2017 World Time Attack Challenge: Friday wrap – Fast, Faster, Fastest

WITH the sun starting to set, and a soft orange glow signalling a rapidly approaching dusk, Tim Slade put in the fastest lap ever recorded by a car with four-wheels, doors and a roof around Sydney Motorsport Park.

The time? A 1:21.576.

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Only Nico Hulkenberg has been around the circuit quicker in competition, with a 1:19.142 lap, and that was at the wheel of an A1GP open-wheel racer in 2007.

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Slade wasn’t alone in his assault on the timesheets, with Barton Mawer hustling the monstrous RP968 Porsche to a laptime of 1:21.784.

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If threatening rain is abated tomorrow, the pair will take to the track five more times to claim the ultimate one-lap crown.

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WTAC is a unique event in the Australian motorsport landscape, where the attraction is as much about the wild, home-built creations keeping record keepers in business, as it is about the trade stands and modified street beasts parked up in the pits.

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Here, speed is a handed out in shot glasses, and drool-worthy metal is served as a chaser.

The air is filled with a cacophonous harmony of screaming wastegates and wailing engines, with a buck-up chorus of carbon fibre slapping tarmac from the force of the air racing over streamlined bodywork. Sound restrictions? Not here.

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The event has grown from strength to strength, and despite the rest of Sydney rolling into work like any other Friday, a very healthy crowd make the pilgrimage to the Western suburbs to get their automotive fix.

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At the start of the day, Slade and the MCA Suspension team slashed three tenths of a second out of last year’s winning time (and previous lap record), stopping the clocks with a 1:21.891. It was the beginning of what would be a hot, relentless day on and off the track.

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To give you an idea on the diversity – and velocity – of the cars taking part in the competitive aspect of WTAC, we offer the story of Brad Sheils.

Competing in the Pro Class, at the wheel of a front-drive Holden Astra, Sheils lapped Sydney Motorsport Park in a 1:29.600 – faster than any V8 Supercar has managed around the same track in race conditions.

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But grip and downforce is just first course, this afternoon dedicated fans will be treated to some of the best sideways drifting action in the country.

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Names like Shane van Gisbergen, Daigo Saito, and ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett will take part in practice and qualifying, with knock-out tandem battles taking part tomorrow evening.

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Then you have the parade laps, Group A touring cars, a Mazda 767B Le Mans racer, ultra-smokey drift demonstrations. Wherever and whenever you turn your head, there is something fresh and exciting to grab your attention.

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There are also a pair of GT300-spec JGTC cars competing in Open Class. They aren’t topping the time sheets, but pull a sizeable audience upon warmup.

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The crowd at World Time Attack is younger than is usually found at motorsport events around the country, but they are among the most enthusiastic.

That gives the entire event an infectious feel, and organisers reward those who come to the track with unmatched pit access.

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Moments before being strapped into the Hammerhead Nissan Silvia for a high-speed attack, Tim Slade was casually chatting with fans behind the MCA Suspension garage, sharing insights into the difficulties of what he was about to attempt, posing for photos, and revealing how much speed he had left in the bag. You wouldn’t see that at a Supercars event.

Roll on, day two.

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