Tsukuba Race Prep (all Finished, Some Vids & Pics ) !

[Duncan]

holy shit those guys are fast.

well done for a first effort Mark and Russ....just need to go back bigger and better next year

[evil_weevil]

Congrats guys!!!

Awesome work!!

beer time now!!

[FranZ]

Good work guys, well done!

[boostdq]

Under a minute. Well done guys. There should be an award for awsome performance from a team thats never been on the circuit before.

[Angus Smart]

whens the video out? and what best motoring edition is it going to be?

[m3gtr]

Ahh Russel youve done us all proud. Your a battler and im sure you walked away with a trophy cabinet full of respect after that effort if nothing else.

spewing i couldnt make it...duty called - middle of exams right now - and i couldnt get out of it... :/

[giant]

hey guys

well it's done and dusted!

yes 59.6 was our fastest time actually about half a dozen 59.6's.

besides the handling issues the car ran faultlessly on both days,

so very happy to get under the minute!! i think one of the uk boys got under a minute too in the blue wrx (a high 58 i think) he blew three engines this week!!

finally got the car sorted out(handling) but i'm afraid we just ran out of time and did not have soft enough tyres for this type of event, super softs were definately required and we were on mediums and couldnt get anything else regardless of how hard we tried, the m speed car went through 6 sets of tyres ( new tyres for every hot lap!!! )

on the right tyres and in the cars current setup we think it would have been good for a 57 but that would be it! interestingly we had the fastest terminal speed on the straights besides the m speed gtr

and he was carrying heaps more corner speed than us, 229 versus 219klm/hr.

it was just amazing to be here and see the circuit in the flesh and be part of it, and see what you need to do well here. we learnt heaps and hopefull can return and do even better.

we have heaps of ideas for the r34 so should be great.

also got to see the new gtr r35 running around the track, the gearbox sounds fantastic very very fast gear changes up and down the gears!!

thanks for the support, very much appreciated.

cheers russ

[m3gtr]

hey guys

well it's done and dusted!

yes 59.6 was our fastest time actually about half a dozen 59.6's.

besides the handling issues the car ran faultlessly on both days,

so very happy to get under the minute!! i think one of the uk boys got under a minute too in the blue wrx (a high 58 i think) he blew three engines this week!!

finally got the car sorted out(handling) but i'm afraid we just ran out of time and did not have soft enough tyres for this type of event, super softs were definately required and we were on mediums and couldnt get anything else regardless of how hard we tried, the m speed car went through 6 sets of tyres ( new tyres for every hot lap!!! )

on the right tyres and in the cars current setup we think it would have been good for a 57 but that would be it! interestingly we had the fastest terminal speed on the straights besides the m speed gtr

and he was carrying heaps more corner speed than us, 229 versus 219klm/hr.

it was just amazing to be here and see the circuit in the flesh and be part of it, and see what you need to do well here. we learnt heaps and hopefull can return and do even better.

we have heaps of ideas for the r34 so should be great.

also got to see the new gtr r35 running around the track, the gearbox sounds fantastic very very fast gear changes up and down the gears!!

thanks for the support, very much appreciated.

cheers russ

BIG round of applause im sure from everyone here at SAU!

youve got NOTHING to be disappointed about.

congratulations on a job greatly done. No damage, a very respectable time, fastest in terminal speed ( !!! ) no engine explosions, lol..how stoked would you be right now?

btw, how long will you be in tokyo?

drinks are on me.

Adam

[GTRgeoff]

Russ, champion effort and congratulations on the success. Looking forward to the footage and the new GTR that I'm sure you guys have stashed in the container.

[Beer Baron]

people say only 1 min, or only 59, but don't forget the japanese guys have been coming here for years. they build cars just for this circuit and this style of event, and they stick drivers in them that have done thousands of laps around tsukuba. considering you guys only saw it for the first time this week, and have a car that was primarily designed for tarmac rally and khana type stuff I think under 1 minute is amazing work! The car looked great and mark piloted it very, very nicely. When I left in the purple GTR we had a run on the freeway with the mines R35 GTR on the way home. it was quick, but my mates Top Secret 34 was quicker (it should be with over 800ps!).

I have heaps of pics which I will give to you guys later in high res. but here's 2 for now

I actually had trouble framing the shots and panning with you guys as mark was bullshit fast out of the last turn onto the straight. very nice indeed. well done boys

and as for M-speed and their 54s, well they have a hollinger, and car they have developed at Tsukuba over the years, and a driver who knows the track, and you saw the rest of their gear! I mean damn, they would not look out of place on a Super GT or FIA GT series or even sports sedan grid. Plus new tyres for every single session doesn't hurt. It just proves how much more effort is needed for the mid 50s. Plus don't forget they were the only car in the 54s on the day, and I think only 1 or 2 in the 55s and not many in the 56s either (maybe 3). So apart from say the top 3 cars you were only a second or two off the big boys. not bad for a couple of yahoos from australia.

[Kaido_RR]

awesome work

[Sydneykid]

I said to Mark before he left, that anything around the 1 min would be a great effort, to get under the minute is a fantastic effort.

I don't know the tyre compounds everyone was using, but a "green tyre" lap is usually 1% to 1.25% better then what you get after that. So new tyres would be worth 1 second, maybe 1.25. A medium compound isn't going to get the job done in a time attack format, a soft (qualifying) compound is usually worth 1.25% to 1.5%, so there is another 1.25 secs or so available there. Add it up and the 57 is there with the right tyre choice and usage plus a bit more track time.

Great effort guys, I am sure you learned a lot and have plenty of stories to tell.

Cheers

Gary

[r33_racer]

Congratulations on the effort fellas and the placing. You now know you can mix it with the best there and come out pretty damn good.

Top effort

[Ant97GTR]

Awesome effort guys ....you have really done us proud and all that hard work had paid off

Great pics baron and I look forward to seeing some more

[Angus Smart]

Good work guys! and a great result!

cant wait for the video!

[JAS-25T]

Awesome work guys - Congrats on great results!

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Great work guys, nice to see you waving the aussie flag over there and doing us proud

[fatz]

????

how does 400awkw in australia = almost 800 hp at the wheels in the land of sushi?

or does teh car make alot more than that?

[Primordial]

Maybe cooler air + better fuel + happy dyno? Still, thats a big leap isnt it?

[fatz]

even if you fed the engine a never ending suppy of tall d cupped shaved virgins is shouldnt make that much diffrence!