Now And Then – Yokohama Wtac Over The Years  

The world of time attack racing is changing at such a rapid pace it’s easy to forget just how much the cars have changed over the years.







As most of us know, time attack has grown on the back of workshop rivalries so up until a few years ago most cars competing not just at WTAC but at most events around the world looked for all intents and purposes like modified street cars.







It wasn’t until 2012 that the wild aero packages, huge horsepower engines and sequential transmissions became synonymous with the sport of time attack. So we’ve decided to jump into our office time machine to see how some of the well-known WTAC race cars have changed since their first appearance at the event.







It’s only fitting that we start with the reigning champion – Tilton Interiors Evo. The image above shows what the car looked like at the inaugural 2010 WTAC. With no aero aids to speak of apart from the rear wing, Tilton’s Evo looked closer to the current Clubsprint Class car than Pro. While this was good enough to win the national Superlap championship a year earlier, at WTAC it finished in the 9th place with a time of 1:37.05.







Things definitely got more serious in 2011 when we first saw Tilton 2.0. With plenty of carbon body panels, wider stance and a serious front aero, the car certainly looked like it could pose a serious threat to the then champion – CyberEvo. The development paid off as Tilton finished 4th outright with a time of 1:30.86 and it was the fastest local car at the event.







Another year of refinement and another step forward for the Tilton team. The biggest changes can be noticed on the front aero with a wider spoiler and more intricate canards. Again the improvements paid off with Tilton finishing 2nd outright (behind Nemo) with a time of 1:27.128.







Enter Tilton 3.0. Year 2012 was a game changer for WTAC with Nemo showing what could be possible with a single-purpose ground-up aero design. In 2013 Tilton struck back with a completely rebuilt car. Gone was the subtlety of the previous design, in its place was an all-carbon, wide winged, ground hugging time attack machine. They say “if you can’t beat them, join them” but Tilton did more than that. In 2013 they out-nemo’d the Nemo by winning the event outright.







In 2014 we saw an improved and refined Tilton v3.1. A few changes in the aero department, most noticeably on the front bar and the addition of a paddle shift. Add to it a more powerful (rumoured to max out at 1100hp) engine and Tilton was ready to defend its WTAC title.







Tilton’s most serious challenger in 2014 made his debut in 2011. Under Suzuki knew that to be competitive at WTAC he needed to give the car some serious downforce so what we saw at the 2011 WTAC was a machine already specifically modified for WTAC and a far cry from the near stock looking car he was racing at Tsukuba a few months earlier.



Suffering from reliability issues, Under proved that he is capable of mixing it up with the big boys finishing 5th outright with a time of 1:31.45.







We realised just how serious Under was about WTAC in 2012. In just one short year the car underwent a complete metamorphosis with the whole rear section rebuilt in line with recommendations from Andrew Brilliant.



The changes yielded tangible results as Suzuki-san finished in 4th outright with a time of 1:28.32.







Another year and another big overhaul. In 2013 we saw a new, wider front, bigger wing and some revisions to the rear section. By all accounts the car was much faster but Under was, once again, plagued with mechanical issues, this time with the transmission.



Suzuki pushed on and narrowly missed out on the podium, beaten by MCA Suspension in the dying minutes of the event. Still, the lap time of 1:27.95 showed the new aero was working its magic.







In 2014 we saw the widest, lowest, meanest and the most powerful package from Under Suzuki yet. Even a casual glance reveals massive changes to the width of the car and the changes to the aero package.



As soon as the car hit the track it was clear Suzuki now had the right setup to challenge Tilton for the outright supremacy. Finishing in a 2nd place (by the smallest of margins) with a lap time of 1:24.88 there is no doubt the gamble of a complete overhaul has paid off for Suzuki.







If we need further evidence that continual and often radical development yields results we need to look no further than the 2013 and 2014 Pro Am winner – Mick Sigsworth. Above is the car Mick campaigned in 2011 in Open Class. Mick’s best time of 1:38.16 was good enough for 9th spot in the class.







In 2012 we saw a totally different machine. New wide body, new aero package and a new engine setup helped Mick shave almost three seconds off his 2011 lap time, although in the overall ranking he dropped to 10th in the class.







It turns out the car just needed some fine tuning as a year later Mick turned up in a visually unchanged car and took the newly introduced Pro Class title with a time of 1:30.77







Fast forward one year and we saw another giant leap forward. Mick’s 2014 machine was, once again, a totally new build. Lighter, more aerodynamic and faster. Much, much faster. Mick’s latest incarnation not only won the Pro Am class, with a lap time of 1:25.27 it was the third fastest car outright, bettered only by Tilton and Scorch.



While making radical changes from year to year certainly worked well for Tilton, Suzuki and Sigsworth, Murray Coote’s approach is almost a polar opposite.







MCA’s S13 made its debut in 2011 with a distinctive Barry Lock aero giving the car its Hammerhead nickname. Earl Bamber’s best lap of 1:33.06 was good enough for 10th outright at the 2011 WTAC.







Murray’s philosophy of getting it right from the start and then only perform minor tweaks to improve the performance was evident as we watched the car getting faster every year while remaining visually almost identical.



The tweaks seemed to be minor and limited to the engine, suspension and transmission. The results however, told a different story – in 2012 MCA finished in 3rd outright with a time of 1:27.808.







A new warpaint hides the fact that for 2013 the Hammerhead was, again, largely unchanged. Again the result tells a different story with MCA moving up the ladder to the 2nd outright with a time of 1:27.36







2014 saw MCA change a driver and the car gain a new, more powerful engine. Once again, it’s difficult to spot any significant changes to the aero package. MCA’s best lap time of 1:25.70 was two seconds faster than their 2013 best. Despite the massive time improvement, MCA dropped to 3rd spot bettered in the Superlap Shootout by Under Suzuki.



Rumour has it, for the first time since 2011, Murray is considering going full carbon with a revised aero package for 2015. Will this first big gamble pay off for the usually conservative MCA Suspension team?







Alas big wings, wide side skirts and spoilers do not guarantee better times. As many builders and racers often say: it is the whole package that makes the car fast or slow. There is no better example to illustrate that point than the 2010/11 WTAC Champion – Cyber Evo.



In the confident hands of Tarzan Yamada, Cyber Evo was the fastest car at the 2010 WTAC. Its aero package at the time was, along with Sierra Sierra Evo’s, the most advanced in the world. By 2011 a number of teams incorporated Cyber Evo-style aero components on their cars and the competition was getting closer. Undeterred, Tarzan managed to fight off all the challengers, successfully defending the title in a car largely unchanged from 2010.







Cyber Evo rocked up in 2012 with a completely redesigned aero package. Unfortunately the car suffered major mechanical issues and left the event without posting a single timed lap.



Cyber Evo’s exit ushered a new era for WTAC with rapid development of CFD designed and wind tunnel tested aerodynamics with engine/drivetrain/suspension packages to match.







Looking at the past few years it looks like we are now entering a stage of “refinement” where we might not see a huge leaps in aero development but a lot of tweaking and revamping of existing platforms.



We predict the times will still drop but at a less rapid rate with closer racing and more competitors with the right package capable of challenging the reigning champ.



LINKS:

www.yokohama.com.au

www.worldtimeattack.com


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