Article below as originally printed in Compact Car August 2008 Issue PHOTOS BY AARON KUPFERMAN, MIKE MAEZ, SCC STAFF, AND COURTESY OF THE LB GRAND PRIX ASSOCIATION From the grassroots level to the fully sponsored, tuner-shop-backed 500-wheel-hp entries, time attack has exploded in popularity and speed. The concept of tuning a production compact into a blisteringly fast track machine, compromise be damned, has finally put backyard and garage tuners to the stopwatch test. Friendly rivalries have turned into bitter wars and minor builds have transformed into major overhauls in the name of creating the ultimate fast-lap phenom. So it came with little surprise (but huge excitement) when it was announced that the Super Lap Battle time attack series would be making an exhibition run at the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach or, as we call it, the Long Beach Grand Prix. As a race that used to hold Formula One and now hosts the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), World Challenge and Champ Car, that's something to care about.

Elevation changes were a spectacular element of early racing at the Long Beach Grand Prix. This is the first event run on the street course, a Formula 5000 race. The average Sport Compact Car reader was almost a decade away from being born when the first Long Beach Grand Prix was run in 1975. So you probably missed all the Formula One races held there. And also the event's growth from odd idea into one of North America's signature motorsport events. Plus the parade of legendary drivers, all of whom left thick, black strips of rubber on the streets of Long Beach, California, before time attack even thought about rolling through the cement walls of the temporary street course. Time for a little history lesson. 1975 Overshadowed by its neighbor, Los Angeles, Long Beach crept downhill after the end of World War II. Work at its massive naval yard dried up and the huge beachside Pike amusement park withered away in 1969, unable to compete with Disneyland. By the early 1970s, downtown Long Beach was full of aging, abandoned buildings. Theaters that once ran family movies stooped to showing smut. Then, sometime during 1973, came a guy named Chris Pook. Born in Somerset, England, Pook was working as a travel agent in Long Beach when he decided that, underneath its grime, Long Beach was a potential Monte Carlo. And what Monte Carlo had that Long Beach didn't was a Formula One race. Backed by racing legend Dan Gurney and a core group of other Long Beach residents, Pook pushed the idea of staging a race on a street circuit. Vern Schuppan rips around the derelict buildings of Long Beach during the 1975 Formula 5000 race. He would finish second.   Mario Andretti ripping to a win in the 1977 United States Grand Prix West behind the wheel of the revolutionary, ground-effect Lotus 78. Still among the best races ever run on the street of Long Beach. Getting the approval of the municipal government was tough, but attracting Formula One would be tougher. There was already a United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen every year and there was no guarantee that formula-type cars would work well on city streets. Pook had something to prove, which he did by staging a Formula 5000 race on September 28, 1975.   Formula 5000 cars were about the same size as the Formula One machines of the day, but powered by American-style 5.0-liter OHV V8s. Sanctioned by the SCCA, the Formula 5000 series attracted top talent like the Unser brothers (that's Al Sr. and Bobby) and Mario Andretti at a time when Indy cars ran strictly on ovals and, even then, not on a lot of them. Formula 5000 cars made a tremendous roar, were shockingly fast, and if they did well in Long Beach, there was no reason why F1 cars couldn't too. No Driver has run at LB more than Mario Andretti. He drove for Parnelli Jones again in the 1975 Formula 5000 race, for Jones again in the 1976 F1 Race, he won the 1977 F1 race in a Lotus 78 and then came back to win three more times in CART. With the Project 34, team Tyrell hoped to gain an areodynamic advantage by tucking four tiny front wheels out of the airstream. As fascinating as the P34 was, it experienced little success. Patrick Depailler drove this to this fourth place in 1977. "..Having now driven side by side with ALMS, Champ Car and World Challenge, time attack has made its mark on the hallowed ground of this historic ex-F1 race course. With the spirit of Villeneuve, Lotus and Ferrari still lingering, many time attack competitors were excited just to have had the opportunity to drive this legendary circuit..." The Formula One Years (1976-1983) Formula One from the mid-'70s to the early-'80s was in a sweet spot. Legends like Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Ronnie Peterson and Clay Regazzoni were vivid characters. Car designers were at their most creative, with Ferrari running the gorgeous 312T models (powered by a flat 12), Colin Chapman revolutionized the sport with the innovation of ground-effect aerodynamics. And wacky experiments like the six-wheeled Tyrell P34 would spring up. It was the perfect time to launch the Long Beach Grand Prix. Because Formula One was so good for those few years, even Americans were interested. It was the second Formula One race where the LBGP really came into its own. What