"I talked to Eric who said you're planning to bump up boost, which could lead to the gasket blowing-are you concerned?" I prodded.
"No," Dennis laughed. "You know the Stephen King movie Christine? The one about the possessed car? Well that's our EVO. It's like she knows how many spare parts we bring and chews through them."
What would compel someone to transport a car packed with enough parts to eat across the globe?
"It's simple, really. We wanted to be able to meet the best people in the sport, who in this case are the Japanese, which we knew coming here. What the World Time Attack Challenge provided was the opportunity for all the teams to fight on neutral territory to help take some of the variable out of it. We've run against the Japanese cars back in Buttonwillow, comparing lap times, but never at the same time. With this event, the weather, track, and time-it's all the same and there are no excuses."
Tyson versus Ali. Pacquiao versus Mayweather. Sierra-Sierra EVO versus Cyber EVO. Up until Sydney, comparing teams was like comparing boxers. What was Sierra-Sierra's strategy coming into the event?
"It's the same as always. We are very calculating and surgical about what we do. We gather all the information we have and make careful decisions with it. In the end, that's what prevails."
Eric Hsu and his laptop are hooked up to the EVO through a port above the front-passenger Seibon carbon door, punching in a map-altering sequence of keys he could probably do in his sleep. The rest of the crew preps the car, checking alignment and tire pressure. After four laps, the EVO is back in pits. According to data logged, the water pressure was high, indicating the head gasket was starting to go. Christine strikes again.
Without hesitation, the Sierra-Sierra team got to work. They pulled off the custom Eric Hsu-spec Garrett T04 turbo and Full-Race manifold, unbolted the valve cover and tore off the head. Like the Lakers, each of the crew knew their role and performed it in perfect unison. Someone would take off one part, while the others wrenched on theirs. In less than twenty minutes, Richard, Jethro, Maciek, and Don had the head off, setting what had to have been some sort of 4G63 tear-down record.
With the team deep in work, I asked Eric how the Cyber EVO was able to run such a quick time.
"Both drivers are incredibly skilled and the cars make similar amounts of power, so it boils down to weight," Eric explained.
"But how is that possible? It's not like the Cyber EVO is all dry carbon like the HKS TRB02?"I asked.
"It's the little things that add up. We have buff Brembo Group N tarmac rally brakes that add all kinds of weight. Cyber is running stock calipers on stock-sized discs, which work fine when you only have to pull off a single lap. But if you want the biggest difference, take a look at their roll cage. It has one main hoop and a few small-diameter tubes connected to it, with no cross-bars. The Sierra-Sierra EVO has a 4130 chromoly roll cage that meets FIA GT3 standards. In Japan, their safety requirements for time-attack are much more forgiving. Tarzan said the Cyber EVO weighs in at about 1,100 kg. The Sierra-Sierra EVO tips the scales at 1,277 kg. That's almost a 400lb difference."
With plenty of time to spare until the last session, the Sierra-Sierra crew had the Cosworth engine put together and ready to go. But unless the crew packed a Sawzall and went to town on the interior, chances for another second off the clock were slim. But Dennis and crew didn't come this far not to try.
The Sierra-Sierra EVO would go back out set to run the higher 2.4 bar, but the system would only boost up to 1.8. Emp's best lap time would be a 1:33.2590-not nearly good enough to take on the Cyber EVO. To date, the cause for the fluctuation in boost has yet to be determined. The EVO went straight to the container after the event to make the six-week voyage back home.