For many years past, I’ve always gone down to Buttonwillow during November for the annual Super Lap Battle and the finale to the race season. This year, I’ve decided to cover as much time attack events as I physically can, so I made the decision to make the trek down for the season opener. One of the things that I’ve noticed about time attack in North America is that it’s still relatively unknown to a lot of car enthusiasts and its popularity is stagnant at best. Unlike Japan where time attack is known nationwide and its popularity continues to skyrocket, and even in Australia, the popularity of time attack has gained tremendously thanks to a ‘little’ event called World Time Attack Challenge. I say this because there’s usually never an audience at any given time attack event in the U.S. where in Japan and Australia, it’s the complete opposite. So, my hope is that the U.S. will catch up in this sport in the near future, because there’s few things that’s as exhilarating as competing against your own self and the gratitude of setting new personal bests and lap records. Although, some might argue that time attack is less “fun” or “technical” compared to wheel to wheel racing but the pressure of competing against time, in my opinion, is just as thrilling. Also, at this moment in time, the aftermarket industry in America is rampant with shitty brands and replicated parts which is a continued problem that I’ve mentioned numerous times in the past… So, perhaps, just maybe… time attack can be its savior.
Photos by MoMoHitsTheSpot!
A couple of Subarus that I was looking forward to see competing this season… the time attack couple from Arizona, Markos and Sally, representing Snail Performance to the fullest.
Sally’s Hawkeye looked sensational with the new livery and there’s nothing like a female racer wrenching on her own shit. I believe the new setup is producing power levels north of 500HPs, which resulted in a third place finish in the Street AWD class. Not too shabby considering this is the first time the car has been out with the new changes.
The other half of the Snail Performance duo is Markos’ WRX which was able to reset its old Street AWD record with a 1:48.282. Pretty impressive for a car that looks quite “streetable.”
Porsches had a large turnout for the day but I think most were competing in the Speed District event. Either way, it’s always nice to see Porsches on track days and this Martini-themed Cayman GT4 was among my favorites.
Porsches in their natural habitat.
Normally I’m not a huge fan of these cars, but this Starion/Conquest was pretty bad-ass.
RX7 without a LS swap… how refreshing.
There was a nice turnout of E46 M3s…
CSL is always a good look on the E46… and this Bimmerworld rear diffuser/single exhaust combo really sets this M3 apart from the rest.
Of course a track day at Buttonwillow is incomplete without some R35 GTRs. There was also a Bulletproof Automotive GTR out and about too but I forgot to get a shot of it…
A lone S15 was also out competing…
I’m usually pretty judgmental about new companies in the aftermarket space, but I fully support Titan7 wheels because they’re always out at track events and they do put quality in the forefront of their products, unlike the shit you see at car shows. Although I’m still a loyalist and Rays Engineering will forever remain my top choice!
Caught this relatively clean E92 out on the sidelines sitting on a set of Enkei PF01 wheels.
And capping off the post with a not-so-good shot of the Albrecht Racing WRX on the front straight. I wish I had taken a bit more photos but I wasn’t really motivated that day… perhaps, Super Lap Battle in November I will be a little more enthusiastic.
MoMoHitsTheSpot! 
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