The extreme part of the Covid-19 pandemic back in 2020 saw the majority of SA streets quiet and devoid of either life or vehicle movement.
But it wasn’t only viruses that were being spawned at speed as there were also vibrant and creative new ideas emerging. These have now provided opportunity for extreme and noisy motor vehicle movement — this time away from the streets.
Enter Jono Vilaca and Vilaca Racing Time Attack.
A boy racer with promise [he was signed by Red Bull at an early age] the Joburg-based motorsport nut saw a gap and dived into it.
“As soon as Covid restrictions lifted and allowed motorsport to resume, Vilaca Racing changed from being a parts manufacturer to a Time Attack championship,” he says.
A qualified mechanical engineer, cars have been Jono’s life and he had a successful career in go-karting, GP Junior, 100cc Stocks, Junior Max and Formula V. Such was his enthusiasm that he changed the engine in his first car on at least nine occasions.
Time Attack, where cars race against the clock, started in Japan in the 1990s, where it’s still very popular, took off in the US in the early 2000s and then grabbed the attention of Australia in 2010 – the world Time Attack championships took place there in 2024.
“What we started in 2020 has no equal in terms of the formula we have — we can take it to any circuit, including go-kart tracks, but generally we use the bigger circuits like Zwartkops, Kyalami, Phakisa (when it’s usable), and are looking at going to Dezzi Raceway (KZN) in the future.
“We usually start off with a 15min qualifying session, after splitting the cars up, and they’ll have four to five of these sessions a day before the day’s racing ends up with a Super Lap battle.”
Fast growth
The appeal that Vilaca Racing Time Attack brings to the table is that it’s for absolutely anyone. From diehard racing fans to first-day novices.
“It’s the fastest-growing form of motorsport worldwide and the appeal is that everyone is welcome across the eight classes,” says Vilaca.
This year there are 76 registered vehicles.
“Most of them are road-legal, street-driven. That’s the joy because you don’t need full-blown race cars with race cages etc — any car can join us, from your stock-standard car straight off the showroom floor right through to race cars, supercars and so on.”
And they cater for all legal ages. “This year we have added in the Silver Cup for gents/ladies over 58 years and there’s also a rookie club for the new guys.”
And the vehicles are a veritable alphabet soup.
“We have very small, old cars like an original Mini, a VW Beetle, then all the way up to the likes of cars such as the Toyota MK 5 Supra, Audi RS3, Porsche 911, tons of Nissan 350Zs, a Mustang, hot hatches like the Renault RS, Ford ST… it’s a huge spread across different levels.”
Classes are generally divided according to engine size and tyre width to simplify matters. And it all makes for very competitive racing as shown by the fact that last year’s championships were decided in the last round on the last lap.”
It’s a formula that clearly works because of the 40 or so cars that got things rolling back in 2020 at least half of them have been back for the 45 events staged to date.
Vilaca says competition days are aimed at keeping the whole family entertained.
“It’s a full day event. Safety is paramount so we have ambulances, marshals, security, etc, and then as entertainment we have racing simulators, prizes to be won, a proper DJ, which all makes for a great vibe, good events, with good people… the atmosphere is truly one of acceptance and respect.
It’s about getting people together to have something that everything enjoys, but in a safe environment and getting guys off the road who are doing illegal drags.
“The racers can have fun, there’s a kiddies play area and a restaurant with good food, which all aims at showing that motorsport is in fact attainable and reachable for everyone.”
Back to those formerly quiet streets mentioned earlier and Vilaca, 37, says Time Attack is the perfect way to keep the streets quiet and safe from the scourge of boy racers in fast cars that are an accident waiting to happen.
“It’s about getting people together to have something that everything enjoys, but in a safe environment and getting guys off the road who are doing illegal drags.
“Also, if guys have a really cool car they can use Time Attack to drive fast and learn. Just today we got a call from a guy who wants to come along, so we’ll coach him through the whole process. This form of motorsport can really be as expensive or as cheap as you wanna make it.
“It’s the cheapest form of motorsport that you can get and we’re here to grow.”
Vilaca, whose first phase of motorsport ended around matric as he went on to get his degree, has always stayed around the motoring scene/in the garage, raced the first three years of the format and expects to re-enter the fray with a new vehicle in the near future.”
It certainly seems that a case of Time Attack can be seriously infectious.
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