At Assault Tsukuba 2023, all eyes have been on Toshiki ‘Hearth’ Ando when he took to the monitor in his Escort Racing-built Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. There was, in fact, a really good cause for this. On January 27, at a Zummy-organized occasion, Ando-san blasted his Evo to a brand new Tsukuba tuning automotive lap document: 49.897.
Whereas he wasn’t in a position to repeat the sub-50-second feat on his return to Tsukuba for the Assault occasion three weeks later, Ando acquired awfully shut with a 50.112 lap.
I used to be simply pleased to see the automotive in individual once more, congratulate the Escort Racing workforce on their wonderful accomplishment, and take a fast crawl over this legendary time assault machine.
Hiroshi Shiobara and his workforce at Escort have many years’ price of expertise on the pinnacle of Japanese drag racing, constructing highly effective engines that ship time and time once more. When Ando-san employed them to construct and develop the Evo, it was the start of a match made in heaven. An E85-fuelled dream that has seen them obtain the aim of making Japan’s quickest time assault automotive comparatively shortly.
It clearly takes an enormous quantity of effort, ability and cash to construct a automotive able to working a sub-50-second Tsukuba lap, and also you need to get misplaced within the particulars to actually recognize it.
Beginning with the Voltex aero package deal, the best way it interacts with the Mitsubishi bodywork beneath, and the way all the things has been meticulously designed and deliberate to perform as one. Proper all the way down to the brakes, which on the enterprise finish are comprised of Infinite 6-pot monoblock calipers and RPS cut up carbon rotors.
There are various trick suspension components on the rear and a few fairly attention-grabbing air administration options at flooring degree to maintain the Evo glued to the tarmac at pace. Braking on the rear is dealt with by 4-pot Infinite calipers, however curiously there are not any carbon rotors at this finish.
The aero package deal culminates out again, the place the massive spoiler, fin, extractors and canards all come collectively to create essentially the most impactful rear view of any automotive ever.
Trying on the center-exit exhaust, I started to marvel if the Escort Racing workforce have discovered a technique to generate downforce with spent gasses!
After which there’s the engine…
With Escort Racing’s zeroyon background, it’s unsurprising that the MoTeC-managed, billet block 2.2L has a drag-spec really feel to it. For monitor work although, it makes use of a GCG turbocharger that not solely delivers a four-figure energy output, but in addition has ultra-responsive decide up.
Oh yeah, there’s nitrous oxide getting pumped into this 4G63’s veins too.
What this workforce have managed to realize is nothing in need of spectacular, and by breaking into the 49-second zone Ando-san and Escort Racing are pushing time assault to a brand new degree.
However don’t for a second suppose that Ando is finished. His subsequent aim is to beat the 49.455-second lap posted by Nobuteru Taniguchi in HKS’s fully-slicked-up TRB-03 – however utilizing Yokohama Advan A050 semi-slick tires. Semi-slicks have, in any case, been a mainstay of time assault competitors because the very starting.
So the event continues, for Ando-san and everybody else that competes in time assault competitors. It’s the essence of this motorsport self-discipline; pushing, testing, failing, ultimately reaching objectives and, when you’re fortunate, setting data.
I’ve acquired yet another story to return from Assault Tsukuba 2023 on a number of the different heavy-hitters on the occasion, so look out for that later this week.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
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dino@speedhunters.com