by Scott Lear From the April 2010 issue
When it comes to our no-holds-barred Ultimate Track Car Challenge, the more cylinders, the better. Out of the 55 track-prepared beasts that entered the most recent competition, the top five finishers all had big V8 power. The next two spots went to six-cylinder racers—one with a turbo, the other with lots of revs and an exceedingly low curb weight. Squarely in eighth place overall, however, was a comparatively diminutive 2.5-liter four-banger.
The boxer engine in the nose of Phil Grabow’s 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI had less than a third of the displacement of some of the other cars. However, that didn’t prevent the Subaru from running at the sharp end of the pack with a 2:00.197 fast lap around Virginia International Raceway. A big turbo certainly helped, but power isn’t the only answer in the search for a quick time on track. In fact, due to heat issues, Phil’s Subaru was running in limp mode when it beat every other four-cylinder turbo at the event—as well as two Dodge Vipers and a full-race Ferrari F430 Challenge.
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Media Coverage, News April 29th 2010
Mazda’s Formula X Motorsports Festival Presented by Cooper Tires put on a great race at New Jersey Motorsports Park! It’s really exiting to be part of a bigger televised event such as this or GT Live that’s held with Grand AM.
There is just more excitement in the air! You can watch Time Attack, Mazda Formula Atlantic, Star Mazda, Playboy MX5 Cup, and even IMSA Lights. If you ever get a chance you should race one of these time attacks.
For the second year in a row, Element Tuning’s Mod class STi took the overall and Mod class win shaving almost 2 seconds off last year’s time running our new custom BC Racing ER series coilovers, GT Spec braces, and some new aero work.
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Race Reports January 19th 2010
I actually really love driving my 08 WRX and couldn’t be more impressed with the new chassis. I knew it was fast but not this fast. I was expecting to run in the 1:25s since I was running street tires but a 1;23.8 blew me away. This time is also fast enough to break the current Nasa TTA lap record for Summit Point.
For the chassis I have the Element Tuning custom BC Racing Coilovers setup really well, GT Spec chassis braces, 6 Gun Ball Joints and bump steer kit, front and rear sway bars, Brembo STi front calipers, Dunlop 245/45-18 Z star Spec tires, and rear camber adjustment kit. All I can say is this car’s lap time are a reflection of it’s grip and not the power. The new chassis is impressively stiff and has so much more grip than the previous chassis.
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Race Reports January 19th 2010
The Redline Time Attack series visited the Summit Point, Shenandoah circuit for round 6. The track with its interesting paving and lack of grip bit back claming at least 6 (2x S2000, 2x EVO, 1x BMW, 1x Scion) major crashes the track and a few close calls.
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Race Reports January 19th 2010
GT Live 2008 at VIR was all about great competition, fast times, big crashes, and lots of mechanical problems. With practice and racing starting at 7 am or 8 am we were all greeted with cold and damp track conditions in southern Virginia.
Heading into the event and looking at the schedule we felt we had an advantage knowing this track pretty well. The problem however was that test sessions early in the year were cursed with rain and locked up wheel bearings. Regardless I knew we had a fast car, I knew the track layout, and I was confident the AMS EVO lap record would fall.
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Race Reports January 19th 2010
This past weekend was host to the Formula X/Redline Time Attack as part of the Formula Atlantic and Star Mazda race on the Thunderbolt circuit at NJ Motorsport’s Park. Even with hot and muggy weather soaking competitors in sweat, it didn’t prevent everyone from giving it their all to win a piece of the $7500 in cash that was up for grabs.
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Race Reports January 19th 2010
