Buttonwillow | Attack the Track

With temperatures soaring over 100 degrees throughout the day the competitors would have their work cut out for them to figure out the right combination to be able to keep themselves cool, their cars running optimally, and lay down a great lap on demand. Redline helped out competitors listening and understanding their concerns via their Facebook group and changed the Time Attack time to earlier in the day to help try and get everyone on track in somewhat cooler temperatures.

A new record was set in AWD Enthusiast Class as well as an Overall Enthusiast Class Record thanks to Craig Peyron and his Robispec 2006 Subaru STI, he was able to get his car around the track in 1:58.332 with a fresh set of Hankook RS-3’s, the time Craig was able to put down was even more impressive considering he was able to accomplish it during the afternoon time attack session where the temperatures were at their highest! This then makes you wonder what Craig will have in store for us later this year. This also marks Craig’s 5th straight Redline Time Attack victory this year as well as his 4th straight Enthusiast class overall win. You can check out all the Time Attack records on www.timeattackforums.com.

Another record that was in jeopardy was the Enthusiast RWD from Amir Bentatou, in the morning practice session he was on pace to break the record but with the addition of the extra heat he fell just off pace but still was able to take 1st place in class with a 2:01.024 in his 4 door M3.

Jason Lee came out in his 2007 Honda Civic SI poised to take a 1st place finish in Enthusiast FWD and he was able to push his Godspeed car on Hankook RS-3’s to their extreme and take home the victory. Although his tires had some excessive heat cycling and the overall heat we expect Jason to see about cracking into an Enthusiast Class record in the near future so make sure to keep an eye on his progress via his Facebook racing page.

Here are some laps from Jason and make sure to follow him on YouTube:

Will Wattanawakiri started out the time attack exactly where you never want to, with an injured car! In the last practice session on Saturday he started feeling the car down on power and noticed he was getting some light indicators on his dash. So Will went to work during the night to see if he could breathe fire back into his 240 beast. Will the help of other teams and a few handy zip ties he was able to get the car running enough to go out on Sunday and put in 1 hot lap! Just how time attack is supposed to be ran, so with his single lap he was able to get a 2:00.725 which was good enough for the win in Street RWD, although he expected for far better times Will was content to outcome.

Street Class AWD was once again dominated by Mark Jager and his Yimi Sport tuned 2006 STI, he was able to put a 1:55.210 lap time in the morning TA session on his Hankook RS-3’s. Which was good enough for the AWD Street class crown as well as the Street class overall victory. This makes it 5 out of 5 events for the Jager Racing Team in AWD Street Class and the Street Class Overall.
Here is a video of Mark’s winning lap:

photo courtesy of Byron Yoshida Photography
Another 240 had a great showing with Adam Knapik behind the wheel from FRSport, putting down the fastest time of the day from the entire field with a 1:54.762 which earned him the Modified RWD Class Champ as well as Overall Event Champion utilizing the Hankook TD’s as his tire of choice. This car is even more impressive as it changes from grip to drift on a regular basis competing in the Top Drift Series.

Right on Adam’s bumper was Zhong Cheung in his FFTec 2006 Evo which he daily drives! Zhong was able to put in a 1:54 in his morning practice session on his new Hankook TD’s but struggled in the TA session to get a good lap in leaving him with a 1:56.361. Although he was able to come back in the afternoon session and put in a 1:55.167 with all the heat he was only able to complete one lap before he had to shut it down leaving him just out of reach of Knapik and the Overall Mod Class victory, but Zhong did take 1st Place in AWD Modified Class. Making this his 3rd AWD Modified class win of the season.

Clint Boisdeau had a good showing in Frank Chen’s BM Autosports EK Civic hatchback with a 2:00.770, this car tends to get an abundant amount of attention based on it being a type R and right hand drive. Clint is a long time TA driver who has piloted many AWD and FWD cars over his career and always is an intense competitor as well as a great sportsman.

photo courtesy of Byron Yoshida Photography www.byronyoshidaphotography.com

Don Pastor is a fan favorite with his Valencia European E36 BMW, letting his driving do all his talking and his driving did quite a bit of it! He was able to walk away with a RWD Unlimited Class and Overall Unlimited Class Victory with a 1:56.907. Although his car is still is a very developmental stage he continues to impress along the way with great times as well as putting together Super Session victories and maybe a few doughnuts along the way.

Overall it was a Hot event in more ways than one, with 36 competitors many looking to break records despite the devastating effects of the heat which Buttonwillow continually pushed onto competitors each did what they could but only one was able to accomplish. Congratulations to Craig Peyron for his astonishing performance and congratulations to all those who competed.

The 2012 AWD Competition Series hosted by Extreme Speed Track Events proved to be an extremely competitive series this year. More than fifty drivers showed up in their Evos, STI’s, WRXs, GT-R’s, and RalliArts to test their driving ability and car against other turbo charged all-wheel drive vehicles. The series championship was a best six of nine events, and was held at Willow Springs International Raceway, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and Streets of Willow Springs on various dates throughout 2012. The series was sponsored by Eibach Springs, Road Race Engineering, Infamous Performance & Tuning, as well as South Coast Subaru.

