STI vs EVO

EVO VS STI
The Fastest In Each Camp

It's no secret that the Import Tuner STI vs. EVO Shootout's big brother, Super Lap Battle (coverage of 2009 Finals in last month's issue), has hosted some of the world's fastest time-attackers of both makes. But it's Buttonwillow-only final event makes it somewhat exclusive to Western U.S. competitors, and alas, it is Super Lap Battle-not Super Line Battle-so there's no drag class (although time-attacking drag cars would be fun). Let's look at some of the world's fastest EVO/STI straight-line and circuit racers:

This undisputed time-attack champ has gone 53.589 seconds at Tsukuba and 1:43.523 at Buttonwillow, both in 2007, and both setting fastest-lap production car records. Countless best efforts from the world's top Impreza/RX-7/GT-R/S2000/NSX and other EVO machines haven't been able to break it. How much longer will it stay on top? Is it even legal?

Upstarts of the Year honors go to Sierra Sierra, whose first-year competition car is currently the U.S.'s fastest around Buttonwillow, and in Third place for the crown, with a 1:45.061, clocked at the 2009 SLB Finals.

Chicago-based AMS' current Unlimited-class competitor is suspected as being the world's fastest EVO X in time-attack competition. It's clocked a 1:36.230 at California Speedway (Sierra Sierra's best was a gear-limited 1:38.028), and won another time-attack series' 2009 championship outright.

Australia enters the record books with the World's Quickest EVO drag car (March '09 issue 2NR), with a 7.94@176.96 clocked in the 2008 Spring Top Fuel Nationals at Willowbank Raceway in Oz.

Buttonwillow's second-fastest super lapper, otherwise known as the Cusco WRX, stands less than a second from the title as Buttonwillow's all-time fastest, with a 1:44.372 clocked at 2008 SLB Finals.

Featured in our July '09 issue, the late Atlanta-area Impreza is speculated to have been the U.S.'s fastest Subaru time-attacker to date; it beat Crawford by four-tenths of a second to take the 2008 GT Live top honors at VIR, and unofficially broke the track record of Utah's Miller Motorsports Park during a practice session, also in 2008.

With a 1:45.552, Crawford Performance's '08 STI sits at Fifth in the runnings for fastest at Buttonwillow, but also represents the fastest U.S. '08 competitor of any make.

World's Fastest STI honors go to our Southern California homeboy Ali Afshar and his 7.90@196-second '06 Subaru WRX.