Dave Johnson beats 850hp WRX around Oulton Park on YZF-R1
A Subaru Impreza, driven by 2009 Time Attack Pro Class Champion, Oliver (Olly) Clark, from Roger Clark Motorsport (RCM) Limited went head to head with Dave Johnson and the Team Maxxis R1.
As the sun dried the track after an earlier downpour, each machine was given a brief shake-down, before being pushed to the limited, to decide the age-old argument; which is faster, a car or bike?
Under official timed trials, provided by Timing Solutions Limited (TSL), Olly was the first to take to the track.
He drove his 2009 RCM 850 bhp Impreza around three laps of the picturesque circuit. The Impreza’s fastest time was recorded on lap two in a very respectable 1:27:588.
Not perturbed by the Impretza’s time, Dave Johnson took to the circuit, and by the start of lap two wound open the throttle of the 185 bhp Superbike. This saw the black and orange YZF-R1 of TEAM MAXXIS – Adept Yamaha thunder down the start-finish straight to finish Johnson’s second lap in a time of 1:25:566, a full 2.022 seconds faster than the RCM Impreza.
After the trial, Olly Clark commented, “Today was a real good crack. I have a lot of respect for any Superbike rider, and it was a real privilege to do this with Dave. I would also like to thank all the guys at Roger Clark Motorsport, especial Matt Clark who has built such a good car.”
Dave Johnson commented, “I knew the time between us was going to be close, but two seconds on the Impreza was awesome. The bike is really handling well.” When asked about Modified Live, Johnson added, “What a great show. At no other event can you see cars, trucks and bikes going around the track in the same day. Watching those trucks slide around the corners was fantastic. It is a great showcase for all that is good in motorsport. We (the team) have never been asked to do this sort of trial before, but the whole experience has been really good and I would like to thank Jonathon Palmer for asking the team to attend.”
TEAM MAXXIS – Adept Yamaha will be at Oulton Park on the 4th May for Round two of the BSB Championship.
