Our second event of the season was an event of many firsts.  The event was not only NASA Midwest's first event of the year, but it was also NASA's first appearance at Gateway International Raceway.  With future modifications planned for the ShimmySideways STi this season, it was also the first time that we competed in TTS.  TTS is a step up from the TTA class that the ShimmySideways STi was prepared for last year.  Unlike TTA, a points based class,  TTS allows unlimited modifications providing that the end result conforms to the designated adjusted power to weight ratio.  With the bad wheel bearing repaired, James set out to find the time given up at the previous weekend's Redline Time Attack event.  The repaired wheel bearing made a dramatic difference, and James easily shaved a full second off of his time, and set the bar for the TTS Lap Record at Gateway International.  James' earned a best lap of 1:06.722 and 1st place on Saturday and Sunday.  Watch the In-car YouTube video as James takes three consecutive hot laps around Gateway.

James Elterman and the ShimmySideways STi recently made their return to the track after the long off-season.  James was happy to start the season off at his home track to defend his title as the Overall Modified Champion at the 2007 Redline Time Attack at Gateway International.  This year's event was conducted in conjunction with the NOPI Drift and Car Show series.  Thousands of spectators were on hand to view the show cars, tour the vendor midway, and see the Drift and Time Attack teams competing on the road course.  The prospect of a big show drew competitors from all across the country.  MFQ Motorsports and Robispec made the long haul from the west coast, and the Top Speed Subaru team trailered up from Atlanta, Georgia for the opportunity to challenge the Time Attack lap record.

The ShimmySideways STi made it's debut in new P&L Motorsports livery in appreciation for the support of Chicago based Subaru and Import tuner P&L Motorsports.  P&L Motorsports also brought their own creation, an MY06 Impreza with more boost than you can shake a stick at, and special controls for P&L Motorsport's owner, Paul Szuba, a former National Karting Champion to take the wheel.   Challenging the P&L Motorsports Team in Modified AWD were Dieter-Heinz Kijora in the MFQ Motorsports Evo and Robert “Robi“ Fuller in a Robispec Evo.  As the practice rounds began, James clearly displayed his home track advantage with laps times consistently faster than the Modified field.  The tide changed after the first practice session on Day 2 as Dieter posted a time 0.2 seconds faster than James' best.  In the first Time Attack session every team let it be know what they were capable of.  After the first round, Dieter led the field but Paul, Robi, and James were all within striking distance.  Optimism in the P&L Motorsports camp was high for James and Paul, until the final pre-race inspection exposed a failing wheel bearing on the most critical corner of James' car.  With no time for repairs, James made the best of it in the Final Time Attack session.  James' result was a best lap time of 1:07.699, worthy of 2nd place in Modified AWD, just 0.3 seconds behind Dieter-Heinz Kijora in the MFQ Motorsports Evo.  Within a 1 second of James was Robi in 3rd, followed closely by Paul.  Otherwise noteworthy was the Top Speed Subaru piloted by Luke Russell which earned the Overall Win with a lap time of 1:04.603.

Special thanks to P&L Motorsports for their support at our season debut.  For photos from the event, visit the Flickr pages of Shawn Manny and Budski Photography.  Be sure to check out the In-Car video of James' fastest Time Attack lap posted on YouTube.

Nukabe's efforts in the Time Attack circuit are getting great press thanks to some excellent results in recent months.  The Nukabe / Cusco Evo 9, recently Overall Street Class Champion at the GIR Redline Time Attack, appeared in a two page spread in the November issue of Super Street magazine.  Photos for the spread were taken at the 2006 Super Lap Battle at Buttonwillow Raceway.  Additionally, the ShimmySideways STi, recent Overall Modified Class Champion at the GIR Redline Time Attack, appeared in both Modified (November) and Super Street (December) magazines with coverage of the 2007 Super Lap Battle qualifier at Road Atlanta, where James and the ShimmySideways STi set the TTA lap record!  Both articles include multiple pictures of our STi.  See for yourself by clicking on any of the magazine thumbnails below to view a PDF excerpt.  Keep your eye on future Primedia publications such as Super Street, Modified, Import Tuner, eurotuner and Siphon magazines for more coverage of Time Attack events; and if you happen to spot us, drop us a line!  Special thanks to David Pratte and Elliot Moran for their continued support of Time Attack!

Click an image for a preview

Many consider the West coast to be home to the best Time Attack teams in the country. But the popularity of the sport has increased dramatically in the last year and enthusiasts, tuners, and grassroots racers Nationwide are beginning to take notice of the sport. Such was evident at the recent return of the Redline Time Attack series to Summit Point Shenandoah. The event was a big success in 2006, drawing many East coast racers and spectators. For 2007, it was clear that tuners and racers had done their homework as lap times dropped significantly by comparison to the previous year. The event at Shenandoah is the perfect stage for Time Attack competition because of the many challenging elements of the course, which put an emphasis on car setup and driver ability, and less on raw horsepower.

James Elterman had another excellent result at this years Shenandoah event. For reference, at the 2006 event James piloted the Nukabe Evo 9 in Modified AWD with a best time of 1:40.8. For 2007 James dropped that time significantly in the ShimmySideways STi to 1:35.9! This amazing time was good for 2nd in Modified AWD. DTM Motorsports took the top spot in Modified AWD as well as the Overall Modified win.

To see the amazing Summit Point Shenandoah circuit from James' perspective, visit our video gallery for high quality video, or YouTube for quick streaming video. You can also find the official results at Redline Time Attack's website. In addition, be sure to keep your eye out for an upcoming episode of RedlineTV on Speed Channel for coverage of the event. And finally, follow the read more jump to see what the Hankook girls think of the ShimmySideways STi.