"Coming to Australia, we had to make a few changes to the car," Eric Hsu explained. "CAMS, the Aussie sanctioning body [think SCCA], doesn't allow for leaded fuels so we had to retune the engine from C16 to unleaded MS109. This forced us to lower boost pressure from the 2.4 bar we usually run down to 2.0 bar. For tires, World Time Attack went by JDM rules requiring two-thirds of the contact patch to be treaded, so we traded the Hankook C91s on the Volk CE28Ns with Hankook Ventus TDs."
Making less power than it did during its controversial run, and with looser tires, Sierra-Sierra would put down a 1:32.2480 run by the end of Day 1, putting it in first, smoking the Production Sports class record (Ferrari GT360) and GT Sports Cars record (Lamborghini Gallardo). Trailing Sierra-Sierra was the Pan Speed RX-7 (driven by K. Sasaki) with a 1:32.4540, the Tomei/Cusco Impreza WRX (driven by Tarzan) with a 1:32.4940, followed by the R-Magic RX-7 (driven by K. Mitsuhiro) with a 1:33.5050. The fastest Aussie effort was from Prep'd Motorsports' Lotus Elise (driven by Warren Luff) with a 1:33.5520. The Cyber EVO, due to an intake cam snapping during the previous day's practice session, sat out the first day of competition, the team wrenching away at the motor.
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999 Automotive Integra Type R
1:46.0140
Prep'd Motorsport Elise
1:32.2730
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R-Magic RX-7
1:33.5050
But not all was well in the Sierra-Sierra camp, either. During the final session, Eric noticed through the datalogging features of the Cosworth Pectel SQ6 ECU that boost pressure was sporadic. Instead of the constant 2.0 bar, it would fluctuate throughout the run, dropping as low as 1.6. After careful inspection by the crew, a hairline fissure on the end tanks of the aluminum intercooler was discovered. Hypertune, a local intake manifold manufacturer, took the intercooler back to their shop where they welded the leak and returned the repaired piece back to the Sierra-Sierra team the very same night. Thanks to the hospitality of the Aussies, crisis was averted. For now. Filled with suspense, the first day brought chills up my spine.
Back at our hotel, exhausted, I barely made it into the shower. With T minus zero on the funk, I noticed something was wrong. The chills I felt earlier? It might not have all been from the suspense. It could've been from the gaping five-inch hole in my jeans. The way the track was set up, one had to hop four-foot-tall fences to get to the photo areas, on which my semi-skinny jeans paid the ultimate price. Unlike the intercooler, this crack couldn't be welded.
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BSM Motorsport GT-R
1:35.8760
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Advan/Hi Octane Racing GT-R
1:34.1090
Competition Day 2: May 22, 2010
The morning of day two saw larger crowds than the previous day and the Cyber EVO staged on the Pro Class grid. On its first session out, the Cyber EVO, with Tarzan at the helm, stopped the timer with an epic 1:30.8990 run, destroying by a second the long-standing Eastern Creek track record held by a V-8 Supercar. David Empringham scraped a few tenths off his previous day's effort, giving the Sierra-Sierra team a 1:31.8840. Faster, but still a second off the Cyber EVO's pace. Leaving the press center to ascertain Sierra-Sierra's strategy, I ran into Eric Hsu and asked what their plans were.
"The team wants max power, so I'm going to crank the boost to 2.4 bar," Eric answered.
Turning up the boost? Tuning's ultimate Hail Mary. "Will the Cosworth 4G63 hold?" I asked.
"If we had higher octane fuel, there wouldn't be any problems. With the fuel we have, the head has a chance of lifting," Eric responded.
"So . . . I take it that might be the last run of the event?" I questioned.
"Hell no. We have four hours between the next and last session. That gives the crew more than enough time to swap out the head gasket."
"Word?" It's taken four hours for me to swap out an exhaust and header, let alone a head.
"Word."
Continuing on to Sierra Sierra's pits, I find Dennis amongst his crew who, despite the commotion, looked amazingly calm.