For most of us, being diagnosed with
cancer would spell the end of the world. For Allan Lewis, it proved to be the
beginning of a new chapter in life, thanks in part to the gift of a Mk2 Focus
RS.
Once the rolling body was in his
Rotorua-based shop, it was stripped out and the engine and trans from the
Stagea soon installed.
The engine began life as an RB30, before
Robbie dropped in Nitto pistons, rods, and a stroker crank to increase capacity
to 3.2 litres. A brand-new RB26 head received the full Kelford Cams treatment,
with custom- spec cams and valvetrain and a healthy dose of porting. The turbo
was actually the Garrett GT47 Glen had run during the years he had campaigned
the GT-R. The ECU side of the build was sorted by Vi-PEC with its top- of-the
line i88 and a M&W Pro-Drag6 CDI to provide firing power.
M&W
PRO CDI. Brand: Haltech | Category: Ignition Control. These parts should fit
your vehicle, they are universal parts.
The reborn Red Baron MGAWOT III made it to
the track at the beginning of the 2013 season. On paper, it looked promising —
the R32 was 460kg lighter than the Slagea — but no one, Robbie included,
believed it would go a full half second faster than Glen had in the first
season: “I thought we would run a seven pretty easily not at the first meeting
or anything, but I thought over time we would get down to around a 7.7 or 7.8,
which is where Reece [McGregor] got to after three or four years. Even Godzilla
Motorsport in Aus on good tracks with big tyres and methanol, only went 7.60
and it took quite some time tc get there. So I thought there must be something
that happens around that ET, as everyone seems to hit a brick wall around that
time and it takes a lot of development to get past it. I was more than
expecting to hit that wall on Meremere at around 7.7"
But Robbie unknowingly held a trump card
that was going to catapult him well past that perceived brick wall within a few
meetings, as he explains: “I'm adamart it was the transmission; we can make it
leave the line so smoothly. If you look at the in-car of the 7.48 [achieved in
the last meeting of the year], it looks like it’s on rails, whereas the other
guys are all over the track from side to side, fighting the car all the way. We
aren’t really pushing very hard yet."
Currently,
the GT-R runs a set of 26x10x15 Mickey Thompson drag slicks mounted on billet
Bogart Racing 15x8-inch wheels. With the increase in power expected over the
off season, the slick size will also have to step up to the size that other
GT-R are running, 28x11.5x15, for a massive increase in available grip
The last meeting of the year was really
when things got serious, with a 7.60, 7.59, and a 7.48. Jason from Infomotive
then put together a tune they believed would put the car well beyond the 7.48,
after tak ng data from a few different runs.
It was the last run of the season for an
engine that had now done two seasons of trophy snatching. The R32 left the line
hard, but the head lifted around the 150-metre mark and it dropped a cylinder.
Then, at the 300-metre mark, it dropped another, but Robbie stayed in it, and,
even well down on power and running on four cylinders, the car crossed the line
with a 7.59 at 185mph (298kph). Had the head not lifted, the early data showed
that run to be quick — really quick. Achieving that in the last run of the
season — that’s the kind of thing that plays on a racer like Robbie’s mind all
winter long. So, you can bet that next season he and the R.I.P.S team will be
back out to take care of some unfinished business.
Exciting
times are ahead, people, so grab some popcorn and go sit in the stands at
meremere—trust us when we say it will be worth it!
The RB32 has been pulled down for a full
refresh, there is a second set of bic injectors going in, and methanol will
replace E85 in the tank. The latest custom-built GTX55 turbo is also on its way
from the States, so power figures closer to 1491 kW (2000hp) will be on the
cards. With the increase in output, grip will be increased via 28x11.5x15
slicks with a new set of wheels. So, yes, it’s fair to say the team will be
stepping up their game, and, with the world record almost within their grasp
and data collected looking promising, the new goal is to run into the 7.3s at
Meremere then take the car to Aussie.
