The first time we’ve talked about Jackie Ding on autoevolution, the racing driver walked us through the fake vents on his GR Supra. Despite the chief engineer’s mumbo jumbo about aftermarket modifications, opening up those vents would translate to “a very negligible difference.”
Referred to as the TA90 – a combination of Time Attack and the A90 codename – the GR Supra has seen its fair share of racing last year. Jackie Ding plans to modify the car a little more for 2020, and next up, the areas with potential include the suspension system and inline-six engine.
Until then, the latest update on Project TA90 shows the car with the complete livery. Beautified by C17 Media, the fixed-head coupe has also received a carbon-fiber front splitter. Lowered seven-eights of an inch compared to the previous splitter, this aerodynamic enhancement features end plates with cone sections that channel the incoming air into vortices.
Another modification over the bone-stock model is the tire compound and tread. Jackie has opted for semi-slick rubber as the perfect compromise between street ability and track performance. Yokohama’s Advan A052 is widely recognized as one of the best choices in this segment. This tire’s main rivals are the Toyo Proxes R888R and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2.
After fixing a ball joint on the driver’s side front suspension, Jackie then proceeded to take the car out in sub-zero weather for an impromptu photo shoot on the street. With a box tripod. And a Chinese phone.
As for when we’ll see Project TA90 back on the track, the 2020 Global Time Attack will start in May with the GTA Road Atlanta. Jackie also runs a Honda S2000 in the Super Lap Battle USA, and the first event of this season will be held at the Circuit of the Americas on February 15th.
Even though his first love was open-wheeled racing, the six-digit budgets and year-round racing were too much for Ding to take. On a whim, he went to a time attack to have some fun according to TRD USA. That’s all it took for Jackie to get hooked on this type of motorized sport, which is “about you and your car and how much you trust your car… it's very pure.”
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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