Cleetus McFarland rolled his modified Corvette ZR1 into Ten Tenths Motor Club in Concord, North Carolina, ready to settle a question with Vaughn Gittin Jr. The drifting champion and RTR founder brought his own Ford Mustang GTD. Both men wanted to know which car would post the quicker time around the tight, technical layout.
The Corvette began with a 5.5-liter V8 with twin-turbo power, producing a factory-stated 1,064 horsepower. McFarland handed the car over to HP Tuners, who unlocked the ECU, installed aftermarket downpipes, and added race fuel. The end product was a beast with 1,180 horsepower and 1,094 pound-feet of torque under the rear wheels right from the start. It also came with the ZTK track equipment and weighed around 3,670 pounds.
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Gittin, on the other hand, left his Mustang GTD nearly completely stock, with just a minor tweak to the lightweight RTR wheels to tighten up the responsiveness and the Performance Package’s active rear wing and front splitter. The engine, a supercharged 5.2-liter V8, produces 815 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque in factory form. The automobile itself weights about 4,343 pounds. Both cars were equipped with the same Michelin Cup 2 R tires, therefore tire grip was unlikely to be a deciding factor in the outcome.
Ten Tenths is a circuit that rewards cars that can carve up turns and brake, as there are few lengthy straights. What you need is a vehicle that can maintain its poise under load and quickly maneuver into a tight turn. Gittin now had a distinct advantage in terms of experience, having won two Formula Drift championships and logged all the racing kilometers you could want in a high-performance Mustang. McFarland, on the other hand, races stock cars and has logged plenty of fast kilometers, but Gittin has the advantage in terms of pure racing experience.
They decided to keep it simple and hold a one-time five-lap flying lap exercise in which just the best time counted. Nobody could see the numbers until everyone’s laps were completed. T-Pain and another crew member managed the timing. Gittin was the first to take the GTD out on the track. He used his drifting experience to keep the car level through the turns, braking late into the tighter sections. On the track, the Mustang felt quite stable and responsive.
McFarland was next in the ZR1, and the tune really came into its own on the short straights and corner exits, where the increased power was quite beneficial. He also maintained a solid rhythm through several turns, despite the fact that the track layout provided limited room for the engine to stretch its legs. People noted that he remained hostile throughout. When the session ended and the times were posted, the Corvette scored a best lap time of 1 minute 23.8 seconds, while the Mustang managed 1 minute 24.3 seconds.
