World Time Attack Challenge Wrap-up

THE WORLD TIME ATTACK CHALLENGE

What an event! Some of the fastest cars in the world complemented with some of the best drifters in the world, surrounded by show cars and trade stalls,  wrapped together with an amazing sense of community. This event truly is a great example of where our scene is headed, and I think I speak for all of us when I say, I like it! Here at Excitement! Car Magazine we have been flat out collecting all of our content since arriving back from Sydney. There will be plenty more to come over the next few weeks, but for now, we’re just going to give you a little taste of what you can look forward to…

Words: Grant Scott Pictures: Grant Scott Edited: Courtney McColgan

Undoubtedly the most impressive thing about WTAC is the perfect weave of many different car cultures into one event. One of our favorite examples being Nigel Petrie’s tube frame Hilux. For those that haven’t seen it before, it is created entirely from scratch. We will be bringing you plenty more of angles of this beauty to show you how astonishing it is.

Nigel’s car was not the only rig to impress either; the show and shine held on Saturday boasted some of the best cars in Australia. Being the big fan of MX-5′s that he is, I’m sure our senior photographer Josh Dobrik will have every inch of this little beauty covered for you all.

The show and shine had some stunning machines that could have entertained us all weekend; however there was nothing more satisfying than hearing that one car leave the pits that we all wanted to shoot. That one car was the Pan Speed Rx-8. Last year, Pan Speed stole my heart with their mind blowing Rx-7, and this year they have done it again. I will have plenty of shots to show of this thing blasting around the track, and I’m sure the rest of the guys will too!

While we have a lot of coverage of the Advan Pro Class to show, don’t go thinking that it was all yawns in the Hancook Open class! Duncan Shiu in the PSR Tuning Evo VII had no problem waking up the crowd every time he downshifted into corner 4. Just a small example of how awesome these cars are to watch.

Of course, we will also be bringing you a HUGE amount of coverage on the Tectaloy International Drift Challenge. Notable drivers include Mike Whiddett in his Red Bull Rx-8, who many people were looking forward to seeing perform, particularly after seeing his Rx-7 burst many ear drums last year.

Taking all the attention on the drifting side of things was Team Orange’s Nobushige Kumakubo and Naoto Suenaga, who brought both their Subaru WRX and the Evo 9 over to Australian soil for the first time ever. Seeing this team sideways here in Australia brings such an indescribable excitement to the sport. I cannot wait to see where drifting in Australia heads from here.

Just as impressive as the cars themselves, are the drivers of these drift machines. Having traveled all over the world for various drift events, drivers Luke Fink and Mike Whiddett are two great examples of how Australia and New Zealand are definitely not a small part of the international drifting community.

Without the teams that back them up, however, all drivers would be lost. While we will have plenty of content covering the actual cars drifting, we will also be covering what was happening in the pits for teams as well.

One of the more exciting things for many 86 fans would be the large number of the new Toyota 86′s present at WTAC. Possibly the most impressive of the bunch was this stunning white pearl 86 from Garage 88 sporting some rather stylish SSR wheels. With such an inspiring vehicle being created with such simplicity, I cannot wait to see some serious workshops go to town on these.

There was plenty to see in pit lane all weekend with fast tyre changes, oil fires and gearbox swaps happening left right and centre. Luckily for the MCA Suspension S13, which was driven by Earl Bamber, there was only the former rather than the two latter.  However, the thought “watch your legs” came to mind every time this car entered the pits.

What better way to wind up the weekend than with a celebration of champagne? We will bring you the full results for each event as we sift through the masses of content collected by our entire team.

For now though I will leave you with a photo of the winner of the World Time Attack Challenge weekend; Warren Luff in the Nemo Racing Evo 9. This thing pulled a wild 1:25.0200 at the end of the Saturday, a whole 2 seconds faster than ANY other car! We will bring you much more coverage of this simply outstanding car in our full coverage of the World Time Attack Challenge. E!CM