Impressive Impreza clocks quickest time at Goodwood Festival of Speed
The sport of drifting has attracted a lot of focus because of its sudden rise to notoriety in the motorsport world. But it's not alone, as time attack is starting to do the same.
Time attack racing, as the name suggests, is about competing against the clock — as opposed to competing directly against other racers.
It attracts a generally younger audience too, which makes some sense. One of the reasons why drifting has popularity among this younger generation is because the cars are all unique from each other, and car builders are far more inclined to build whatever they want. V8 and rotary engines power cars that they were never intended to, while aero ranges from huge Rocket Bunny wide-body kits to ... nothing at all.
The vibe is similar in time attack competition, where creativity is rarely stifled and subsequently the cars that come out the other end are some of the most wild in the world.
Illustrating the strength of what a well sorted time attack machine can do, for the second year in a row, was Olly Clark and his Subaru Impreza; 'Gobstopper II'. Despite cutting a far less svelte silhouette, the Impreza's 47.07 time creaming a selection of incredible cars — including a McLaren P1 GTR driven by former Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack.
It's great to see events like Goodwood embrace emerging cultures in the sport.