Round 9: Challenger approaching

Thunderhill West – Oct 18, 2025

For the ninth time this year, 86 Challenge participants gathered in one place to burn some gas — and have a blast doing it. We saw drivers switching classes, car generations, tires, and suspension setups, which spiced up the competition and added a touch of unpredictability.

In GT Radial Stock Class, Nico Iskos laid down a 1:27.898 (1:29.398 adjusted) lap, snatching 1st place right out of Saurabh Kulkarni’s hands — just 0.172 seconds ahead. Saurabh set a 1:28.070 (1:29.570 adjusted) lap time and went home blaming the check engine light that his car started showing lately. Ivan Larionov brought his new Gen. 2 BRZ to the 86 Challenge for the first time and got a quick reality check — turns out going 1.5 seconds faster than a Gen. 1 isn’t as easy as it looks! Still, he was able to beat his old PB with a 1:28.310 (1:29.810 adjusted) lap which earned him 3rd place this time.

GT Radial Street Class saw the debut of Dennis Feng’s car upgrade from Stock. Did coilovers, more camber, and wider tires make him faster? You bet — his 1:26.494 lap set a new class record, beating Joe McGuigan’s 2022 benchmark. Timur Iskhodzhanov wrestled with his suspension setup and missed the PB weather, finishing 0.830 seconds behind with the lap time of 1:27.324. 3rd place went to Haowei Wu with a 1:28.815 lap. Was using B6 in Street Class actually a good idea?

In Touring Class, Will Lorne continued to torture his engine with sticky tires — but hey, the strategy has been working fine so far! His 1:24.504 lap earned 1st place, just a tenth of a second shy of the record. Next time, right? Patrick Chio brought his GR86 out of hibernation and, despite a few morning bloopers, claimed 2nd with a 1:25.632. Miles Kodama brought a knife to a gunfight once again, but still snagged 3rd with a quick (for SX2 tires) 1:26.859 lap.

Unlimited Class surprised everyone with an unusually large turnout — a whole three drivers! Daniel Quinones took 1st with a 1:26.100. Does that 🐌 actually work? Or are the SX2 RS tires just not up for it? Brian Kao followed with a 1:28.074 on SX2s — scoring more points than he would if he stayed in Street class. The future will tell if it was the right move. Johnny Hu rounded out the podium with a 1:28.642.

Full results: https://86challenge.us/events/oct-18-2025-thunderhill-west-ccw

See you next time at the new track — Buttonwillow The Circuit!

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Published by Ivan Larionov on November 13, 2025 14:57

#results #thunderhill west