Twin-Turbo C6 Corvette Conquers Australia; Takes on Japan
Feras Qartoumy shipped his twin-turbo Corvette to Japan and set the fastest time attack lap around the famed Tsukuba Circuit.
The Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky is about 6,577 miles away from the famous Tsukuba Circuit in Japan. That distance is no problem for the twin-turbo Corvette of Feras Qartoumy. Afterall, Qartoumy already shipped the car to Sydney, Australia for the World Time Attack Challenge at the end of 2023. So, what is a few thousand more frequent flyer miles for this incredible Corvette? Of course, the goal of the trip was not to simply rack up some travel perks. Qartoumy and his car were heading to Japan to compete in the annual Time Attack event held at the 1.3-mile-long Tsukuba Circuit. Actually, scratch that. Qartoumy and his Corvette were not there to simply compete, they were there to win.
A video was recently posted on the Car Plus Tuner YouTube channel which recapped the 2024 event with a focus on the twin-turbo C6 Corvette of Qartoumy. To those of you reading this in America, the thought of a Corvette competing in a Time Attack challenge will not seem at all unusual. However, in Japan the Corvette is a rare sight. They have their own performance cars over there such as the Mazda RX-7, and Nissan GT-R. But seeing a Corvette in the Land of the Rising Sun is quite rare. But this is no ordinary Corvette and Qartoumy is no ordinary driver.
Twin-Turbo Corvette
At the heart of this car is an engine with an LSR block that was built by Late Model Engines. With a pair of Garrett G35-900 turbos, Callies Magnum crank, rod and pistons, and a custom tune, this car can put out as much as 2,000 horsepower. However, during the practice runs Qartoumy had it dialed all the way down to a “mere” 800 horsepower. For his fastest lap attempt he upped the boost, so it was making about 1,000 horsepower. This power is routed through a 1:1, six-gear sequential transmission.
Tsukuba Circuit
The Corvette has the power, that is without question. But it is a big, American Corvette after all. And the Tsukuba Circuit is tiny at just over a mile and a quarter. It is not a high horsepower track despite a couple of decent straights. Precision is vital here as raw power will not cover up your mistakes. That is what makes what Qartoumy achieved even more impressive.
Fastest Lap
Despite some formidable competition in the form of both drivers and cars, Qartoumy and his twin-turbo Corvette managed to set the fastest lap of the event. In his last chance lap, he threw down an impressive time of 51.231 seconds. It was the first time an American ever set the fastest time at this event. And not only was it the fastest of the event, but it was also the third fastest Time Attack lap ever set at Tsukuba. This Corvette continues to prove that it can compete with the best in the world no matter what track or what continent it is on.
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