Spring time has arrived, launching us into a new racing season. On March 29th and 30th, 2008 at Buttonwillow Raceway, the 2008 Redline Time Attack season kicked off to a great start. Saturday offered perfect racing weather, with mild winds and 70-degree temperatures. Practice sessions gave competitors the opportunity to dial in their vehicles and work out the kinks in their machines before the Sunday Time Attack sessions.

Returning Competitors and Fresh Faces

Redline Time Attack welcomed back many of their veteran teams. GST Motorsports, Factor-X, Harmon Motive, Evasive Motorsports, M-Workz and RobiSpec were joined by several new entries this season. Dyno Comp entered its STI to do battle with the clock, along with relative newcomer Speed Element and its Evo 9. Team Skunk2 brought out their latest circuit weapons, an Evo 9 and an RSX turbo. Absent from competition at this event were unlimited-class entries from JIC Magic and AMS Performance. Both teams are working on new platforms to compete later in the year.

As with any motorsport, there were teams that faced unexpected hardships along the way. Speed Element came prepared to do battle at the track with Andrie Hartanto at the helm of their Evo 9. Unfortunately, an oil leak was noticed during the practice session and diagnosed as a failed countershaft delete seal. Rather than risk damage to the engine, the team retired its entry and bowed out of competition for the weekend. Other teams also faced hardships as well. Skunk2's Evolution suffered mechanical issues and was forced out of the running, while the Dyno Comp STI suffered track damage that ended its weekend before the end of the time attack competition.

Street Class Scorchers

The Street class challengers faced some serious competition, as the battle for the top spots came with revised rules and requirements. Regardless, they attacked Buttonwillow's configuration #13 without hesitation. In the all-wheel drive category, JC Meynet piloted Harmon Motive's STI into the top spot, eclipsing the 2-minute barrier with a 1:57.241 second lap. Yang Tang followed in the runner-up position with a 2:01.625 second effort. The rear-drive category was dominated by Manly Kao in the Track HQ Lotus Elise. Kao's 2:01.178 time was a mere 0.04 seconds faster than the runner-up Honda S2000 of Evasive Motorsports, piloted by Robert Walker. Billy Brooks brought home first place in the front-wheel drive group when he piloted the Cobb Mazdaspeed3 across the finish line with a 2:06.412. Second place was awarded to Jason Nathan in the Initial Impression Neon SRT-4.

Menacing Modifieds

Modified class monsters came out to battle the clock, led by Dieter Heinz Kijora in the Evo 8. His 1:56.423-second pass sealed the deal for the AWD group, while JC Meynet came in .222-seconds later in Harmon Motive's STI. In the RWD group, Matthew Andrews drove the RobiSpec dry-carbon-bodied Miata to the top running a 2:00.11. Jay Hou in the Nitto Tire Lotus Elise ran a 2:00.930-second lap taking the runner up spot. Tim Kuo drove the SportCar Motion Honda Civic to the podium with a 1:58.751 lap time, followed by Nick Rondet in the Skunk2 RSX turbo.

Almost Another Record

Despite the ferocious competition throughout the weekend, the Unlimited class rear-wheel drive title and event Grand Champion title went once again to Tyler McQuarrie. He piloted the C-West / BC Brian Crower carbon-fiber S2000 to a scorching 1:48.829 lap time. Equipped with a stock engine and a GReddy bolt-on turbo kit, the S2000 ran only 0.063 seconds slower than the record setting Hankook Tire / JIC Magic Silvia S15 that McQuarrie piloted last year. Second place went to Ernesto Roco in the Hoosier Tire-sponsored Ford Mustang. Billy Johnson brought the M-Workz 350Z

Only 1.04 seconds behind the grand champion was the Unlimited AWD class winner, Brian Lock in the GST Motorsports Impreza. Ever consistent, Lock drove the "L" to the finish line in 1:49.867. Ryan Novak in the Harmon Motive STI earned second place honors in the all-wheel drive category. Tage Evanson drove unchallenged in the Unlimited FWD group. But he is no slouch. Piloting the Kaaz / Nitto Tire Honda Civic, Evanson cleared the finish line in under two minutes. His best effort of 1:58.328 came not long before he suffered an oil down just before Lost Hill.

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