When Rev Speed magazine decides to throw a time attack, the best of the best come running. As I walked down the pits at Tsukuba for the 18th installment of the Japanese magazine's annual "Super Battle", it was very surreal. It was like watching magazine covers come to life. Not only was it a pleasure to see these fine machines in person, but everyone in attendance was treated to these legends battling it out on the world-famous Tsukuba Circuit.

All of the entrants had three 20-minute sessions to prove their tuning worth by producing the quickest time around Tsukuba. With over 200 entrants, Rev Speed broke all competitors up into five different run groups for safety purposes and to avoid impeding traffic.

Rev Speed broke everyone into two classes. The faster of the two was the Open Class. In this set all the entrants had to run S-rated non-DOT tires or lower, full cage and have a fire extinguishing system in the car. The majority of this class was well below the infamous sub one-minute mark around Tsukuba.

The Street Car Class requirements required retaining a working air-conditioning system, working stereo system and running DOT-approved tires, with no sequential gearboxes, no lexan windows and no carbon fiber doors allowed. In this class there was only one entrant able to break the notorious sub one-minute mark.

After watching these company campaign vehicles take a crack at the fastest time of the day, it was clear that they were very far from being babied show queens. In fact, I couldn't help but notice that these cars were trying to win at all costs. The fastest cars had their suspensions set up so low they were dragging their diffusers on the ground in sharp turns.

Australia sent over five of their fastest to conquer the infamous Tsukuba Circuit. It was amazing how much attention to detail the Aussies put into their vehicles. Everything in the engine compartment was painted in their own color scheme. One of the five vehicles must have been experiencing technical difficulties because he did not report a time. Two of the five broke the sub-minute mark.

The M Speed R34 smashed the competition by over one second with a 54.48 run. The car sports true center lock wheels, huge 6-piston brakes and a full race engine, and is stripped down to the bare necessities. I couldn't help but notice the M Speed team changing suspension systems in between sessions, and they were constantly fine tuning their vehicle.

The Pan Speed FD was able to come home with the second fastest time of the day. Considering this car is front engine, rear-wheel drive, the achievement was very impressive. The Pan Speed FD was modified with a complete racing engine upgrade, full dual reservoir coil-over suspension, huge 6-piston brake upgrade, integrated pneumatic jack system and stripped to the bone.

The winner of the street class category was the Zero Sports Impreza. Tarzan Yamada piloted the Subaru, which was the only street car to crack the infamous sub 60-second mark.

Clicking off the fastest times was very import to all of the entrants. Having a really quick car is half the equation; the other half is choosing the fastest driver, so many companies relied on the services of hired guns. Nob Tanaguchi holds the record for the quickest time around Tsukuba in the HKS time attack Evo, so it was only natural he drive for five different teams that day. Believe it or not, Nob was not the busiest driver of the day. This honor went to Tarzan Yamada. Tarzan ended up driving for seven different teams.

I had to sign an agreement not to shoot any cars on track between 1:40pm and 3:00, so I shot some pics of the vehicles in pit lane before they hit the track. Rev Speed took full advantage of the event to shoot an upcoming DVD that day. It looked really cool, and I can't wait to purchase the DVD when it's released.

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