rolled out of the Lotus pit reset the world of racing: the fantastic Lotus 78 with American Mario Andretti behind the wheel. Not only was the Lotus 78 the first F1 car to feature ground-effect side pods, it was absolutely gorgeous in its John Player Special black paint with gold trim. Parked, it looked 10 mph faster than some competitors did at speed. Long Beach would be the first win for the Lotus 78 and the point of Andretti's ascension to the elite tier of Formula One drivers. On lap 77, Andretti out-braked Jody Scheckter and dove beneath him in a daring maneuver at the Shoreline hairpin to seal a victory. That move remains the greatest moment in the LBGP's history. Look it up on YouTube, it's awesome. By 1978, it was hard to remember a time when the LBGP didn't exist. While Carlos Reutemann won that year's race in a Ferrari, it was also the year Mario Andretti became only the second American to win the F1 World Championship. The legendary French-Canadian madman, Gilles Villeneuve, would win the race in 1979 with another Ferrari. However, by the 1980s, Formula One was already becoming problematic for the LBGP organizers as sanctioning, travel and other fees pushed costs higher. After the 1983 race (won by John Watson in a McLaren), Formula One and Long Beach parted ways. But the party went on. The Champ Car Years (1984-2008) The natural replacement for Formula One was the series run by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), then the same cars running in the Indianapolis 500. CART machines (or Champ cars or whatever) brought a turbocharged whine to the race and a more informal air. With the completion of the Long Beach Convention Center, the temporary street circuit barrier walls were changed so they no longer ran into the edges of downtown, but instead squirreled around the new building's perimeter. The center's presence also meant room for more exhibitions, paddocks and subsidiary events. No longer just a race, the LBGP was becoming a weekend packed with displays, multiple races (Formula Atlantic and Trans-Am most prominently) and lots of parties. At some level, the CART races were really the culmination of every weekend instead of the sole focus. With the addition of Formula D drifting to the 2005 schedule and ALMS in 2007, some of the subsidiary events were becoming as popular as the fading Champ Car series itself. For 2008, the stage was set with the OK for a time attack exhibition, thanks to the vouch of the now LBGP-integral Formula Drift guys. The current LBCP course snakes around the Long Beach Convention Center and then screams down the long curved 'straight' that is Shoreline Boulevard. The Pro-Celebrity race quickly became as much a part of the LBCP weekend as Formula One or CART. The race has been run consistently since 1977, using Toyota Celicas and, now, Scion tC's. While the Champ Car series had faded by 2007, crowds still flocked to Long Beach. It's no longer just a race, but a weekend happening. The Time Attack Years (2008-?) The LBGP street course is unlike anything any time attack car has faced before. There's little room for error (with the entire circuit lined with cement barriers), the course is very fast with many blind exits, there's little available practice time and there are varying levels of surface grip (depending on what condition the streets are in). The drivers would have to be fast and adaptive. Anything less and there would be a host of smashed-up track machines. With the paddock filled with swooping Champ Cars and sculpted ALMS prototypes, the Super Lap Battle competitors would have to bring their A-game. And even as Murphy's Law threatened to unravel the weekend for many teams, they didn't disappoint. It didn't take long for problems to arise among the Super Lap competitors. The ber-quick Twins Turbo RX-7 repeated its curse from the November Buttonwillow finals event, lighting up with an engine fire in the first session. Owner Jack Mardikian took the injured Mazda home and returned the next day with a Honda Challenge H1-class Civic, which ran reliably for the rest of the event. The infamous Honda time attack team of Hasport also ran into some uncharacteristic issues. With senior editor Andy Hope behind the wheel, the raw, Putting Time Attack Into Perspective Time attack cars are fast. Most of them have the same suspension systems, turbo upgrades and engine swaps available for your own car. The only difference is: top-level time attack teams leave no area untouched and have highly specific setups for all-out track performance. But how fast is an aftermarket-infused production car in the racing world and how fast can you make your car? We broke out our trusty telemetry system to get the answers. With an assortment of purpose-built, formula, prototype and GT machinery on hand, the twisting corners of the LBGP would be the ideal arena for on-track comparisons. With Yokohama racing slicks, a fully aerodynamic downforce-inducing body, a purpose-built Lola B07/46 chassis and 500bhp, the B-K LMP2 car is the perfect example of a world-class racing machine. It's not derived from any production car chassis, but made to do one thing: go as fast as possible within the ALMS rules To that end, the B-K team and Mazdaspeed decided (in 2007) to switch the LMP2 car from a rotary engine to a turbocharged 2.0-liter MZR, the base of which is