Redline Time Attack: Preparation + Perspective

So, perhaps you’ve seen a Redline Time Attack event, or somebody has mentioned just how cool this form of competition is and now you’re ready to sign up for the next event. That’s great, but we should take some time and talk about what you’re getting yourself into. Surprises are best left to birthday parties, not for your arrival at the track.

A Time Attack session is your opportunity to pit yourself and your car against the clock, to gain fame and glory by posting a better time than anyone else and not have to worry about some other car crashing in to you. When you’re out there, you’re all alone. It’s you, the track and the clock. Sounds great, but how does it work?

First, there are three classes, or levels of vehicle preparation for track competition – Street,
Modified and Unlimited. Each of these is also broken into Front, Rear and All Wheel drive groups to keep things reasonably balanced. A Time Attack weekend may start on Friday, with a high performance driving event, or open lapping session. This can give you some extra time to get acquainted with the track, particularly if you’ve never been on it before.

On Saturday and Sunday, before the main event, there are also practice sessions and these can get pretty interesting. All Street cars practice together, as do the Modified cars and the Unlimited cars. This can make for some pretty high closing speeds on the track. For example, in the Unlimited class, a nicely prepared CRX Honda with 250 hp could be on the track at the same time as a 750 hp twin Turbo NSX or an American Iron Extreme Mustang. You could come screaming down a straight and into the braking area about 40 mph faster than the car in front of you. Let me tell you, that calls for some fast reflexes to avoid a bad start to the weekend.

Read the full story at Uber Drive Magazine.