time attack 2006 - round 4

Event lineup

• Media/Testing day April 15/16th (Sat/Sun) Donington ~ event report
• Round 1 - May 28th (Sun) Rockingham ~ event report
• Round 2 - June 17th (Sat) Silverstone (National) ~ event report
• Round 3 - July 1st (Sat) Knockhill Race Circuit ~ event report
• Round 4 - August 20th (Sun) Silverstone (National) ~ event report
• Round 5 - September 17th (Sun) Donnington ~ event report

Going into the penultimate round of the Time Attack series our 8 point championship lead meant that we only need to score 3 points more than our nearest rivals Norris Designs and RC Developments to secure overall victory. We knew that their mighty Mitsubishi Evo’s would relish the chance to revisit Silverstone’s long straights so we had been working on closing the engine power gap. These Evos run in excess of a staggering 840bhp and 930bhp respectively so much development was needed.

Practice looked promising with Phil comfortably knocking a second off our last Silverstone outing in June despite the damp track and short shifting. He was looking forward to using full revs and really pushing for victory.

However, disaster struck! Engine failure at the beginning of our flying lap saw our day ruined and our championship lead gone.

Below is the video of the engine failure as it happened. You can see Phil had to be quick to catch the car as the rear tyres were covered in fluid.

Analysis of the detailed data logging provided a fascinating insight to the cause of the problem and something we have already begun work on addressing. Engine problems are nothing new in motor sport especially when pushing the limits for every performance advantage. The new engine should be ready next week with testing starting soon.

Now with just a few points separating the top 3 teams there is everything to play for going into the final round at the famous Donnington Park Grand Prix circuit. It will be an extremely exciting finish with possibly the best Tuner cars in Europe battling it out right down to the wire. The day (30th September) should be packed with Japfest2 taking place at the same time so there will be plenty to see throughout the day.

Whatever happens it’s a credit to the Championship and the quality of teams taking part that the standards have been so high. Who will win? Mitsubishi or Subaru? I guess there are only 4 short weeks until we find out……..