THERE were no signs of rust for drag racer Errol Brittain on his return to Willowbank Raceway last weekend as he set a new world record in his team's modified Brumby pickup.
It was the first time Brittain had taken to the track since coronavirus restrictions took hold but he pulled a rabbit out of a hat to smash his own record and set a mind-boggling new time of 7.6 seconds over a quarter mile.
It means Brittain and his team retain their title as the owners of the quickest four-cylinder Subaru powered vehicle in the world.
Their previous best time of 7.8 seconds was set at Willowbank Raceway in February, when they sent American car magazines into raptures.
A GPS unit on board tracked the Brumby hitting speeds of 100km/h in 1.3 seconds and 200km/h in 3.66 seconds on its latest run.
Brittain said it was difficult not being able to race during the coronavirus lockdown but the time away from the track had allowed the team to tinker with the car.
He said taking to driving again after a long lay-off was a shock to the system, as he had no way of training while in isolation.
"It makes it harder when you do come back because it is pretty rapid acceleration and if you're not doing it regularly, your brain tells you to lift your foot up off the pedal," Brittain said.
"When it is pulling over 2Gs, it gives you a good smack in the seat.
" ... The first time back out when you've had it off the track for so long, and when you've haven't been in the car for so long, you'd expect it to take more than a couple of passes to get back to that level.
"But we have it dialled in pretty well now. We are very happy with the overall package."
The team are constantly thinking of new modifications and have already come up with a to do list for improvements as they push to set a new record during their next run.
"Hopefully it will go 7.5 (seconds) at about 180mp/h," Brittain said.
"We are knocking on the door of 300km/h. They (Brumbies) were only meant to go around the back of farmer's paddocks, they weren't meant to go that fast.
"We have obviously done a lot of mods to it and to the suspension but it is still getting to the insane point."
The team will likely test again in about three or four weeks but their big test will come in September at the Kenda Tires Radial Series, which is an American-style event featuring the quickest cars in the country.
Brittain thanked Diversion Garage Capalaba for their ongoing support and involvement in the team.
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