has won the International Drifting Cup presented by Garrett Advancing Motion at Sydney Motorsport Park tonight to round out the Yokohama Time Attack Challenge 2018 presented by Track Warrior.
After three rounds of World Cup-style heats where points determined the top eight and the traditional eliminations process to the top two, including the TTI Gearbox Top Four, Nakamura faced off and beat Australia’s Luke Fink in the final.
The Aussies Michael Prosenik and Dale Campaign duked it out for third and fourth. Prosenik narrowly took the first contest, and then had a single run as Campaign broke a wheel and wasn’t allowed the time to change it.
Earlier, Nakamura (S15) had won all three contests in his pool against Joel Dimmack (Datsun 240Z), Mitch Pullen (Toyota Hilux) and Danny Probert (Turbo Barra-powered XD Falcon) to progress to the Top Eight.
In the Top Eight he then beat Levi Clarke in what was the final run to determine the TTI Gearbox Top Four, with the latter spinning on his second contest to see the popular Japanese driver go through. Nakamura then continued his unbeaten run to see who would face Fink in the final, getting the job done against Campaign.
“I feel great,” Nakamura enthused after taking the win.
“It was difficult when I was following, as I was having trouble shifting. The most difficult contest was against the lower seeded guys when it was dry.
“I would love to come back, I had a lot of fun!”
Fink (turbocharged V8 S14) found himself in the TTI Gearbox Top Four after a rerun was required following a Top Eight draw between him and Brendon Greaves (BMW M3). The rerun went to Fink when Greaves spun on their second contest.
The former had earlier drawn with 16-year-old Irish lad Connor Shanahan (S13) and then beat competition winner Stephen Burgmans in Rob Whyte’s Nissan 350Z, and Michael Bonney (S15) in the pools.
He was then the first to put pressure on Prosenik in the TTI Gearbox Toup Four and while there appeared not to be a lot in it, Fink was unanimously voted as the winner by the judges.
“I’ve never been a big V8 fan but it is growing on me!” Fink said ahead of the final.
On his way to the TTI Gearbox Top Four, Prosenik had won all three battles in his pool aboard his Nissan S13, beating Anthony Bilic (S13), Josh Boettcher (S15) and Matt Russell (Toyota 86) before taking out Aaron Dewar (S13) in the Top Eight.
“That is good (to take third) but that is a real shame (about Campaign), no one ever likes to win like that,” Prosenick said.
“We have a real turnkey operation, it goes hard and we have a great support crew, it is great to have that backing. For the guys to put on an event like this too is great, we are really happy to be a part of it. We will drink some beers from that third place trophy tonight!”
Japan’s Nob Taniguchi (S15) also performed in the Top Eight following a perfect three from three in the pools, but was knocked out by Campaign (S13) after the Adelaidean beat Jake Jones (BMW M3), New Zealand’s Carl Thompson (S15) and drew with Camo Mote (S15).
“Nakamura is way too good – he is so fast, I couldn’t keep up! Hands down to him, he drove so well, I was just happy to have a battle with him, it was awesome,” Campaign said of his TTI Gearbox Top Four lose against the event winner.
“In (the run against Prosenick) I took the inner clip on the second clip and the front wheel went over the apex and smashed the wheel, I think I broke the front wheel and I so I was out. I am still happy with fourth, thanks to everyone for getting me here, it is unfortunate but that is how things go in drift!” he added.
Text and Photos By: Matthew Everingham
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