For drivers, workshops and brands alike, World Time Attack Challenge 2018 represents a proving ground in amateur and professional motorsports.
Man and machine combine forces and battle it out at Sydney Motorsport Park for the chance at imprinting their name in the Time Attack books globally.
The event has come a long way from the years where you would see a relatively basic street registered club trackday car competing. Attracting some of the biggest names and drivers in the motorsport/automotive scene, the bar is continuously raised every year in terms of car build quality and budget.
Making it’s first appearance at WTAC in 2012 and then 2013, 2014 and 2015 – John Richardson and his R33 GTST have been chipping away at the Clubsprint laptime over the years.
With its long wheelbase, ageing chassis and motor, the Skyline RWD platform isn’t quite the popular choice amongst serious time attack competitors compared to its lightweight FWD and grippy AWD counterparts.
Nonetheless, equipped with some modest power (300kW), off the shelf suspension parts and a plethora of home made aero and cooling modifications; the R33 GTST clocked in a blazing time of 1:41.3 in 2015 narrowly missing out on a podium spot.
For the next two years, the Skyline went into hibernation and spectated on the sidelines as the Clubsprint field got larger and faster.
After having good success with the original Type-D v1.0 in his WRX, John has made the Intima brake pad range his pad of choice and has since been a great brand ambassador.
With version 2.0 of the Type-D track compound released earlier this year and with the Skyline dusting off the cobwebs for VIC Time Attack 2018, it made sense for Intima to partner up with the humble R33.
The results speak for themselves as the R33 finished in 3rd place in the Street Class and Fastest RWD, a good win for the team which reinforced the potential of the car.
For WTAC 2018, the car remained largely unchanged except for a D2 Australia Front 6 piston 356×32 2 piece rotor brake kit to compliment the Type-D v2.0 stopping power.
To the relief of many, the Skyline black & gold theme from 2015 was done away with and in its place a new war paint in the Intima colours.
Throughout the 2 days of competition, the driver and car performed exceptionally.
For those who watched or were present at the event would know however, there were many frustrations to be had for the Clubsprint class such as the weather and amount of usable track time due to consistent red flags.
One unfortunate oversight the team did not forsee were the condition of the tyres, the optimal grip on the AD08R’s were way past their optimal level considering they were from WTAC 2015 (additional track debris also did not help).
All things considered, to be able to put down a 1:43.5910 time was still a very quick time and a good result despite being 2 seconds behind the previous best.
This placed the Intima Performance Brake Pads R33 in the top 15 out of 36 Clubsprint competitors.
To its credit, the Type-D v2.0 compound equipped front and rear performed flawlessly and pulled the Skyline up continually and consistently as reported by driver.
As Clubsprint competitors continually get faster and their cars more expensive, the Intima R33 has its work cut out for it in order to stay competitive.
Whilst being on the podium and holding a trophy is the ultimate goal for any motorsport competitor (including us), being able to hold your own and do your best against the odds is a win in itself.
At Intima, we’re all about unlocking the potential and supporting your journey as we are the brand that’s driven to achieve.
In closing, thank you to the Richo team, my wrap team and to all the supporters out there – let’s see what 2019 brings!
And our 20 seconds of fame on the WTAC Live stream!
