Australians Dominate At World Time Attack Challenge 2012

Australian teams bested all-comers at the weekend's World Time Attack Challenge, keeping all three podium spots from their US and Japanese competition.

Warren Luff’s winning Nemo Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII took nearly four seconds off last year’s winning time, recording a best lap of 1:25.0200 on the Saturday.

Luff had earlier substantiated the hype surrounding the wildly modified car’s debut, setting a 1:25.7400 lap on Friday.

Second overall was fellow Pro Class runner Garth Walden in the Tilton Interiors Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, recording a 1:27.1820 for the ACT-based team.

Overall third place went to the modestly funded MCA Suspension Nissan Silvia, with NZ driver Earl Bamber recording a 1:27.8080.

This year’s podium result follows a surprise 10th placing in 2011 for the Queensland-based team, proving that neither a big budget or all-wheel drive are necessary to compete in the Pro Class.

The top four overall placings beat last year’s 1:28.8510 record time set by the Japanese CyberEvo team, who this year failed to record any times after mechanical dramas that culminated in an engine fire.