2009 Nissan GT-R - Steven Rankins and Will Taylor
UPDATE (5/3/09): Rankins and Taylor return to the No. 1 spot, setting a 38.999-sec best lap on their third run at Turfway Park's autocross circuit in Florence, Kentucky. Much to the glee of local fans, Tony Wiesenhahn and Tony Barber landed second place in their Subaru Impreza WRX, with a 39.561-sec run. The Porsche GT2 of Peter Lier and Ian Stewart rounded out the top three at 40.218 sec.
UPDATE (5/2/09): Rankins and Taylor not only set the pace around the Tire Rack skidpad, but beat the highest recorded g-average in wet conditions ever recorded at One Lap. Though this GT-R is no featherweight, it managed a 0.953 g-average, besting the BMW M3 of Catesby Kones and Jose Collado by 0.03 g.
PRE-RACE: "A lack of common sense" brings Steven Rankins back for his fourth One Lap. He first participated in 2003 with a Subaru WRX. This year Will Taylor joins as co-driver; it's his first event. Their entry is a 2009 Nissan GT-R, which isn't stock. Rankins doesn't offer specifics, "it has all the parts needed to beat team Whitis," he says, referring to another GT-R entry.
Rankins also has dedication. At his first event, the transmission in the WRX died in the hands of its owner, Rankins' co-driver. Through the aid of a sponsor, the team located a used gearbox and delivered it to the track.
"We limped the car to South Bend, ran the skidpad with no first or second gear, then went to a local volunteer's house to install the new transmission," says Rankins, "The job was finished at midnight, and we left for Road America in Wisconsin for the 7:00 am entry the next morning."