The End Of An Era
As we say goodbye to the MCA Hammerhead
The Beginning Of An Era
Since 2011 we have been heavily involved with the World Time Attack Challenge held annually at Sydney Motorsport Park. One of the main drawcards to WTAC was the relatively relaxed rule book when it came to the kind of vehicle you could build, especially when compared to most other high-level motorsport events in Australia. We were immediately drawn to the Pro Class set of regulations as they were the most unrestricted and we thus set upon building what we envisioned the perfect WTAC Pro Class car to be.
Being a bit of a Datsun/Nissan family, and having had a lot of recent experience building and campaigning our SR20 powered 180SX drift car, we were confident in our knowledge of the Nissan S13 chassis and decided to build an S13 Silvia. Thanks to being the first WTAC car to feature the front bumper mounted “side wings”, this S13 Silvia will forever famously be known as “The Hammerhead”.
MCA Hammerhead at WTAC in 2012, photos by Motoiq.
Becoming A Legend
Our first year was a steady start, finishing 10th out of 18 cars, but our hard work and commitment was rewarded the next year with a podium finish. In the next 3 years after that we managed 2nd, 3rd and 2nd.
Then in 2016, after a new chassis build and even further increased commitment to achieving the illusive top step, we finally managed to stand upon the top step of the podium. The unrelenting pace of this car enabled us to back that result up with another 1st place the following year. The next 2 years were tougher, our main competitor of the last couple of years had stepped their game up
and won both those years competitions relegating us to second place.
MCA Hammerheads billet SR block made by Bullet Race Engineering.
Becoming A Legend
Our first year was a steady start, finishing 10th out of 18 cars, but our hard work and commitment was rewarded the next year with a podium finish. In the next 3 years after that we managed 2nd, 3rd and 2nd.
Then in 2016, after a new chassis build and even further increased commitment to achieving the illusive top step, we finally managed to stand upon the top step of the podium. The unrelenting pace of this car enabled us to back that result up with another 1st place the following year. The next 2 years were tougher, our main competitor of the last couple of years had stepped their game up
and won both those years competitions relegating us to second place.
MCA Hammerheads billet SR block made by Bullet Race Engineering.
A New Generation Of Time Attack Cars
The Hammerhead in its current form was starting to show its age and it was clear that a new generation and design concept of WTAC Pro Class contender had arrived. After analysing these defeats, we soon realised that without building a whole new vehicle with this new design concept in mind, there was only really one option left to squeeze the few remaining tenths and hopefully seconds from this current chassis. This option was to implement some newer, highly sophisticated (in the privateer racing world at least) technologies.
Murray Coote driving the MCA Hammerhead during a test day at Queensland Raceway in late 2021.
These technologies included things like Anti-Lock Braking, Paddle Shifts, Traction Control and so on. In the pursuit of the time we needed, we knew that the driver would have to feel confident in driving the vehicle right on the ragged limit. To help achieve this, these kinds of driver aids would be hugely beneficial and increase driver safety considerably. Keep in mind, top-level Pro Class WTAC cars are some of the fastest cars ever to exist, but built and developed on a privateer budget. One of the unique aspects of the way the Hammerhead was built, was that it was all done under a small shed awning in a small town an hour north of Brisbane and on a relatively conservative budget. The success we achieved was not simply thanks to big budgets and plenty of highly qualified technicians, but instead was achieved through our experience, understanding of vehicle dynamics and unrelenting commitment to push ourselves and constantly improve the car as much as humanly possible each year.
The small family workshop where the hammerhead was built.
The Future Of The Hammerhead
It was a nuts and bolts type of operation, our experience in the electronic side of motorsport was minimal and didn’t come naturally to us. We also experienced a great difficulty in finding what we felt were the right kind of people to help us implement these new technologies. For the first time since 2011, there was a point where we weren’t quite sure how to proceed with the development of the car.
Then an opportunity came our way which provided the right kind of environment for the vehicle to progress, but also came with an extremely tough decision. We now had a way to help the Hammerhead get to the next level of its potential, but it meant selling the vehicle to a new team that was more specialised in the electronic side of motorsport. This decision wasn’t made lightly, but ultimately it came down to a collective desire in wanting to see the Hammerheads development continue, and see it take on, and hopefully defeat, this new breed of Pro Class car.
It was decided that this opportunity wouldn’t pass us by, and so on Wednesday, the 29th of December 2021, the Hammerhead was loaded onto a trailer and, for the last time, left the Landsborough based shed awning it was built and developed under over the last 10 years.
Thank You
We are very grateful of our time competing in the World Time Attack Challenge. We look back on it with many strong, prideful memories and thankfully have a few trophies to show for our efforts. We are immensely proud of managing to stay at the pointy end of a very competitive category and achieving what we believe is the largest number of consecutive podium finishes in WTAC history.
The list of immensely talented humans who have piloted the Hammerhead for us over the years and were a pivotal part of our achievements is something to behold. Earl Bamber (later becoming a multiple Le Mans 24hour outright winner) as well as four well known V8 Supercar drivers, Shane Van Gisbergen, Tim Slade, Warren Luff and most recently Andre Heimgartner. Watching these professionals, wrestle to gain every last bit of grip that the Hammerhead had to offer, at speeds just over 300kph, was simply awe-inspiring.
And it goes without saying, that we can not thank enough, the many friends of ours that helped us along our WTAC journey. Their enthusiasm and commitment was invaluable and a critical component that enabled us to achieve all that we have. They say many hands make light work, however in our opinion, in the case of WTAC, many hands are what makes it possible.
We wish our Hammerhead all the best and have the utmost faith in its new owners. And a massive thank you to everyone who has followed our journey and cheered us on from all around the globe.
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