The series has two main classes, Modified Class and Street Class. Street Class vehicles must have less than 400 WHP verified by a dyno, and run a tire no softer than 140 tread wear. Additionally, modifications cannot tally up to more than five points. Points are added for various modifications. For example, E85 tuning adds 1 point, and 2 way adjustable coil-over suspensions add two points (2013 will only be an adder of 1.5 points for two ways). Modified Class vehicles are restricted to 500 whp or less, and can run a tire no softer than 100 tread wear. Modified is allowed a modification total of up to 10 points. Dyno verification was done by Road Race Engineering in Sante Fe Springs, CA. This was a strict requirement for podium finishers in order for to be eligible for year-end championship prizes and points.

The rules brought on some very close battles. For example, Round 3 in June at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Kevin Fairley narrowly defeated Zhong Cheung with a 1:58.70 vs. a 1:58.71 which made up first and second place in Modified. For Street, 2^nd place was a 2:03.66 by Gevorg Kalantaryan, and 3^rd place was a 2:03.67 by Ben Siu. John Carson managed to win street class that round with a 2:02.00 despite the sweltering 90 degree heat. This round had ten cars in street class, while seven cars rounded out modified.

For Round 2 at Streets of Willow in April, Ben Siu narrowly defeated Nate Graham in his Evo X MR in the last session of the day with a 1:26.06, to Nate’s 1:26.10 for first and second place in Street Class. At Round Six at Willow Springs International Raceway, Kevin Fairley barely clenched first place with a 1:29.86, to Zhong Cheung’s 1:29.87. Every single round had competitors going back and forth throughout the day, attempting to one up one another.

Above is a shot of Jaime Gonzalez’s super sexy Evo IX that competed in Modified.

Here is Garry Mendez’s Street Class WRX. Look at those rotors!

Zhong Cheung took first place overall honors for Modified Class with four first place finishes and two second place finishes giving him a total of 170 championship points. Can you beleive this car is still daily driven?!? Now that is dedication to Attacking the Track!

Kevin Fairley took home second place overall in Modified Class with three first place finishes, and two second place finishes to give him 140 championship points. The car may look extreme, but it still has a stock bottom end putting out about 475 WHP on top of a very heavy 13 point roll cage.

Ramon Ornelas took third place overall in Modified with one first place finish, four third place finishes, and one sixth place finish totaling 124 championship points.

Ben Siu took first place overall in Street Class with three first place finishes, and three 2^nd place finishes for a championship points total of 165. Photo courtesy of: Timscribbles.com

Gevorg Kalantaryan took home second place in Street Class with two first place finishes, three second place finishes, and one third place finishes giving him a total of 155 championship points.

John Carson took 3^rd place overall in Street Class with three First Place finishes, and three Third Place finishes for a total of 150 championship points.

Here are some more images courtesy of timscribbles.com

Ken Kasitz is shown above, who notably had a 1st place finish in Modified. He was kicked up a class due to NT01 tires during the Twilight Round. He took advantage of Zhong’s mechanical issues, and ended up taking home the win in an otherwise Street Class car minus his NT01’s. He then later switched to Hankook RS-3’s and was able to finish 6^th overall in Street Class. He was one of the few subies this year that really proved their might against the fleet of dominating Evos. His car is a 2003 WRX with a JDM STI Spec C motor, with STI Brembo brakes amongst other things.

Here is a great shot of Mark “Jagermeister” Jager who ended up finishing 4^th overall in Street Class. He was able to pull some respectable lap times despite only being on Race Comp Engineering springs. He tells us next year he will be on a full coil-over suspension.

Here is Nathan Hall who finished 9^thoverall in Street Class. It looks like wagons can play too!

Here is Justin Lee and his very sexy Evo X. Justin ended up finishing 6^th overall in Modified Class.

All in all, the eXtremeSpeed AWD Competition series proved to be one of the most successful Grass Roots Competitions in Southern California for 2012. Thirty-three drivers competed in Street Class, while twenty-two drivers competed in Modified Class. This series demonstrated that it is a great platform for drivers to develop and hone their car control skills. Practically all the competitors showed drastic improvements in their lap times over the course of the year, even when factoring changing weather conditions. The competition really tested people’s resilience and fortitude. If you are looking to push your driving in a fun and friendly atmosphere, the AWD Competition is a great platform for driver development, and to have some fun while doing it. Word on the street is a lot of the top guys from this series will be competing in Redline Time Attack next year, opening the door for some new blood to come in and make a name for themselves. It will be interesting to see the event results for 2013. Rules and the Schedule for the 2013 AWD Competition schedule can be found here: http://www.extremespeedtrackevents.com/awd-competition-class

Attack the Track

Because it's been a naughty, naughty road course….

Tag Archives: Buttonwillow

Redline Time Attack Round #5 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park

Season Recap of eXtremeSpeed’s 2012 AWD Competiton Series

Join Us

Join Us