Ten years is no small feat.
I remember when the Attack series first came onto the scene. I honestly didn’t think much of it at the time, possibly because Tsukuba Circuit already had Battle Evome for time attack. The guys behind the Battle Evome events did it well; they kept things amateur-focused and pretty small, and it was a true pleasure to cover. I got to know the regulars and watched their cars evolve over the years, until the series ended in 2016.
Battle Evolve was always a nice contrast to Rev Speed magazine’s Super Battle event, which has been contested at Tsukuba Circuit for the past 30-plus years. The annual Super Battle still invites Japanese tuning shops and parts manufacturers to fight it out for top honors every December.
Attack, however, was different. It brought everyone together – the amateur racers and pro teams alike.
It’s why, at Attack Tsukuba you’ll see Yoshiki ‘Fire’ Ando in his 49-second Escort Racing Evo, and Nobuteru ‘Nob’ Taniguchi behind the wheel of various shop demo machines, plus kei cars and home-built creations. Everyone is shooting for fast lap times in their individual sessions. The best thing of all is that Attack has become a proper series, with additional rounds at Sugo, Suzuka, Fuji and Okayama.
It’s grown so much, that Tsukuba Circuit is starting to have issues accommodating all the Attack entrants. For 2023, there were 155 cars entered, which is just insane.
The thing that really impressed me though, is that 59 of these entrants posted lap times under 1 minute. The fastest of all – Fire Ando – ran a 50.112-second lap, just a slither off his 49.897-second personal best and Tsukuba TC2000 track record for a modified car.
As always, the first thing I did on arrival at Attack Tsukuba last Saturday was head up pit lane and take a look at all the heavy hitters before the track opened.
It was so cool to see the RE Amemiya crew at a time attack event again. They used to be Tsukuba regulars, and of course were chasing lap times before the term ‘time attack’ was even a thing.
The team were there to crew on their old 20B 3-rotor FD3S track car, which is now campaigned by an RE Amemiya customer.
This initial stroll gave me a look at Attack regulars to see how they had changed over the last year, and a first glance at brand new entrants, like the Madface x D Spec GR Yaris which came all the way from South Korea. With driver Lee Daejun at the wheel, the Rocket Bunny-kitted Yaris managed a best lap of 1″02.665.
While seeing international entrants is always exciting, for 2023 it was something else altogether that made the event extra memorable for me: Suzuki Jimnys!
That’s right, just when you think you’ve seen it all in Japan, a bunch of track-prepped Jimnys zoom past you at the Tsukuba hairpin, lifting their left front wheels high in the air as their solid front axles struggle to handle levels of lateral grip they were never designed to cope with. Don’t worry, I’m dedicating an entire post to all the Jimnys out at Attack Tsukuba, as I know you’ll get a real kick out of them.
Cusco had the only GR Corolla at the event and posted a fastest lap time of 1″02, slightly slower than its PB 1’01.229. That’s crazy-fast for what is essentially a lightly prepped stock car.
Thanks to Cusco, everyone in attendance was able to indulge in some Super GT gold from back in 2007. The GT300 class Cusco Dunlop GD Subaru Impreza is a legendary car from a time when Super GT’s second tier category was more interesting than ever.
Here’s Under Suzuki having a chat with Kumamura-san of Techno Pro Spirits in front of Suzuki’s iconic Scorch Racing S15.
This was the first time the Silvia had been seen out in the sunlight since some major updates. A transaxle gearbox has been introduced, while pretty much everything else has been re-engineered, including refined carbon bodywork that’s not complete yet. If the S15 chassis had ever been used in the Super GT GT500 class, it probably would have looked something like this!
The car was for display only at Attack Tsukuba, and Suzuki-san now has just a few months left to finish things off before its shipped down to Australia for WTAC later in the year.
This is another car I will have to show you more of, in part because it’s a GT-R – and we love GT-Rs of every generation – but also because this is the new AutoBahn time attack machine. It was built in collaboration with Bando-san, who has for now retired his all-carbon Z30 Soarer, previously one of the quickest cars in Japanese time attack. Fresh out of the box, the R33 came away with the fourth fastest lap time of the day, a 54.184.
Seeing the paddock at Tsukuba so full of cars was amazing. It was a real mix of old faithfuls and new cars ready to be hunted.
I’m grouping some of my favorite cars together in a separate post, where I can share them with you in more detail. There was just so much to see and take in.
Auto Produce Boss, working in collaboration with Bridgestone, brought out their RZ34 for some hot laps. A quick look over the car revealed it to be in mostly stock form with Endless brakes, adjustable coilovers, an exhaust and some mild aero the main changes. The fact that it managed to lap Tsukuba in 1-minute flat goes to show just how capable the new Z is.
The paddock was always busy, with cars either being prepped for their next session, heading out onto the track, or arriving back having just done three or four hot laps with the 20-minute sessions. I spotted a few makeshift pits using heaters to keep brakes warm – any advantage so that the car is ready to attack right after its out lap.