the same engine in the current MX-5. Developed with England's Advanced Engine Research (AER), the turbocharged MZR produces about 500bhp and 400lb-ft of torque while inhaling through the LMP2 class restrictor. Designed to run at full song through the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, the LMP2's MZR engine could be the ultimate choice for power-hungry, cash-infused MX-5 owners. That would be a fun ride. Representing the time attack side is the twin-turbocharged Nissan 350Z of M-Workz. A familiar name to SCC readers, Steve Mitchell's creation is the rock-solid benchmark we've measured cars against before (see SCC, May 2008) and one of the fastest 350Zs in the US. With BFG DOT-legal semi-slicks on board, the M-Workz Z uses Moton shocks, a Technosquare roll cage and a Jim Wolf Technology twin-turbo kit to produce a 560-wheel-hp time attack beast. What's even more impressive is the small, privateer nature of the car. Contrary to Mazdaspeed's Motorsports Development Ladder program, Nissan now offers scant support for the amateur racer, with US factory-backed racing programs non-existent. Mitchell has funded his time attack effort himself and also maintains and drives the car at many events. As the data shows, the difference between the two cars is clear. With a minimum weight of about 1760 pounds and full slicks, the B-K Motorsports LMP2 car is able to brake much later and much harder than the 350Z. The prototype also carries a much higher consistent speed throughout the course, with higher lateral-g numbers and spikes in excess of 2g. The difference between the two adds up to about 21.6 seconds per lap, an astounding margin. While it's obvious that the M-Workz 350Z has little hope of defeating the LMP2 car on track, the interesting thing to note is how close the Z came. Built and modified from a stock chassis, the car is undeniably balls-out quick. The LMP2 car's performance puts into perspective the pace at which these ALMS prototypes run. Imagine trying to drive this thing for hours at a time during a lengthy 10- or 12-hour endurance race; that takes big brass ones. If M-Workz could figure out a way to lose 1500 pounds and produce 3000 pounds of downforce, then we'd be talking rematch. 2008 LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX unmuffled four-door Integra-normally driven by Bernardo Martinez (see SCC, August 2007)-let go with a broken timing chain. Speculation began that a loose oil pump had caused the failure in the Jackson-supercharged K24 engine, but Hasport's Brian Gillespie made the decision to swap engines the morning of the second day-in the paddock, which is actually a parking structure. Keep an eye out for a piece from Andy detailing his experience behind the wheel at the LBGP. With minor teething issues affecting some teams, those who ran well began to develop a distinct rhythm. Crawford Performance showed up with its latest creation, an Unlimited-class 2008 Subaru WRX STI. Fitted with a full roll cage, a larger turbo kit, hours of ECU tuning (the '08s now have dual AVCS), new TEIN suspension (with R&D crew) and driver Eiji 'Tarzan' Yamada, the Subie finished the weekend in fourth with a much faster time than expected of an untested car that had just been finished and then literally driven to the track. In Unlimited FF, the 5Zigen team hedged their bets with more ammo. Before shipping over their Accord Euro-R from Japan (which last saw US competition in 2006), 5Zigen gave it a wider body, more rubber and more power, thanks to a fully built, naturally aspirated K24 hybrid engine. Driver Hiroki Yoshimoto was also no slouch, with experience in All Japan F3, Super GT GT300, Super Taikyu and GP2. Bouncing the Accord over the wide curbing, Yoshimoto would find enough speed to become the fastest front-drive of the day. Still, the battle for the top three spots came down to power, setup and driver. Before cracking open its transmission case and bursting into flames, Factor X Engineering's sinister matte black NSX took the fastest time of the day with Grand-Am driver Billy Johnson behind the wheel. Nipping at his heels in second was Jim Russell instructor and drifting regular, Tyler McQuarrie, in the now GReddy-turbocharged and still carbon-bodied C-West S2000 (see SCC, August 2007), which ran with no major issues. The favorite, the AMS Performance Lancer Evolution VIII, suffered electrical issues, which fried almost everything on the first day. With the AMS crew working into the night, driver Mark Daddio (who knows the definition of 'adaptive' with multiple SCCA National Solo championships) took aim at the lap times of the World Challenge GT cars that were hitting 1:25 to 1:29. But it was not to be. Having now driven side by side with ALMS, Champ Car and World Challenge, time attack has made its mark on the hallowed ground of this historic ex-F1 race course. With the spirit of Villeneuve, Lotus and Ferrari still lingering, many time attack competitors were excited just to have had the opportunity to drive this legendary circuit. Consider this a practice run, though. Next year, the time attack cars will be gunning for the World Challenge guys. We can't wait.

NOTE: This Article was originally printed in Sport Compact Car August 2008 Issue. All pictures included are from the Sport Compact Car issue. All rights reserved ©Sport Compact Car 2008.