Held at various circuits in
Japan although mainly Tsukuba, Time Attack rose in popularity as the
stakes began to rise and the tuners had to keep on developing new and
improved machines with which to conquer their competition on track with.
Since the early days things have moved on and there are now different
levels of vehicles entering the competitions, from road cars to full-on
specifically engineered Time Attack cars made mostly of carbon fibre as
the sport has evolved. Its drivers normally consist of the racing
industries finest, drafted-in by tuners to pilot these unlimited
machines in the bid to become the quickest.
In 2008 Mondello Park started the Irish Time Attack Series, which
pitches modified road car tuners and drivers against each other, to see
who can produce the fastest lap time on a particular day. The
championship has two divisions Pro and Club with the Pro Championship
made up primarily of professional tuners which are permitted to carry
out body modification's and use aerodynamics' and the Club championship
being mainly for the lower budget teams, where the car's are more like
their road going counterpart's with body modification's and
aerodynamics' not permitted, thus keeping the class open to fast road
car's.
What happens first for the
drivers?
Throughout the day there
will be various sessions: Warm Up, Practice, Qualifying and the Super
Battle Final. These sessions are always open pit lane and can vary from
15 minutes to 20 minutes per session.
How does the Time Attack
work?
After the Warm Up (no
timing) and Practice sessions the main segments of the day are the
Qualifying and the Final. Both Pro & Club Challenge Classes run
the Qualifying format and the quickest of these drivers go forward to
the Super Battle Finals where they get the chance to go
for Series points and trophies. For the 2009 season points are also
awarded for Qualifying.
How are they timed ?
Each vehicle will be fitted with a transponder device that works
alongside the circuits internal system as used in normal motor sport. As
the vehicle passes the beam the timing begins and runs until the car
runs a full and complete lap, triggering off the timing beam to record a
lap time in race control. Each vehicle will be allocated competition
numbers to ensure that the correct times apply to each vehicle.
Is the Time Attack
format the same as any other kind of Motor sport?
No, Time Attack has it’s own format that
works for the competitors within it, the beauty of Time Attack is that
it is aimed directly at the aftermarket tuning scene which has it’s own
needs and requirements that do not fit other motor sport disciplines.
Can anyone enter the
Series?
Yes, as
long as you and your vehicle meets the rules and regulations, based on
safety, type of vehicle, state of tune, driver experience and commitment
to the Series we are happy to consider your application.
