Time Attack is now a truly global phenomenon, and the latest country to fall under its spell is Australia. The country’s inaugural time attack meeting was held at Oran Park in New South Wales on July 5, and being the first proper chance for me to experience such an event first hand I flew up to Sydney to check it out.

The entrant list was massive and the field was incredibly diverse. There were the mandatory Evos, STIs and Skylines, but there were also a few unexpected entries too, like an A31 Nissan Cefiro and a turbocharged Toyota Landcruiser(!). But really, I was only there to scope out one car in particular: A bone-stock and brand-new R35 GT-R.

We’ve all heard about how the R35 is a quantum leap ahead of previous GT-Rs and that when compared to other factory-fresh sports cars, it’s capable of thrashing them around practically any racetrack you care to mention. But how would it go against modified examples of its predecessors? Does Nissan’s high-tech superstar have what it takes to hang with mega-horsepower purpose-built racecars, or would its mammoth kerb weight and street-friendly suspension prove to be its downfall on Oran Park’s tight curves?

The competition was fierce and to make matters worse the R35’s standard Dunlop SP Sport 600 tyres also pushed it into the Open class, putting it side by side with stripped-out, lightweight and track-tuned monsters. It would be no walk in the park for driver/owner Russell Newman, however by the end of the day he and the R35 managed to snare 11th out of 36 in the Open class and 12th place overall with a stellar laptime of 1:17.129 around Oran Park’s GP circuit - just 5.02 seconds behind the outright winner, a Honda-powered Lotus Elise race car. Not bad for a car whose only modification was the removal of the speed limiter.

Nothing to see here folks, it’s all stock

So, if a completely standard R35 GT-R can make its new owner more than competitive against far more focussed track machines, then why bother with anything else? The world’s automotive journalists aren’t wrong: this car packs Ferrari performance for Nissan money, and there’s no doubt that it’s already starting to turn the supercar world upside down. With the harder-core Spec-V variant just around the corner and as aftermarket upgrades for the R35 become more available, things are just going to get more difficult for the Europeans.

As for Newman’s R35, he plans to strip much of the interior, install a roll cage, racing seats and some grippier tyres and then let it loose on the twisting blacktop of Targa Tasmania. A new ecu tune will offer a mild increase in power but for the most part Newman wants to keep the powertrain and suspension standard, for he reckons that it’s already close enough to perfection as it is. We’ll be keeping a close eye on his progress.

At the end of the day though, Newman’s R35 was still eclipsed by some very potent Skylines. Obviously the much older R32, R33 and R34 have been able to benefit from a far greater range of aftermarket parts and development, however I have no doubt that as the R35 ages it too will become a much more dominant force in the time attack scene.

Anyway, enough of my yammering. Here’s some pics of the first ever Australian Superlap time attack event. Enjoy!

Drifter Darren “Afro” Appleton was doing his best to keep his S13 Silvia in grip mode
The AP2 S2000 driven by John Boston was the clear winner of the Clubsprint class, recording a fastest lap of 1:17.12
The S2000’s owed much of its performance to this turbo
This R32 GTST proved that the ol’ RB20 still has some life left in it
Going through the gravel trap sideways didn’t slow its pace either
Nathan Stephens brought this Toyota Altezza to the party, which went surprisingly well considering both its engine and driveline were completely stock - he was only 3.7 seconds off the pace of the GT-R
David Finnimore’s Evo 6 RS started the day all shiny…
…before ending up on its roof
Thankfully David emerged unscathed. Despite landing butter side down, damage to the car appeared to be relatively light

John Penlington’s Z32 300ZX is one hell of a mean looking machine. It’s quick too, and scored 6th place in the Open class

I love this diffuser
More Z32 lovin’
Ben Ellis’s Datsun 240Z was representin’ the old-school crew
Aside from looking fantastic, it sounded great too. Nothing beats a naturally-aspirated L-series six for aural delights


This is what shows up when the rulebook is so thin. Amazingly enough, this wasn’t the slowest car at Superlap


It seems that Lancer Evolutions are synonymous with Time Attack
There were a couple of MX-5s buzzing around the track making life difficult for some of the bigger cars. This turbo NB was pretty mint



The owners of these two GT-Rs drove up from Victoria, took 6th and 7th place in the Clubsprint class, then drove back to Melbourne. Trailers are for pussies
Finally, here’s the overall winner of Superlap 2008: the Honda-powered Lotus Elise of Peter Lucas. If you look closely, you’ll notice that it’s sponsored by Jesus.

[All images copyright JPCN 2008]