Heated Competition at Super Lap Battle 2016 [Gallery]
It was an unseasonably hot November day at Buttonwillow Raceway, but luckily the weather didn't stop spectators from coming out to watch Round 3 of the Global Time Attack series, also known as Super Lap Battle. The crowds were much bigger than the ones we remember from the last four years, a welcome sign that this local event is getting popular again, just like back in the day when teams were coming from other countries to compete.
The only thing hotter than the weather was the competition on the track. Over 80 cars competed in 13 classes, with a couple familiar faces like our good buddy Roy Navarez, who was competing in three different classes with his Ariel Atom, Nissan GTR and Viper ACR. Several Formula Drift drivers were also in the mix, with Michael Essa in the Unlimited RWD class competing in his BMW Z4, and Dai Yoshihara in the Unlimited FWD class competing in the Spoon Sports Honda Civic Type R.
The last time we checked in with Dai, he was whipping a turbo-charged Toyota Sienna around Willow Springs Raceway, so we decided to follow him around and see what he could do in the center-seat Honda Civic Type R. Accompanying the racing crew was Tatsuru Ichishima, the man behind Spoon Sports.
The competition was fierce, but none more so than the Unlimited FWD class. One of the furthest traveled teams, PZ Tuning Motorsports from Canada broke Dai's record from last year on the first day, which is when most teams are still shaking down their cars to make last minute adjustments, and put down their fastest lap on the next day. When all was said and done, the top two cars in this class were only separated by fewer than 0.2 seconds. Unfortunately for Dai and the Spoon Sports team, they had mechanical issues both days and were unable to get everything dialed in to defend their title.
Overall, it was a relatively good event with few cars having major issues on the track. It helped keep the event flowing and the track constantly hot since there were no stoppages to clean up oil spills or other debris. We hope that the field of drivers continues to stay healthy because we love seeing this level of competition.