Amongst all the carbon-fiber-clad FDs that resemble GT cars more than the production car they started out as, it was nice to see a small group of RX-8s.
While these cars lacked big power, their almost perfect weight distribution and handling make them a great track car. They obviously respond well to a good setup, with two out of the five RX-8s lapping in the 59-second zone.
We can’t forget the Suzuki Swift either, which continues to be a popular entry-level time attack car. This one, built by Rainbow Auto (the Jimny specialist that I’ll have a separate post on), really looked the part with all sorts of aero touches. 1″03.174 was its best time on the day.
The cars spilled out into the auxiliary pits right outside the entrance of the circuit. Above you can see how they are positioned underneath the barriers on the outside of Turn 1.
A big part of time attack is the tires, in particular selecting the right type, compound, sizing and ensuring they are kept warm prior to each outing. Shaving away the worn rubber that tends to bead along the tread is also important, allowing the tires to be useable right from the get-go.
If there’s one thing I love about Japan, it’s the way JDM touches are applied to Euro cars like this BMW E46, which looked so functional sitting on a set of Enkei wheels. SunBeam in Tokyo is master when it comes to this!
Kei cars are as much a part of Attack as 800hp aero monsters, and are a reminder that it’s not the type of car you drive that’s important, but what you do with it.
It’s also precisely why there’s so much variety at Attack – big and small, cheap and expensive, extremely powerful and no power at all.
The FF class at Attack has always been high profile, as it’s home to the fastest Civics in Japan. One of them is the naturally aspirated Rise Up EK9, which ran a 58.4-second lap to finish 42nd overall.
But it was another EK9 that surprised everyone during Friday practice, and I’ll touch on that car in a separate post.
From outside the circuit entrance and right down the access road that runs along the center of the Tsukuba layout, cars consumed every possible bit of space.
It’s where I spotted this Honda CR-X from Usui Jidousha, which looked like it would be equally at home on show at Wekfest Japan. Just look at that engine bay! Mark shot the bright yellow EF8 while he was in Japan last month, so stay tuned for a full feature on this fresh build soon.
When I made it all the way to the far paddock, I was surprised to find more competing cars.
Including this wide-body Toyota MR-S, running a Honda K-swap, which was lapping in 1-minute flat all day long.
The best thing of the day, however, was the impression Attack Tsukuba 2023 left on me. Seeing more competing cars than ever at Tsukuba for any event was reassurance that car culture – at least on the time attack side of things – is not just alive and well in Japan, it’s absolutely thriving.
I’ve got a whole lot more coming from Attack, so make sure you check back soon. You don’t want to miss those Jimnys!
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: dino_dalle_carbonare
dino@speedhunters.com
Don't know why it always surprise me the level of the build and the level of the weapons used.
Gets better every year
I'll admit I am not familiar with the series rules, but I'm surprised that there are no electric cars here. Yes, they are heavy, but the low center of gravity and instant torque combined with a short track seems like an ideal match.
I am sure that sooner or later we will see more people experimenting with EVs
"Yes they are heavy"
Oh...you mean the fundamental building block of all performance? Haha, yeah if you ignore than I guess they're great. It's like saying "He's an olympic sprinter with no legs, but if you ignore the fact he's in a hand push wheel chair he does fine."
LOL
For time attack where you have to go one fast lap all weekend, and the open class cant do more cos stupid street tire explodes the ev is a perfect choice.
Dont need batteries for 400km, just enough to last 3 laps, and about 1km full throttle.
This. Many EV's can break 59 all day, but Japan has many issues surrounding even a "small" percentage of buyers, since they are denser and more populated than most cities. Japan, like everything else it does, will hold unto the early discoveries and stick with them to their most otaku-obsessed ends. Having a few EV's here would be great to give perspective on the performance these burner machines are reaching, but the cost would maybe mean a manufacturer itself would have to show up. Of course, Americans are muscle car-ing Tesla's biggest rotors on just a few battery cell packs, coming in at motorcycle weights and running down ICE cars with nearly double the horsepower, but then they can drive home with a battery trailer and charge most anywhere with a bit of planning. Not so in Japan, and for good reason.
Lol no they can’t. EV’s aren’t as fast as you think around a lap of tsukuba.
yes in the past they do have Tesla participate Attack
Seeing the ingenuity and sometimes sheer size of the aero on these cars is one of the things that I love about Time Attack. It's the closest modern day equivalent of the Silhouette racecars.
Yeah it's so cool to see a type of motorsport which is left to evolve and progress without too many rules
Crazy to see how big of an event this is and the sheer amount of cars varying in different sizes and builds for Time Attack
Really this is such an exciting event to see
I was blown away at how many cars there were this year!
"26B 3-rotor" - which is it, a 26B or a 3-rotor? A 26B would be a 4-rotor, and a 3-rotor would be a 20B o.O
Really cool writeup otherwise though, and I'm glad to see the love for time attack is still alive and well
26B is very rare. Most likely 20B. The is more chance of an encounter with a bigfoot than a 26B.
