Celica ZZT231 vs Integra Type R DC2

August 5, 2009

Event:

Round 7 of the CAMS NSW State Supersprint Championship was back at the notorious Eastern Creek circuit on 2 August. I think it's the scariest circuit within close proximity to Sydney because of the long straight, high speed turn 1 and the numerous walls that surround the circuit. It was another typical warm and sunny day for EC and you know spring is just around the corner after a few laps inside a hot cabin. This round saw about 91 entrants which is a big enough field to only get 6 timed sessions. The Class 1B (stock/unmodified under 2.0L) was contested by my 7th gen Celica, my mate in a DC2 ITR and two regulars in NB MX5's on semi slick tyres.

Event report:

This supersprint was fun due to my mate running a DC2 ITR in the same class. He is a decent driver having beaten me many times at Wakefield, Oran Park and Eastern Creek circuits in a DC5 or STi over the last 2 years. In the DC2 ITR, the match up was much closer than ever before and all within the same Class 1B (stock/unmodified under 2.0L). We matched up for our circuit battles for 3 out of the 6 sessions.

For the first match up, we were paired up to run one after another on the track as per normal supersprint procedure (stewards don't allow door to door racing). My Celica went out on the track first and the ITR was following. It's always harder to concentrate when you are pre-occupied with someone following you. I couldn't help but notice the ITR was on my tail all the time. On some corners I'd creep a little ahead. On other corners the ITR would catch up. By the end of the 3 timed laps for the session, my Racechrono lap timer recorded 2:04's and I was excited to have beaten my previous 2:06 earlier in the year. As expected, the ITR also lapped 2:04.

The second match up was more of the same. Again, I was on the track in front of the ITR. My mate decided to use the strategy of following the Celica to his advantage by using my racing lines and braking points to gain some advantage. Although, he conceeds that he was taking a different racing line, braking points and turn in points to my Celica - he does have an LSD in the stock ITR unlike the 7th gen Celica. He was having issues shifting gears as well (I thought the ITR GB is one of the best in the business ). I was also having issues downshifting 5th-4th-3rd for the turn 2 hairpin and 4th-3rd on a few of the other turns. Obviously the friendly rivalary was having some impact. The Racechrono GPS decided not to work and the official lap times are posted after the next session is completed so there were no immediate lap times to compare.

The third match up was the final session of the day. Again, the ITR purposely followed the Celica onto the track. So I devised a little strategy of my own. A lot of time can be made on the turn 1 kink off the straight at 188 kph (Racechrono logged - you shouldn't be looking at your speedo at this point). Since I lacked confidence in my tyres, I had been braking very early from the 100 brake marker so that I wouldn't run wide on turn 1 whilst picking up the dust off racing line. On the last lap the tyres get hot and sticky and it was the time to push for the fastest lap. I was elated to see the 2:02 on the screen of the Racechrono.

Result:

Managed a personal best lap of 2:02.60 in my Celica.

The ITR pulled a 2:02.88. Whilst my Celica beat the ITR by the smallest of margins, I still believe the ITR has the potential to go faster as others have run 1:55's in the same Class 1B regulations.

Car setup's:

7th Gen Celica SX (ZZT231), Falken Azenis RT215 tyres, RB74 front pads and EBC green rear pads. Racechrono GPS lap timer / data logger, 9yo car with 220,000kms

DC2 Integra Type R, Bridgestone Adrenalin RE001 tyres, 9yo car with 90,000kms

All photos courtesy of Time from ClubITR. Check out http://www.jscc.asn.au if you're interested in tracking your car