I cover the Irish Time Attack series for the Irish car magazine Modified Motors, so I thought I would introduce SpeedHunters readers to the drivers and cars of this very competitive championship. After a couple of sporadic efforts in previous years, Time Attack really got going in Ireland in 2008, when the Mondello Park race circuit took over the running of series, providing a formal class structure, technical regulations and a full six-round calendar. The series developed quickly through 2008, had a great year in 2009 and is now gearing up for its third season. Competitors are split into two classes: Pro and Club. As you might expect, Pro is aimed primarily at professional tuners, whereas Club caters more for individual drivers who prepare their own cars. Club-class cars stay close to road-going spec, with no aero modifications allowed, while Pro-class car builders have much more scope to go wild.

Let’s start by taking a look at some of the top Pro cars…

The 2009 Pro Class champion was Brendan Stone, driving the TDP Lancer Evo VI. TDP is one of the most prolific tuners in Ireland, and is particularly renowned for engine mapping – many Irish race, rally, drift and Time Attack cars have been mapped by TDP boss Robbie Thornton. As you can see, Brendan is sporting the white Simpson crash helmet favoured by a certain well-known TV programme's test driver.

Robbie Thornton himself pilots this insane R32 Skyline GT-R, which TDP has been developing for several years now. Although it’s quite a handful in the rain, nothing can touch this car around Mondello Park in the dry. Seeing it in action is an assault on the senses – the acceleration out of tight corners has to be seen to be believed and the noise is nothing short of apocalyptic. TDP has also used the Skyline for drifting and drag racing, and it has competed in UK Time Attack events and Redline magazine’s ‘Ten Of The Best’ challenge.

Martin Tracey runs Westward Engineering, one of the longest-established tuning outfits in Ireland. He previously ran a very clean S14 Silvia in Irish Time Attack events, but these days splits his efforts across two cars, an immaculate black Ford Sierra Cosworth and a seriously quick Lancer Evo IV. The RWD Sierra is the weapon of choice on dry days, but if there’s a chance of rain, Martin prefers to stick with the 4WD Evo.

JOMO Engineering is another Irish tuner, run by John ‘Jomo’ Staunton, who previously worked as an engineer with Cosworth in the UK. Its Mitsubishi Lancer features the running gear from the hardcore Evo IV RS model in an Evo VI shell, along with significant custom aero and engine internal work. Driving duties are undertaken by the 2008 series champion Brian Sexton, who is one of the most commited and spectacular pilots in the championship. When not competing in Time Attack, Brian earns his keep as an instructor at the Mondello Park racing school.

JOMO also helps with the running of a number of other entrants' cars, including Brian Moore’s 2-door Impreza WRX STI. Subarus have a huge following in Ireland due to their rallying prowess, but Brian has put his car to good use on track, clinching fifth place overall in the 2009 standings.

While 4WD Evos and Imprezas dominate proceedings for the most part, there are those drivers that like to be a little bit different. Shane Rabbitt is part of a motorsport-mad family and does his Time Attacking in an unmissable orange Mazda RX-7. Unfortunately for Shane, reliability woes have frequently hampered his efforts, but when the car is running well, he’s right up at the sharp end.

Philip Burdock used to own the Impreza pictured above, but for 2009 he undertook a very ambitious project: an EG Civic running a supercharged B18 block. After winning the first round, Philip drove consistently for the rest of the year to secure seventh place in the overall standings. For 2010, he’s busily preparing an Evo VI for Irish and UK events…

James Hughes is another driver who made a left-field car choice for 2009, in the form of a Vauxhall Nova he purchased from a Scotland. The boxy little hatch was powered by a punchy 2.0-litre Vauxhall ‘Red Top’ engine, but James sold the car at the end of the season and has since acquired a fully race-prepared Integra Type R from the UK for 2010.

Dublin-based Honda tuner Tuning Factory makes occasional appearances in Irish Time Attack with this very quick Honda CR-X. Tuning Factory is the Irish distributor for J’s Racing, and this car used to be a J’s race/demo car. It was gathering dust in their workshop in Japan for a couple of years until Tuning Factory took it off their hands for a good price, shipped it to Ireland and breathed new life into it. The CR-X is driven by Barry Rabbitt, an experienced race driver and older brother of Shane Rabbitt.

Finally, I had to mention the incredible EP3 Civic Type R of JStone Racing. This 300bhp+ car runs ITBs on its K20 engine and is fuelled by E85 bioethanol. It made several appearances in 2008 but did not get out at all during 2009. A major overhaul for 2010 is in the works, and the finished product should be something special.

Now let’s turn our attention to the runners and riders in the hotly contested Club Class…

One man dominated Club Class in 2009: Dean Reilly in his immaculate gold EK Civic hatch. This spotless car could easily pick up trophies at a Show & Shine event, but Dean drives it on the limit every time he goes out on track. The glorious-sounding car features a K20 swap running a sweet ITB setup and has been mapped by TDP.

Neil Dunne drives this sleek grey Nissan 200SX in both Irish Time Attack events and drift events in the UK. Neil finished second overall in the Club Class in 2009 and plans to move up to Pro Class in 2010.

Despite appearances, Jason Carolan's EG Civic did not start life as a 5Zigen demo car. Rather, the car's former owner in the UK decided to paint it in the colours of the Japanese tuner. The car started life as a humble 1.5 non-VTEC machine, but Jason has binned that in favour of a B18 block for the track.

Keith Quille also opted for an EG Civic/B18 combo for 2009, but did not finish the season as he sold the car and is now working on a Honda CR-X project for 2010.

Chris McConnon's EK Civic started out in the Club Class, but he decided to make the step up to the Pro class midway through last season in order to carry out further lightening on the car. I was lucky enough to get a passenger lap around Mondello Park in this car recently – it can definitely shift!

Darry Scully took the unusual step of running a four-door Honda Integra GSR shell with a B18 engine for most of the 2009 season, but in order to be more competitive he took the decision to sell the car towards the end of the year and has now acquired a track-prepped, B18-swapped EF Civic from Japan for his assault on the 2010 season.

Yes, believe it or not, there are some non-Japanese cars in the Irish Time Attack series. This is Mark Harmon's Citröen Saxo VTS, which is looked after by JOMO Engineering at the track.

Chris O'Connor is another member of the Euro contingent with his Peugeot 106 GTI. The car is currently undergoing something of a revamp and for the last round of the 2009 season, Chris was to be found behind the wheel of a JOMO-run VW Scirocco.
 
- Stephen Errity