Yes I corrected it...
is this the same car???
every photo and paragraph in this article is awesome!
Thanks man!
I want so badly all the further articles you promessi! And I want even badly know more about the Lancia Delta (Lancia Delta's in Japan its always a wild thing) . By the way what the car with number 154?
Working on them!
BTW I spotlighted the white Delta in 2020
http://www.speedhunters.com/2020/03/a-time-attacking-lancia-delta-integrale/
Thanks! I going to read that too! And stell wait the next publications!
PS: maybe the comments are not working properly, I made a Reply to "Ruben" and the comment just end on "toyota PAsseo" I wrote bit more that this
That's a 2nd generation Toyota MR2
Hoooo men...how I can forgot the MR2 MK2! I even Google Toyota passeo
Itching to read more about these motors!
I followed this series for a little while. Impressive to see how many people are under the minute mark! Just out of curiosity I looked up lap times of any formula car I could find and I only found one:
Formula 3000 (Formula Nippon): 46.93.
It's really interesting to compare because you can find one of these cars for under $100,000 and when you think about the engineering behind them a Formula Nippon would be capable of doing this lap time for an hour or more. A couple things that always make me laugh at time attack--and part of the reason I don't participate in it--is that I couldn't justify what some of these guys are spending $$$ wise to get into the 50-55 second range.
I would guess it's 5-6x the cost of a Formula Nippon and most of these cars will overheat after a few laps (very typical of time attack builds). For me it comes down to a simple question as a driver: Why would I ever spend more money for less performance and less reliability? I always thought that was interesting.
Exactly why i dont like time attack.
Worst is most of the drivers on the open cars are paid drivers.
So the owner makes money racing the car directly or indirect in a series intended for amator builders and racers. Wtf
The engineering and speed of these cars on crap street tires is astonishing, proper crazy level. One if the eason overheating isnt a problem is the tire, thay wont last 2-3 laps with the crazy down force they get, on the open category most of the cars overload the tires and kill them.
Would be interested to see these cars on slicks.
Anyone could buy an old Formula car and do a 40-something lap at Tsukuba. And then? What would the purpose of that be? These guys are setting themselves a challenge. And the only paid drivers are the pros driving for tuning shops. so probably 5% of the drivers there.
It's also hilarious you think anyone can just jump in a vehicle that sustains 3G and has no traction control or electronic driving aids to assist the driver.
Most people would actually be in the wall trying to put in a lap time of 44-46 seconds. Remember those times were set by one of the top drivers in Japan. You are extremely uneducated about racing cars, physics, and physical requirements to drive actual race cars and it shows when you make comments like this.
Dino--
Therein lies the difference in real racers and time attack drivers: you had to ask what an open wheel driver would do with his open wheel car. He would go racing...for position based results in wheel to wheel racing.
This is what we call "racing."
I understand it's definition is a little hard to understand for the current generation of "enthusiasts" as you are not racers. Very funny this actually has to be explained to one of the top journalists in the aftermarket automotive community. Surely a sign of how far things have diluted down in the last 20-30 years.
So hill climb racing is not racing?
Precisely. This is how lost the definition of racing is. Hill climb falls under the category of time trials. Racing is wheel to wheel as determined by position at the finish line. This is not opinion. This is the historic definition of the word.
I have spent hundreds of hours discussing this with some of the most iconic people in the history of motorsport. It is unanimously agreed upon.
Does the internet award you points for playing semantics?
No John, I have a larger brain and don't need validation from the masses to confirm things I know to be true. If we all did things for the award of the masses the earth would still be the center of the universe and you'd be buying your way to heaven.
I'm glad we've moved beyond that point. Well some of us have. When you compete agains the clock you are racing for time and that is called time trials. Wheel to wheel racing is where the term racing comes from. Sorry to burst your little bubble.
You can downgrade my comments all you like. Everything I've said is true and everyone who actually races knows it. Bye now.
YES!! When I first saw pictures of Under Suzuki's new-look S15 on soc med, I thought it looks a lot more like a GT500 racer than before. What a journey it has gone through from just a humble street car!
The most insane transformation of a road car ever!
The challenge lies in the journey, many of the cars are engineered in people garages by themselves definitely appealing to me with years of hard work and self sacrifice. Anyways @Dino or anybody else, any idea what modified audi S3/golf r does around tsukuba?
if my memory serve me correct, there's 1 modified Golf GTi run around 1m flat - 1m2s
I'd love to see details on the Probox that lapped in 1:06.
Oh yeah I saw that in the paddock sitting on Work Meisters
any link?
... The little Suzuki swift. I wonder if they matched the upgrade 4 pot brake caliper, with the master cylinder. Or matched it with a larger master cylinder, or indeed left, it as was?.
Plenty of engine shots of these cars coming up so you can have a look yourself
Pornography.
That Austin Mini is so so clean.....