Competitors aim for ultimate pace in Aus Time Attack competition
More than 50 drivers and teams will embark upon the quest of a perfect lap around Goulburn’s Wakefield Park circuit, when they compete in the Aus Time Attack event on Saturday, 20 July.
Introduced as NSW Time Attack in 2014 before being re-branded as Aus Time Attack in 2017, the formula for the event is simple – the driver who achieves the fastest lap-time is the winner.
Time Attack has become an increasingly popular form of motorsport in recent years, due to the engineering requirements of tuning a car for pure speed over a single lap. The cars that run in the fastest classes are endowed with wild, crowd-pleasing body kits and aerodynamic packages, allowing them to achieve awe-inspiring corner speeds.
The current lap record for Time Attack at Wakefield Park was set by Benny Tran in his front-wheel-drive BYP Honda Integra, with a scorching 0:57.8270 lap time. By comparison, the lap record for a V8 Supercar is 59.5s.
“Considering they’re based on road-going cars and have to run road-legal treaded tyres, Time Attack cars are seriously quick,” Aus Time Attack organiser John Boston said.
“The cold weather at this time of the year will help the engines produce their maximum power outputs, although generating tyre temperature will be a challenge. Some teams will run tyre warmers to try and build temperature before they hit the track for a flying lap.”
For this year’s event, the Club Sprint, Open and Pro classes (see descriptions below) will be joined by an additional class for supercars, and Boston says it has attracted some mouth-watering exotic machinery.
“At Wakefield Park Speed off the Streets days and my Trackschool days, we have a lot of owners of high-end exotic sports cars, who want to test themselves in a more competitive environment than they would experience on a normal track day,” he said.
“We created the new Supercar Class for this year, and we’re going to have some really cool machinery such as Porsche 911 GT2s, some Nissan R35 GTRs, a couple of McLarens and even an Ultima Evolution.”
In the Club Sprint class, Time Attack veteran Nik “Spartan” Kalis will be one of the main contenders, as will Connor Falvey (Honda S2000) and former Improved Production champion Scott Fleming (Mitsubishi Evo X). Female competitor Sheridan Budsworth has also entered, and is making the trip from Tasmania with her Nissan Skyline.
The record-holding Tran team is again expected to enter the Open Class, where they will compete with rival teams including the Xtreme Nissan GTR outfit, which has recruited Production Sports front-runner Brad Shiels to handle driving duties.
In the Pro Class, the 2014-winning Pulse Racing Mitsubishi Evo returns, this time in the hands of Trent Grubel, while Richard Perini’s Ginetta is another notable entrant.
Practice for Time Attack competitors will be held on Friday, with the competitive action commencing on Saturday morning; separate sessions will be held for each class.
About Time Attack Classes
Club Sprint
The Club Sprint class is an introductory class, for vehicles close to standard specification. Many of the vehicles in this class are still road-registered, and it is aimed at competitors who want to experience the thrill of chasing a flying lap-time without the expense of extensive vehicle modifications.
- Weight restriction – can only by 5% lighter than factory specification
- Limited aero modifications allowed
- Minimum tyre tread wear rating of 140 (street tyres)
- 2WD cars max 295-width tyre, AWD cars max 265-width tyre
- Gearbox must be H-pattern
Open Class
The Open class permits more modifications to vehicles, and is popular among competitors who enjoy the tweaking and tuning aspects of Time Attack competition
- Weight restriction – can be 10% lighter than factory specification
- Aero – bigger rear wings and front splitters are permitted
- R-spec treaded tyres are permitted
- Sequential/paddle-shift gearboxes are permitted
Pro Class
The Pro class is for more heavily-modified vehicles, typically purpose-built for Time Attack events.
- Weight restriction – can be up to 15% lighter than factory specification
- Aero – full kits including wings, splitters, side skirts and ground effects are permitted
Supercar Class
The Supercar class is for road-registered exotic supercars, kit cars (such as Clubmans) and replicas that would be ineligible for the Club Sprint and Open classes.
- Weight restriction – can only by 5% lighter than factory specification
- Limited aero modifications allowed, but active aero devices are permitted if they are fitted to the vehicle as standard
- R-spec tyres are permitted
