【SH特辑】安藤的49秒筑波圈速，是怎么跑出来的？
Once upon a time, that notion that a ‘tuning car’ could break the 50-second-lap barrier at Tsukuba Circuit seemed like a fairytale. Last Friday, after a long time trying and coming tantalizingly close on a number of occasions, Toshiki ‘Fire’ Ando did just that in his Escort Racing Evo.
曾经，一辆“改装车”可以在筑波赛车场打破50秒圈的大门，这简直是天方夜谭·。然而，上周五，在经过长时间的调校和多次尝试之后，安藤佳树（Toshiki"fire"Ando）在他的赛车——Escort RACING改装的Evo中做到了这一点。
We’ve been following Ando-san’s efforts for a while now, and ever since he ran a 50.233-second lap in late 2021 to eclipse the previously held records (Under Suzuki’s 50.366 lap set in December 2017 in his Scorch Racing Nissan Silvia S15, and then HKS’s 50.259 lap set the same month in their TRB-03 Toyota 86), a 49-second lap at TC2000 only seemed like a matter of time. But the achievement didn’t come easy.
我们关注安藤的努力已经有一段时间了。自从他在2021年底以50.233秒的圈速超越了之前的记录(2017年12月铃木智彦驾驶他的Scorch Racing日产Silvia S15创造了50.366圈速，然后是同月HKS驾驶他们的TRB-03丰田86创造了50.259圈速【谷口信辉——译者注】)以来，在TC2000上跑49秒似乎只是时间问题。但这一成就仍然来之不易。
To set any lap record, all stars need to be optimally aligned – the car, the driver, the track and weather conditions. And at this level of time attack racing – the absolute pinnacle of the sport – the tolerance for sub-optimal performance is non-existent; all aspects need to perform at their absolute best.
要创造一个足以载入史册的圈速记录，所有的要素都需要达到最佳状态——赛车、车手、赛道和天气条件。这种级别的刷圈赛车——这项运动的绝对巅峰——对次优表现的容忍度是不存在的;各方面都需要发挥出最好的状态。
When Dino caught up with Ando-san and the Escort Racing team at Attack Tsukuba back in February last year and captured these images, the 49-second lap was in sight and hopes were high. Ando managed a 50.342-second lap in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX at the event, another staggeringly-fast blast around Tsukuba but not the number he was hoping for.
去年2月，SH的Dino在筑波计时赛(Attack筑波)遇到了安藤和Escort Racing时，拍下了这些照片。当时，49秒的圈速就在眼前，希望很高。安藤在比赛中驾驶他的三菱Lancer Evolution IX完成了50.342秒的圈速，这已经在筑波的围场中引起了不小的轰动，但还不是他希望的数字。
After a new engine build and some more ultra-fine tuning in 2022, on
January 27, 2023 it all came together for the Escort Racing team,
resulting in a 49.897-second lap. The in-car footage, as released by
Ando-san today, is absolutely wild.
在2022年进行了新的引擎建造和更多的超精细调整后，2023年1月27日，Escort车队的一切都达到了极致。他们最终完成了49.897秒的圈速。安藤今天发布的车内录像绝对是令人疯狂的。
So where to from here? If you cast your minds back to March 2018, you might remember HKS running a 49.445-second lap at Tsukuba in the TRB-03. The issue for many with that lap time, is that it was achieved using full slick tires – specifically Yokohama Advan A005s – as opposed to semi-slicks, which since the very start of time attack competition have been an important characteristic of a ‘tuning car’. Keeping with tradition, Ando-san’s 49-second lap was set on semi-slicks, namely Yokohama Advan A050s.
还有一件事情值得注意。如果你回想2018年3月，你可能还记得HKS在筑波的TRB-03赛车中跑出了49.445秒的圈速。对于许多人来说，这个圈速的问题在于，它是使用全光滑轮胎——特别是横滨Advan a005轮胎——而不是半光滑轮胎，从计时赛一开始，半光滑轮胎就一直是改装刷圈的一个重要特征。按照传统，安藤的49秒圈速也是在横滨Advan a050半滑轨上完成的。
Given how quickly he’s now gone on semis, it would be interesting to see what TC2000 lap time Ando-san could achieve on slicks. Previously, it might not have been something he was interested in testing, but with World Time Attack Challenge’s recent move to any production tire being eligible in the Pro classes for the September event and beyond, we may see a shift in thinking. What do you think, though? Should time attack racing be limited to semi-slicks, or should full slick tires be welcomed in a new era for the sport?
考虑到他现在在半决赛上的速度有多快，安藤在TC2000上的圈速将很值得期待。以前，这可能不是他感兴趣的测试，但随着世界时间挑战赛最近的举动，任何量产轮胎都有资格参加9月的赛事，我们可能会看到思想的转变。你觉得呢?计时赛应该局限于半光滑轮胎，还是应该在运动的新时代欢迎全光滑轮胎?
Regardless of what time attack’s future holds – either for international
events like WTAC or local Tsukuba Circuit gatherings – Yoshiki ‘Fire’
Ando’s 49.897-second lap on semi-slicks will go down in the history book
as one of the most important ever. Congratulations to the entire Escort
Racing team for this incredible achievement.
无论计时赛的未来如何——无论是在WTAC这样的国际赛事还是在筑波赛道的本地集会上——安藤佳树在半滑赛道上49.897秒的圈速将作为有史以来最重要的圈速之一载入史册。祝贺Escort车队取得了这一令人难以置信的成就！
