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GT: GST Ready For Auto Club Speedway
It had been nearly two years, 22 months to be exact, since the last time GST Motorsports secured an Overall victory at a Redline Time Attack event.
Redline Time Attack  | http://redlinetimeattack.com  |  Posted May 26, 2010  
GST Motorsports fields a fearsome 1996 Subaru L, making in excess of 700 horsepower. The car is driven by their version of "The Stig." (Redline time Attack)
It had been nearly two years, 22 months to be exact, since the last time GST Motorsports secured an Overall victory at a Redline Time Attack event. The team has been a fixture with the Redline Time Attack Series dating back to the 2007 season, having taken home Division Champion trophies at a number of events. Located in Hayward, California, GST Motorsports, a name synonymous with all things turbocharged, uses their participation in Redline Time Attack events to showcase their fabrication and tuning abilities to existing and potential customers.

Heading into the Las Vegas Motor Speedway event, the team, led by team owner and engine tuner Mike Warfield, kept their hopes high for a solid finish. At the first event of the season (Buttonwillow) the team notched a DNS in the Time Attack, setting them back considerably in the Championship standings. One of the admirable qualities of Warfield and his crew has been a persistence to never give up, returning to fight another day.

New for the 2010 Season, GST Motorsports is working with an anonymous and secretive driver who goes by the name “G-Stig”. G-Stig never takes his helmet off and never speaks, not even for the award ceremony, which was certainly entertaining for those in attendance. The team is running a contest to see if anyone can determine the true identity of G-Stig. Ultimately, his identity will be revealed at the Redline Time Attack Season Finale this November.

That hard work and dedication paid off with G-Stig recording a lap time of 1:39.657 in the Hankook Tire sponsored No. 7 Subaru Impreza L, good enough for both first-place in the Super Modified AWD Division and the Overall Event Victory.

When we had a chance to catch up with Warfield following the Las Vegas Motor Speedway awards ceremony, he had this to say about the event, “For Las Vegas I think the key was running the car conservatively to dial in all the changes we made prior to the event as well as during the event for specific requirements of the track. From there we started to ramp things up slowly during the course of Saturday and Sunday's practice sessions.”

“As the track conditions continued to deteriorate on Sunday, due to a number of cars having off track excursions and spreading gravel and dirt on key sections of the track we were unable to really unleash the car at full tilt” stated Warfield.

GST Motorsports wasn’t the only team having to deal with adversity. A number of the top competitors in the Super Modified Division, including Chris Rado in the No. 141 World Racing Scion tC and Matt Andrews in the No. 22 FX Motorsports Development Acura NSX, had filed verbal protests over the unfavorable track conditions. Following a prolonged period of time where the track was closed to clear the debris, the Super Modified Class was given the green flag for their final Time Attack session of the afternoon.

With only three laps available to record an official time, G-Stig saved his best effort for the very end, recording the winning lap time in the final lap of the last time attack session. "The car is progressing along nicely, with the new improvements the team are continuously making for me I am excited to keep pushing the car harder and harder as the season unfolds" said G-Stig via his satellite phone following the event.

Heading into the Auto Club Speedway event, Warfield and crew are most certainly going to be forced to configure the No. 7 differently. The first two West Region events saw top speeds of around 150mph in their fastest sections.
“I think the key to Auto Club Speedway is getting the balance right between having a car that is capable of topping it's gearing out on the oval portion without sacrificing too much in handling whilst going through the infield section,” said Warfield.

When asked about the new timed session format from this point out where teams in Modified class and Super Modified are sent out earlier in the day in a session based “run your best time format” Warfield had this to say “The new from this point forward change of race format should add an interesting twist with the earlier session now being run outside of the conventional time attack norm allowing everyone per group out to try and post their fastest lap within a time window is certainly an interesting dynamic” responded Warfield, “ I think given the ability to have an attempt at a record lap in better ambient conditions with everyone else in class out at the same time should certainly give the spectators something to enjoy which is definitely not a bad thing” added Warfield.

In 2009, a number of the Super Modified vehicles reached speeds in excess of 175 M.P.H. on the high speed banking. Teams must also prepare for a number of corners on the infield portion of the course, where speeds will drop down to between 30-40 M.P.H. No single area of a vehicle’s setup can be overlooked, with downforce, top speed, cornering and brake balance all playing a critical role in running a fast lap at Auto Club Speedway.

The FX Motorsports Development Acura NSX is the current Auto Club Speedway lap record holder with a lap time of 1:36.103 set just this last November at the 2009 Redline Time Attack Season Finale.

“The entire team feels extremely confident in the overall package of both car and driver so I have to say at this point we feel we have something for the current record,” claimed Warfield.

It’s been nearly two years since the last time GST Motorsports stood atop the podium at Auto Club Speedway. Will the team and G-Stig be able to repeat their success on the high-speed “roval” road course? Only time will tell if the high-speed confines of Auto Club Speedway are favorable to the No. 7. There is one thing we can all be certain of, the never say die attitude of Warfield and his crew will certainly play a factor.

For more information on the Redline Time Attack Series, visit their website, www.RedlineTimeAttack.com. GST Motorsport fans may find additional information and contact the team via www.GSTMotorsports.com.

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