This year’s World Time Attack Challenge was going to be slightly different to the events of recent years. There was one notable absence in the pits. The record holding Porsche RP968 was missing, and so was super pilot Barton “Bart” Mawer.
Now to some, this might be disappointing, but what it did was open up the field and make it less about how many tenths of a second could be shaved off Bart’s own lap record, and more about what everyone else could potentially achieve.
Europe, the USA, Korea, Japan and Australia and New Zealand were all represented, with the addition of the new Tuner and Pro Open classes bringing more opportunities to go fast, than ever before.
And to be clear, this year’s World Time Attack Challenge did not disappoint, with former Supercars driver Todd Hazelwood the shining light claiming outright and Emtron Pro class honours with a time of 1:18.169, in the Team Tanuki Racing Nissan Silvia S15.
That’s just six tenths of a second slower than the the all time track record set last year. The Pro Am class was won by Feras Qartoumy with a time of 1:23.269, in his twin turbocharged Chevrolet Corvette C6.
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The new Pro Open class was Rob Nguyen, in his Dream Projects S15, with a lap time of 1:22.286. He nudged out another former Supercars driver in Tim Slade in the Xtreme Nissan GT-R.
Tuned was won by Adam Casmiri in the Lamspeed GR Yaris with a time of 1:35.485. Darren Bishop took out Open in his GT Evolution EVO 7 Mitsubishi Lancer. In Clubsprint, Alex Michalsky set a new class record in his Plazmaman Evo 6 Lancer, with a 1:30.718 time.
To put that into context, that time was just one tenth slower than the inaugural outright event winner in 2010. 2025 also marked the arrival of a hyper car class, featuring the Brabham BT-62, a very special Ferrari and a host of Pagani machinery.
When the lap times weren’t tumbling, entertainment included drift demonstrations (more on that in a moment), roll racing and Matt Hall’s stunt plane, doing aerial acrobatics, and taking off and landing on the start/finish straight.
The evenings were handed over to the drift teams competing in the Garrett International Drifting Cup, which hosted superstars like Naoki Nakamura, Mad Mike Whiddett, Mike Thorley, Jaron Olivecrona, Masashi Yokoi, Alex Sciacca and Sam Tabbouch.
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For those who like to get sideways in a (mostly) controlled manner, there was a large focus on women in motorsport, including the presence of a dedicated female drift demonstration under the “Yeah the Girls” banner.
This writer was lucky enough to be embedded in one of the teams taking part in the category. This not only gave a unique perspective to the WTAC event itself, but showed just how passionate the female contingent is about their chosen field of motorsports.
Other notable highlights on the drift front included the presence of Liberty Walk, and Mad Mike ripping things up in his absolutely beastly RX-3 wagon. Demo runs from the Yeah the Boys and the aforementioned Yeah the Girls teams, included a who’s who of the scene.
Naoki Nakamura in the HardTuned twin-turbo Viper-swapped R35 GT-R, Jarrod Klingberg piloting his wild Corolla wagon, Kim Thorley from NZ in her DriftMama Nissan Skyline, Jessica Schembri in her Toyota Cressida were all on hand.
So too were two of the OG’s of women’s drifting, Catherine “DriftCat” Coleiro and Kahli Bell. There were countless meet and greet sessions throughout the two day event too, giving fans the chance to meet their heroes.
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Jammed with action, things went so fast that at times it was hard to catch your breath, but thankfully, there was opportunity to do that too. The Stylized Show and Shine, sponsored by our good friends at Donut Garage, offered respite from the hectic track action.
It’s fair to say this writer is still buzzing from this year’s World Time Attack Challenge, and we can’t wait to see what’s planned for next year.
