One of the most talked about time attack machines on the planet has lived up to the hype. Friday morning Australia time the Nemo Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, piloted by Australian V8 Supercar driver Warren Luff blasted a 1:26.913 lap in the very first Open class session of the event, before going 1:25.7400 in the next! The time destroys that set by Eiji ‘Tarzan’ Yamada in the Cyber Evo at last year’s event by more than three full seconds!
The Cyber machine wasn’t at Eastern Creek to defend the title yesterday, but it’s definitely here this morning! All eyes will be on the live timing boards when the Garage HRS Evo takes to the track shortly.
Another big mover on day one was Garth Walden in the Tilton Interiors Evo who set the pace early on running 1:28.222 and then 1:27.310 to take second place. Walden placed fourth overall at WTAC 2011, but it’s looking highly likely that he’ll do better this year in the 800hp+ Cosworth 4G63-powered machine.
In third place sits Under Suzuki in his carbon fiber-cloaked Scorch Racing Nissan S15 who ran a best lap of 1:28.534: a time that would have won the event last year.
Fourth place at the end of day one belonged to Earl Bamber and the MCA Suspension Nissan Silvia S13 with a 1:30.948…
…while Nobuteru Taniguchi holds down fifth after pushing the Top Fuel/Vortex Honda S2000 around the circuit in 1:30.510. Taniguchi also claims sixth in the RE-Amemiya Hurricane RX-7 with a 1:31.827.
Initially, rain had been forecast for the second day of competition but to everyone’s relief it’s dawned clear and cool here at Eastern Creek. Can Nemo go quicker? Can the Cyber Evo match its pace? We’re about to find out…
– Brad
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
WOW!!!! Development over the year has definitely paid off for the teams involved. WOW!!
Those fins and all the aerodynamic work on the Nemo Evo look crazy. I thought that S13 was wild, but damn.
time attack just got serious
A car feature on Nemo is in order.....
What a wild assortment of aerodynamics. These cars are insane!
HKS needs to bring the C230R out of retirement!
damn fast!!..imagine if all this is street legal..muahahahhaha!
R.I.P Time Attack golden era. Now we have Unlimited Prototype hot lapping bearing little to nothing for the tuner market, or consumer available machines and aftermarket parts. Might as well join the U.S. and throw on full slicks and at the same time allow full tube, relocate anything u want cars.
Please, don't ever watch professional sporting events again. You'll just be disappointed in how sold out everything is. God forbid any limits ever get pushed! I imagine Under Suzuki should hang his head in shame for participating in this travesty of motorsports. He was so much happier going slower, but by God, under his own budget.
@D1RGE EXE Suzuki/Scorch is doing great, the true spirit of what TA is for years. If you can't contemplate the nature in my post referencing unlimited then, well....no explanation is possible for you. Carry on.
The Nemo car is NOT an Evo,
I have been following the build up of Nemo since the start of the year, from what I have read the story goes that an entrepreneur from Queensland was looking to build a faster track car, as he was getting tired of his old track car. He chatted with some people he knew and they convinced him to buy an Evo. The people who convinced him to buy the car were also into track days and time attack, and from there connections with people were made, people at the top of their game when it comes to aerodynamics, carbon fibre etc. The amount of R&D put into this car is comparable to level put in in F1, except with a JDM, and not F1 spin on it, and hell of a lot less cheaper. While many criticise that the car 'only' resembles an Evo and that it has been altered far to much from original while still maintaining the original chassis albeit with some extra strength, I pose this question? Isn't that what Time Attack is about. Pushing the boundaries to go faster and faster than any of your rivals?
Welcome to the 22nd Century Time Attack, I, for one, hope that you are here to stay for many many more years. Now all we need is a showdown with Chris Rado on Australian shores.
@NoelReid How is Nemo not an Evo?
Nemo clocked 1:25.0200
Nemo clocked 1:25.0200
I freakin love time attack!!
@Beder Few corrections:
The R&D put into Nemo is far superior than any other Time Attack car currently present/ racing (except for the HKS CT230R and the HKS Time Attack Altezza, which got banned at Tsukuba).
Anyway, Andrew Brillant, the aero-guy has a SOLID understanding of aero (being his job), if I'm not mistaken he has helped several GT teams in Japan with their aero, but he's CERTAINLY NOT an F1 aero guy. With that said, I'm not taking anything away from Andrew, but there is an IMMENSE difference between F1 and GT cars.
