The day I landed back in Japan, I was able to get the new FD sorted out in time to attend my friend Kon-chan’s open running event at Tsukuba Circuit the next morning. This event was exactly as I imagined it would be; a really relaxed morning, with low car count, that would allow me to adjust back into the flow easily. Many familiar faces were driving, and it was nice to catch up with a few people I hadn’t seen in awhile. I didn’t really have any obligations for the event, save for setting up a photoshoot with Shoya’s new practice car. He put together an other FD while his main car, Be Craft’s demo car, was under the knife for upgrades. Unfortunately, he had a brake failure going into turn 1 and damaged the car’s exterior going off, essentially cancelling the photoshoot we had planned. Luckily the damage seemed mostly aesthetic and he mentioned he wasn’t too worried about it.
I was able to see the entry list before arriving, so I understood that this was mostly an enthusiast level event – meaning no frontrunners, or heavy hitters, and most would be in the low 1 minute range. I enjoy attending events like this every so often, however, as they’re very grounding. Its a reminder that there are many other drivers that enjoy circuit racing, and that you don’t have to have much to enjoy the feeling you get from going all out on track.
Enjoy the walkaround and closer look at some of the cars. I chose not to head out to the track and instead hung out in the pits and had a more casual morning. I didn’t take too many photos, but the car count was low enough that I was able to put together a small gallery.
As previously mentioned, Shoya’s morning was cut short by brake failure. Prior to the incident, however, the car was looking pretty fresh on track and he managed a 1’00.176 during his warm up session. I forget the exact specs of the car, but it’s ported, singled turbo with drive by wire throttle.
The Bosch drive by wire unit, along with a lot of other ‘deletions’, really cleans up the 13B-REW engine bay.
The drivers side door got smooshed in, and the GT wing was damaged, but overall that was about it. All things considered, not too bad.
Zumi was driving his JZA80 Supra, testing out a new Ridox made front splitter/lip combo. The design is nice and reminds me of the GT4 lip I have for my ISF. He was able to set a new personal best 1’00.276 on Advan A050, just one tenth behind Shoya.
In the weeks following the event, Zumi crafted an extension for the lip so that the carbon extends back to where his custom bumper ends at the wheel well.
Great looking car, and has all the functioning interior amenities still as well.
Kengo Suzuki, Under’s brother, was out driving another practice car – a new GR86 in street trim. He set a 1’04.095 on a set of Nankang CRS.
A couple of clean stock body FDs.
Always good to see Ando and always a surprise to see which of his numerous rotary cars he’ll be driving at the events. The naturally aspirated RX8 was out testing a new set of Shiba Tire R31 200Rs. Ando clocked a 1’02.251 in the lightweight machine.
My car, wishing it could be out on track as well, instead of in Tokyo traffic.
The Exige 410 took the number one position for the day, and was the only car to break the 1 minute threshold setting a best of 59.012.
Taikyun’s Feed FD on Enkei RS05RR wheels looking very battle-worn. He set a 1’03.090 – not his fastest, but it seems like most drivers were on the slower end today.
Hope you enjoyed the small gallery and video, check back soon for more – the season is just getting started!