Where to find the world's fastest TT cars? Super Lap Battle at COTA.

Texas-based teams dominated Global Time Attack’s Super Lap Battle competition at Circuit of the Americas this past weekend. While the quickest and most extreme time attack cars from all over the country assembled in Austin for the annual pilgrimage to America’s only permanent FIA grade F1 track, the locals put their home-field advantage to good use.

In this event, the quickest single lap of the entire weekend is what counts, so the key to victory is dialing in both car and driver for max performance just as the track and weather offer the best conditions. With cars this high-strung, a session will typically only yield one or two fast laps before tires or drivetrains become overheated. So it’s a rare treat when it all comes together perfectly.

Fastest of all, with a new overall COTA time attack lap record. was Dallas-based Feras Qartoumy and his venerable 1300-horsepower C6 Corvette clocking in at 2:00.6. He has been a world traveler of late setting records and taking wins at both World Time Attack in Australia and Tsukuba in Japan. Back in competition at COTA for the first time in two years, he was determined to be the first production-based car to break the 2:00 barrier, but came up just short.

“The predictive display showed sub-2 all the way to the carousel where I lifted slightly and it went away,” Feras explained. Even more impressive was the record run coming on the second push lap of the session, not the first–a rarity for these cars.

Qartoumy’s weekend was not without its challenges as Saturday’s runs saw his massive rear wing suddenly exit the chat. As a one-man operation, Feras drove the six-hour round trip to Dallas to snag the wing off of his new build, returning to Austin in the wee hours of the morning.

The Limited class provided the most competitive battle of the weekend, as two teams pushed each other over and over, resetting the class record almost every session.

Ultimately, the win went to Allen Patten with a time of 2:09.4 in a C7 Corvette freshly built by Fort Worth-based Louis Gigliotti Racing. Gigliotti describes it as “an 800-horsepower time attack C7 with big Zebulon aero, a flat floor, MoTeC electronics, sequential paddle shift and an unmistakable blower whine.” On track, it screamed “America” down every straight.

The build was started only two months ago and completed just days before the event. Working through teething pains, Patten quipped thusly after the record run: “This was only my third good lap ever in the car. It’s got way more in it”.

Settling for second, after resetting the class record twice over the weekend, was 20-year-old Callan Spence of Austin. In a 1000-horsepower Lotus Exige built by FASTx Autosport of San Marcos, Texas, his 2:10.3 laps was 2 full seconds under the old record and appeared to be untouchable when set in cool Sunday morning conditions–until Patten did just that in the following session. Notably, Spence only started driving competitively two years ago.

While the focus of GTA’s time attack philosophy is on traditional production-based builds, organizers have carved out an exhibition space for factory-built race cars to play. As more and more of these machines fall into the hands of privateers, entries have grown.

Quickest of these factory-fresh monsters was the Houston-based RAFA Racing McLaren 720S GT3X piloted by Oliver Webb, which consistently dipped into the 1:59 range. Essentially an unrestricted version of the FIA-homologated 720S GT3 machine raced successfully around the world, this car is the result of extremely high levels of motorsports engineering including significant wind tunnel time. All of which makes Feras Qartoumy’s garage-built effort even more impressive at only a second off that pace.

In addition to the fast lap competition, spectators were treated to a car show, drifting exhibition and supercar/hypercar on-track drives. This rare Apollo IE hypercar was as fast as it looked. At the opposite end of the automotive spectrum, this VW Beetle also looked the part.

Comments

Colin Wood Associate Editor
4/15/25 12:42 p.m.

I always enjoy the massive splitters/wings/downforce enhancers fitted to time attack cars. It just makes them look so fast.

DavyZ Reader
4/15/25 1:34 p.m.

Loving the look and effectiveness of the aero as well. These cars are built to such a high caliber that they are all very impressive and I am glad that something like this actually exists.