The Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI continues to prove what a well-prepared and reliable race car can do against a field of fire-breathing racecars. Not that the Takata/LIC car is a slouch in the horsepower department, but to finish first, first you must finish, and the LIC car has done just that, and near or at the top of the podium for the last three rounds of the Redline Time Attack. With just over 500whp on tap and tuned on a COBB Tuning AccessPORT by Tim Bailey at COBB Tuning Surgline, this car is holding its own and leading the Modified AWD Class championship against cars with much more power!

Entering the third Redline Time Attack west series event the Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports team had a small lead over the competition. In hopes of maintaining that lead the LIC Motorsports crew prepared the Takata Impreza for the unique challenge that Auto Club Speedway offers. The 2.8 mile “roval” includes a technical infield section with slow corners and fast transitions, as well as a high speed banked section were speeds exceed 160mph for the fastest cars. One of the most significant changes LIC made to the car in preparation for the event was a new Brembo brake kit. The kit was developed in conjunction with Race Technologies who was kind enough to be on hand to lend support to the Takata/LIC Motorsports team.

“The new Brembo braking system is incredible” said driver James Elterman. “I have the confidence to go deep into the corner every time whether it is the first lap or my last. The car was very reliable all weekend. Instead of troubleshooting problems like so many teams, we were focused on making suspension and aero adjustments to improve our times.”

The first Time Attack session was conducted with a new format in which all the Modified cars shared the track. James finally found clean track late in the session but unfortunately the Nitto NT01 tires were past their prime considering that they are typically best early in the session. The lap time positioned the team in 3rd behind the Cobb Tuning Nissan GTR and Fontana Nissan – Nissan GTR respectively. The second and final Time Attack session offered James an opportunity to move up.

“When James went out for the second Time Attack we were just 0.2 seconds out of 2nd so we had a close eye on our stopwatch” says Noah Levy of LIC Motorsports. “When he crossed the stripe we knew James had just done what it takes to secure 2nd position but we held our collective breath as we waited for the “official” announcement. When the call came that we just moved ahead of the Fontana Nissan GT-R into 2nd place, we were ecstatic.”

The time stuck and James earned 2nd in Modified AWD. Shortly thereafter James faced off against the Cobb Nissan GT-R again in the wheel-to-wheel 5 lap Super Session. In the second lap of the race, James was keeping pace with the GT-R but looking to gain ground when he accelerated too early coming off a corner and spun. Fortunately James made a very quick recovery and put on a show as he raced back to the front of the field, where he raced the Unlimited class Evo of Road Race Engineering down to the wire. The result was a 2nd place finish in Modified, giving Takata Time Attack enough points to retain the lead in Modified AWD over the Cobb Nissan GT-R by 7 points.