Time Attack cars are NOT allowed to modified suspension pick up point (cantilever design and such), which means, EVEN Nemo retains the shock tower the EVO came with, and the firewall is retained as well (on all WTAC cars).
Chris Rado is not good enough to be competing in the WTAC (that's a fact). Don't kid yourself. Not because he has a 1000+hp Scion that he all of a sudden he's a great driver......there are FAR better drivers that can go much faster with a lot less hp.
Cyber Evo is out blown engine !!!!
@Beder What part of the car is actually from an evo? It is a custom tube frame chassis with a carbon body. Yes it is styled to look like an evo but it cannot be called a evo. Just my little bit
@JDMized Thanks for the feedback JDMized.....
I do understand that Andrew is not a F1 Aero guy, but just saying that the programming, CGI and the like that have gone into that package would almost be comparable to what the top F1 team would use. On a quick side note, what do you think that Adrian Newey would be able to do with an Aero Package for an EVO? Would it be better than the one on NEMO or worse?
I'm not kidding myself, it WOULD be COOL to see Chris Rado out here and go up against the cars that were at WTAC, regardless of whether or not he is good enough
@NoelReid JDMized 'Time Attack cars are NOT allowed to modified suspension pick up point (cantilever design and such), which means, EVEN Nemo retains the shock tower the EVO came with, and the firewall is retained as well (on all WTAC cars).'
It also retains the standard chassis plus all of the above.
Can anybody tell me what's up with the smoke on the Cyber?
Is Nemo RWD or 4WD? In the previous post here at SH, says theis about the Nemo: "reputedly sending 900hp to the rear wheels and a weight of less than 1000kg". Is it right?
Maybe I'm crazy but how is the MCA S13 in fourth and the Top Fuel/Vortex S2000 in fifth if the S13 had a slower time?
"...Earl Bamber and the MCA Suspension Nissan Silvia S13 with a 1:30.948……while Nobuteru Taniguchi holds down fifth after pushing the Top Fuel/Vortex Honda S2000 around the circuit in 1:30.510"
I feel like someone else would have noticed this so maybe I'm just too sleep-deprived for my own good.
@Beder The amount of R&D put into this car is comparable to level put in in F1, except with a JDM, and not F1 spin on it, and hell of a lot less cheaper.
a lot less cheaper? hmmm...... so more expensive than F1?
The track has been modified since last year, hence you cant compare lap times from last year..
@Beder F1 engineers are a VERY (extremely I should say) picky bunch. They buy 50 rods from Pankl and select the very best (8 rods out of those 50 that have a tolerance of +/- 0).
Those engineers check bolts weight, they magnaflux them and compare and eliminate the ones that do not suit their need. While Nemo is an outstanding machine for tuner enthusiasts run by great engineers, the car is far from F1 level (although closer than many other TA cars). If anything Nemo is closer (in terms of engineering) to a ALM car.
Red Bull's Adrian Newey is the man! It's not a coincidence Vettel and Weber are always on the podium. I'm not sure what would Newey do to an EVO if money wasn't an issue, but it would be interesting to see.
As far as Rado, he has the money (his family actually does). His Team is really good, and he's also very good.......at drag racing.
He dominates Global Time Attack because there isn't much competition (asides from GST)....a lot of teams don't compete anymore (SSE, Fontana Racing, C-West, Cricket NSX, just to name a few).
@JoaoOliveira It's actually 4WD. The RWD is a mistake.
It is true that the track has seen some SLIGHTLY changes, but those changes made the track only 0.3/0.5 seconds faster:
http://www.worldtimeattack.com/index.php/new-track-is-faster-but-by-how-much/
http://www.worldtimeattack.com/index.php/pro-class-full-placing-list/Results: 1st, Nemo, 2nd, Tilton, 3rd MCA, 4th Scorch, 5th Top fuel.
@JDMized The FXMD NSX (formerly sponsored by Cricket) Still competes at west coast events. GST and World Racing still have a few seconds to catch up at Buttonwillow and Infineon.
Find me another motorsport where a privateer like Suzuki can even dream of a top 5 finish. I think you have to spend more in club racing to do a top 5!