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GT: Redline Time Attack Prepares For 2010
After a successful open test at Willow Springs Raceway last weekend, the burgeoning Redline Time Attack series is ready for its biggest season ever.
Redline Time Attack  | http://redlinetimeattack.com  |  Posted March 03, 2010   Rosamond, CA
David Duong will contest the COBB Tuning Modified class in his Robispec Mitsubishi Evo IX. (RTA)
Cold desert air and the smell of race fuel set the stage for the first ever official Redline Time Attack test day at Willow Springs Raceway’s “Streets” course recently, the site of first scheduled event on the Redline Time Attack calendar for 2010. The event served as an excellent preview of what we can look forward to this season with a handful of new teams and some familiar faces showing up to give everyone a sneak peak at what they had been up to since the 2009 finals last November.

This event wasn’t all about the teams though as this event was also a test run for Redline Time Attack’s new state of the art timing system as well as a dry run for the much larger event staff.

There were plenty of new teams in attendance that are generating a lot of buzz lately in the tuner community, one of which is Conrad Gruenwald and his new ride for Redline Time Attack and Formula Drift, a downright mean sounding 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Conrad and the Hankook Tire Camaro have already become a hit on the internet with thousands of fans who are highly anticipating the results of this car both in Formula Drift and in Redline Time Attack. The Redline Time Attack test day was the first road course shakedown for this new American muscle car and according to Gruenwald, all went well. The car will be ready to take on fellow drifter and superstar Rhys Millen in the Drift Class.

Another sports car racing star is making his way into time attack with a very interesting Porsche 911 Turbo. Carl Rydquist is part of a very small percentage of drivers who can say they know the massive 14-mile Nurburgring Nordshchleif race track in Germany like the back of their hand after driving in the world renowned 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race for the past three years. At first glance, the CityTireOnline Porsche 911 Turbo that Rydquist will be entering into the Modified class this season looks surprisingly stock, however once you start to know more about it, it is quite interesting. Normally an all-wheel drive platform, Carl has removed the front differential transforming the car into a rear-wheel drive platform. Carl was also testing the car with Street Class legal Hankook tires, which he plans to run in Modified RWD. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this unique car and driver combo is the blistering fast lap times they turned around the Streets of Willow Springs, despite some brake issues that were plaguing Carl all day.

Another new face to the COBB Tuning Modified class ranks is David Duong and his wild looking Robispec Evo IX. This test day was the first shakedown for this newly built all-wheel drive monster as well and the team was taking it easy making sure everything was working as it should. This Evo IX is one serious build with major focus on aerodynamics using the same body kit and wing as Japan’s fastest time attack car, the Cyber Evo. The wild orange and white color scheme means the car flies under the Robispec flag, one of the biggest names in Evo suspension tuning.
Conrad Gruenwald's 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS will compete in Redline's Drift class and in the Formula D championship. (RTA)

In addition to the new faces in the paddock, we also saw some familiar ones like JC Meynet and the crew from AQ Motorsports. JC’s Subaru was nowhere to be seen, however the crew did bring out their Modified RWD Class Honda S2000 they debuted towards the end of last season. Unfortunately their testing day ended early with engine problems.

Mike Cronin Jr. and Fontana Nissan were also out testing their Modified AWD Class R35 GTR, which was easily the fastest car on the track. Testing seemed to be going well as Mike spent most of the day giving fans the opportunity to sit shotgun for a few laps around the track. The Fontana Nissan Unlimited RWD Nissan 350Z was reportedly back in the shop finishing up off-season prep.

The crew of the ABF/GruppeS/Mynes MINI Cooper JCW have been hard at work this off-season prepping their car for battle in the Buddy Club Street Tire Class. Driver Dez Ballard piloted the monster MINI to a blistering fast time on their Yokohama tires reportedly shattering the all-time MINI Cooper track record for the Streets of Willow Springs. ABF/GruppeS plans on campaigning a few MINI Coopers this season and judging by what we saw at Streets of Willow Springs, we can expect them to make waves.

The Berk Technology crew has also been hard at work making improvements on their BMW 135i which showed up to the test day sporting a bold new look and myself, Mike Bonanni, as full time driver for 2010. Our objective for the day was simply to make sure some of the new parts that were added to the car worked properly and I can tell you that in that regard, testing went well. This car has the potential to shake up the Street Tire RWD Class this season!

Perhaps the biggest buzz throughout the day though did not come from one of the teams, but from Redline Time Attack themselves. This test day gave competitors a first look at the many changes Redline Time Attack is making this year. The changes were immediately apparent in the shear number of staff members on hand, each with tasks that are designed to greatly improve the experience of the teams and fans alike.
Fastest laps during last weekend's test came courtesy of Mike Cronin Jr. and his Fontana Nissan-sponsored Nissan R35 GT-R. (RTA)

One of the biggest new things for Redline Time Attack this year is the state of the art Zoomius timing and scoring system. This new timing system is simply amazing and something that is totally unique to Redline Time Attack. The new timing system will provide live timing and scoring as in real time both on the Redline Time Attack website and at the event. Even more exciting than that is the fact that this system will also display sector times. Just like Formula 1 qualifying, the track is broken up into three sectors, each individually timed so fans and teams can see where their favorite cars are faster or slower than their competition. The timing system will also be color coded for easy denotation of whether or not a car is off the pace, for instance, if a car’s time in sector one shows up purple, that means the car went faster through that section than it did on its previous lap. This new timing system adds a whole new level to fan involvement and promises to make the sport of time attack extremely exciting to watch.

The first official Redline Time Attack test day shows us great promise for what is shaping up to be the most exciting season of time attack we have seen yet. The number of exciting new teams, new drivers, and new cars is sure to put on a great show. As the level of competition continues to grow in our sport, we can expect to see many records broken this year and the new timing and scoring system will allow you to watch it all unfold in real time. As if the competition wasn’t exciting enough, you will not want to miss the first race of the 2010 season as we kick off the competition in style with a Battle of the Bands competition, a live performance by Breakestra, the Miss Redline Spokesmodel Search, Redline Time Attack Show ‘N’ Shine car show, and much more! The season kicks off March 26th-28th at Buttonwillow Raceway.

Visit www.RedlineTimeAttack.com for ticket and event information.

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