Come November, a sense of excitement fills the air as Super Lap Battle holds its annual time-attack competition at Buttonwillow Raceway, in the heart of the California desert. Internet forums are at abuzz prior to what many call the premier Stateside time-attack event of the year; this year, with speculation that Japan's newly debuted Cusco/Tomei/Voltex/Team Tarzan Impreza looked ready to snatch last year's 1:43.523 all-time track record set by another Japanese favorite, the HKS CT230R EVO 8. As such, the largest turnout in Super Lap history was recorded under an uncharacteristic Autumn heat wave this year, as 76 registered vehicles were poised to prove once and for all which would reign supreme in each class, and who would take home ultimate bragging rights. Of the 67 machines that made the long trek to the track, an impressive 65 managed to post official lap times.
Within the mix of contenders stood numerous drivers and cars capable of setting record runs, such as Tyler McQuarrie and the Brian Crower/C-West Honda S2000, Gary Sheehan and the GST Impreza, and Tim Kuo piloting the Evasive Motorsports Mitsubishi EVO IX. 5Zigen Japan represented the land of the rising sun with a full staff of mechanics and engineers providing track support for their Formula Nippon driver Katsuyuki Hiranaka in the company's infamous Unlimited FF class '04 Accord Euro R. The K24A-powered machine didn't disappoint, as the team recorded a fastest lap time of 1:54.987, taking home the trophy for the fastest lap in its class.
Track conditions remained ideal for this year's event, and the Unlimited AWD class Cusco/Tomei/Voltex/Team Tarzan Impreza looked ready to etch their names in the record books with a quickest lap time of 1:45 during practice sessions, less than seconds off the HKS record. The Impreza showed promising results as its first round of time attack sessioning stopped the clock at 1:44.372, nearly three-seconds faster than the second place qualifier. Spectators and racers alike braced themselves to witness history in the making, hoping the Impreza would eclipse HKS's record that was once thought of as unbreakable for years to come. Unfortunately for all, the car limped off the tracks and was pushed into the paddocks with a blown transmission. In talking with Mr. Hara-san, Carrosser/Cusco Japan's marketing rep, we learned that the car had something special planned for its next event, which he would only divulge as a smile and a pat on the back. The quest for the track record would be put on delay until next year, as Hara-san and the team quietly called their day to an end.
Tyler McQuarrie and the Brian Crower/C-West Honda S2000 won our award for perseverance after grenading their engine the night before the event, while tuning the vehicle on the dyno. A dropped valve could have ended a possible record run for the carbon-bodied machine, but with the aid of Gary Castillo, BC, and the Design Craft crew, they were able to salvage their ride and run on the less than perfect engine. With a questionable piston sleeve due to the valve mishap, the S2000 rocked the CW13 course with a lap time of 1:46.839-quick enough to claim a new Unlimited FR class record previously set at 1:48.839 by the Twins Turbo FD3S at last year's event.
While the S2000 was busy busting records, Tim Kuo and the Evasive Motorsports EVO IX improved their own previously record-setting Limited AWD class run of 1:53.916 with a blistering 1:50.003 pass. But Kuo's day wasn't complete, as he campaigned the Sportcar Motion EG hatchback in the Limited FF class, and erased Tage Evanson's record holding Civic EG lap time of 1:58.366 with a time of 1:55.948. In a year's time, three records had quickly been reset during this year's '08 SLB Finals. Another interesting fact: over 50 percent of the field ran under two-minute lap times.