adminCollin Matiza : Sports Editor
TIME was definitely flying for some on Sunday at the third event of the 2016 Telecel Drag Racing Series at Donnybrook. Sixty competitors, with a good representation across both the car and bike classes, provided the more than 2 000 motorsport fans with some non-stop racing action throughout the day. The previous drag racing event held in July heralded a new dawn of performance when Leslie Carlsson broke into the nine-second bracket on his (Transerve) Suzuki GSXR1000.
This last Sunday’s event witnessed another landmark moment when the hp lubes/Castrol Toyota MR2 piloted by turbocharger guru Mano Zevgolis broke into the coveted 10-second bracket.
The Msasa-built 1.6 litre turbocharged MR2 proved what can be achieved with just 1600cc of engine displacement, ripping across the quarter mile in 10.89 seconds at 212 kph, accelerating from 0 to 100 kph in just 3.1 seconds and to 200kph in under 10!
The level of performance from this vehicle defies belief, especially when considering that it achieved these staggering figures without the use of Nitrous Oxide. It seems that the Turbo Solutions Africa’s slogan “defining replacement for displacement” may just be true.
The only other competitor to have achieved a 10-second pass in recent years was the late Patrick O’Hara in his Nitrous powered V8 Beach Buggy back in 2012. Since then, there have been several cars battling the clock but none have succeeded until now.
In a sport where tenths of seconds can require an investment of thousands of dollars to achieve, this is by no means an easy feat.
The hp lubes/Castrol sponsored 650bhp+ MR2 built by Turbo Solutions Africa in Msasa has been in development for the last two years, and is still a “work in progress” commented Zevgolis.
In the car’s first year, finding a suitable clutch to handle the power was the problem. When this was overcome by a custom twin plate set up, the next problem, traction, reared its head.
Custom rims and tyres helped, and further development of the suspension and a change in rear tyre manufacturer finally got the car to where more power could be “put down”.
Although the car has had extensive modifications, it is still road legal and drives to and from events, and is occasionally used for casual trips.
“Looking to the future, this car still has much to offer. We can increase power levels with the use of nitrous oxide and more boost pressure, as well as improving traction further. More weight reduction is also on the cards, as well as several other technical improvements” continued Zevgolis.
The team’s original goal of running in the 10s without Nitrous oxide has now been achieved, the new goal for the team is a 10.6 second pass in Zimbabwe. One wonders what kind of times this vehicle would run in South Africa on a purpose built drag strip, where as much as a second could be dropped off the time due to the added traction!
The Grand Finale event in the 2016 Drag Racing Series will be held on Sunday October 2 and is sponsored by Telecel, hp lubes/Castrol, Nemchem, Financial Gazette, Turbo Solutions Africa, Glass Creations and Skyscape Aerial Imaging & Survey.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter