The first chapter of his time attack story came to close after winning Super Lap Battle back in 2019. Funnily enough, it was the prize Feras Qartoumy received from winning that event that gave him a taste of the excessive, which directed him towards bigger and wilder things, and which, in some small part, gave him the confidence to run his Corvette with some of the most powerful time attack cars in Australia and Japan.

That prize was a Garrett G35-900 turbocharger. A single turbocharger would provide the power he craved, but his thinking was that having two would be better at delivering his targeted 900 horsepower more progressively. With a basic business proposal and plenty of enthusiasm, he pitched his idea, and a second snail arrived at his doorstep soon after.

An atmospheric 700 horsepower was nice, but Feras wanted more.

Though a twin setup would complicate things some, it could allow for some nifty mounting solutions. “I wanted to keep the turbos low and as far back as possible – without putting them in the trunk,” he said.

Access and heat dissipation also helped him settle on this location.

After fine-tuning the power delivery, he began running the Corvette as often as his budget and its reliability would allow. Fortunately, the lump proved sturdy in the first year of regular running — reliable enough for him to amass records all across the US. “I was still using a street tire then, so I started running Gridlife events and claimed as many Limited records as I could. After I took the first record by seconds, I recognized I could take many more.”

An aero package from Affinity contributed to this car’s high-speed poise, and Michelin slicks would help administer the 900-odd horsepower on tap.

Full of confidence, Feras started running double-duty; running in both the Limited, which required street tires, and Unlimited class, which required slicks. After setting six records with the Corvette, Gridlife later mandated that Limited cars run a smaller splitter, thereby pushing him out of the running, but it didn’t matter much — Feras had already set his sights on other things.

Sailing the Seas of Speed

With a little push from a friend, he was about to make a leap into something he couldn’t have dreamed of doing three years earlier: competing in World Time Attack Challenge, held every year at Sydney Motorsports Park.

“That event wasn’t even on my radar at that point; it seemed too far away. Plus, the standards were much higher. When I looked into the caliber of cars and drivers that attend, I wasn’t sure I could build anything that would make a mark,” he recalled.

The fastest one at the time was the RP Porsche 968, which had six-figures of parts and labor into it as well as a staff of ex-F1 aerodynamicists fine tuning its aero kit. “Don’t get your hopes up; these guys build million-dollar cars,” his friend began. “Your car may stand out here, but over there, everybody is pushing 1,000 horsepower. Also, you don’t know the track,” were his friends words of encouragement.

The distinctive hammerhead nose, dorsal fin, and huge skirts on the Porsche are just several parts of its remarkable aero kit.

Sydney Motorsports Park is an unusual track with a blend of low speed corners which suit a point-and-shoot car like a Nissan GT-R or a Mitsubishi Evo, but also boasts one of the fastest flat-out corners in modern motorsports.

“It’s a technical track with 11 corners over 2.4 miles. Most of the corners are late-apex; designed to be motorcycle track,” he elaborated.

He would need more aero grip to compete in the high-speed stuff, and a way to administer the power cleanly in such tight bends. Ensuring the Corvette would be quick enough was a considerable challenge, but it was something tangible, digestible, and approachable. The logistical side of things was far harder to wrap his head around.

For V2.0 of the Corvette, Feras turned to Verus Engineering to develop the aerodynamics.

That winter, Feras installed a HGK kevlar body kit from a drift car which, while flimsy, brought the weight down to a respectable 2,660 pounds. Less weight, and more aero grip from a Verus rear wing and a homemade front wing, and vastly improved traction through the MoTeC TC gave the Corvette the edge it would need, and it showed its potential almost immediately. Even with a hurt engine, Feras lapped COTA in 2:03 that winter, and after refreshing the engine, he took it to Road Atlanta and managed a 1:17 on used tires and low boost.

Photo credit: Rob Wilkinson/@nycska

Auspicious Start

That showing was enough to put more wind in his sails. Unsure but curious, he decided to take the leap. Even if he wasn’t able to secure a standout finish, he would “use this first year as a learning experience,” as his friend suggested. He and his small team then shipped the car to Oakland, California, where it was prepped, neglected, and partially disassembled before being loaded into a shipping container.

“Since you’re sending that car to compete overseas, you better send everything you might need – there are no O’Reilly’s nearby. I bagged and labeled everything, and sent three totes of spares.”

Well, the port guys let it sit outside for two weeks before they shipped it. That was clear when I picked it up in Sydney and saw it was covered in seagull poop and dust. The bumper was cracked, the air dam messed up, the bolts messed up, the oil cooler was leaking, and I was pissed,” he recalled.

Luckily, the sponsor who started his boost-craze lent a helping hand. Garrett put him in touch with BaxtersMTQ, who gave him a space to work as well as a few mechanics to help. Taking full advantage of the jet lag, he and the mechanics wrenched on the Corvette until the early morning, then snuck in a few hours’ sleep and set off for SMP at six.

Seeing the hardware on display and the culture surrounding it provided the motivation needed after a frustrating first day. “In Australia, the level of sophistication is insane. The builds over there make my car look like a toy. The culture is totally behind it, too; I felt like an F1 driver those days at Sydney Motorsports Park,” he said.

His first laps were well off the pace, and the greatest delta was from his fear while entering the fastest corner on the track. “Turn 1 is no joke. You’re taking that corner at 187 mph, so there’s really nothing like it on North American tracks. You don’t brake – you lift off at precisely the right moment and then turn. It’s a tricky thing to get to grips with. Funny thing is, it doesn’t get much easier after you’ve attempted it a dozen times.”

Sparks fly as the car is forced into the ground at nearly 190 miles an hour.

And it wasn’t easy on the car, either. During the first session the following day, the actual frame rail broke. “I mean, the car is making north of 5,000 lbs of downforce at 190 mph. The aluminum can only do so much,” he said.

Despite that and a few other bits breaking, he found the courage from somewhere to commit, snagged P1, and held onto it for the rest of the day; winning the Pro-Am class.

This was unheard of for a first-timer, and that remarkable finish put him in touch with another big name in time attack: Tomohiko “Under” Suzuki, a man known around the time attack world for his big-power record-setting Silvias. “I’d seen his record lap at Tsukuba and mentioned I’d be interested in running there one day,” Feras recalled.

If he hadn’t been riding a high of a lifetime, what followed might’ve seemed impossible. Either way, it certainly seemed surreal. Soon, the two were discussing the logistics of shipping a car from Sydney, Australia, to Osaka, Japan, and running at Tsukuba Circuit. Under signed on as his translator, his transporter, and his mentor.

Culture Shock

Few Americans ever run at Tsukuba, and the shorter, tighter layout favors nimble RX-7s and the four wheel-drive Skyline’s ability to claw out of hairpins with minimal wheelspin. A big Corvette is virtually unheard of there, and Feras felt just as alien in a culture totally different to the American time attack scene he knew.

“In Japan, they’re very humble, knowledgeable, and traditional. Some guys are set in their ways; they don’t innovate or believe in certain technologies – traction control, for instance. Still, these seemingly basic builds go extremely fast, even with old tech. The Aussies and Americans innovate more; the Japanese seem to be interested in refining what they already have.

The Japanese are so meticulous, too. They’re working on cars with white gloves; everything is spotless. You clean your wheels and tires before you drop them off for tire change and mounts. Under warned me that I’d be seen as rude if I brought dirty tires to my tire guy, and he even helped me clean them.”

A few changes were made: raising the ride height to suit the taller Hoosier A7 tires, installing a gurney for more downforce, as well as recalibrating the ABS and traction control systems. Then, for the first time ever, he lent the Corvette to someone else to test it. Feras let Under drive the car because he was the one who’d know if it was ready. All Under needed was one tame lap before he gave the extended thumb of approval. The car was ready, but the driver still had some work to do.

Feras turned to Kunihiko Bando and Under Suzuki for advice.

Thankfully, Feras had more time to prep this time around. He left the Corvette with Under and returned to Dallas for nearly a month, during which time he logged an unhealthy amount of time on his simulator. When he hopped on a flight to Tokyo, ATTACK TSUKUBA Week was around the corner, and though he didn’t know it then, he was going to set a new standard for American time attackers.

The last North American to set a competitive time at Tsukuba was Will Au-Yeung with his 53-second lap.

The following day, he threw on a new set of Hoosiers with his head held high and hoped his stars would align. If he wanted to make it count, he’d have to make sure the elements were on his side.

“The fastest times are set in the morning when it’s about 30 degrees outside. Even though the track is green, it’s fast because it’s clean and cool. As the track gets run in, people inevitably drag some dirt back on and it doesn’t really get brushed away.”

Such was the case with Feras’ flyer. The conditions were right for boost – and this encouraged him to try pushing the motor a little harder and received little in return. “When I tried using high boost down the back straight, I lost three-tenths with an overboost warning,” he said.

Despite that, the lap was quick – searingly quick. With a time of 51.231, Feras set the third-fastest time ever set by a production car at the track and won ATTACK TSUKUBA. As both the first American and the first international driver to ever do so, he became something of an internet celebrity overnight.

It was then, for the first time this fruitful year, that he had to check himself. The wave couldn’t go on forever, but what a ride it had been. He’d gone from hobbyist to renowned racer in a little over a year, and realized his potential in a way few do. And to think it all began with the gift of a turbocharger and a few encouraging words from a friend.

In light of the conservative approach that same friend friend suggested he use –  to use the first year as a learning experience – it’s fair to say Feras rose above expectation – both his own and everybody else’s.