Currently the 4th fastest FD at Tsukuba Circuit, and 23rd fastest overall, with a 54.165, Yoshiaki ‘Itakichi’ Itagaki can count himself among the Frontrunners of Japan. Itakichi is the very definition of a privateer. Based out of his home shop in Yonezawa City, in the mountainous Yamagata Prefecture, he spends all of his free time working to improve the performance of the FD; most of the work being completed by Itakichi himself. From building the engine, to crafting the widebody, the parts production and assembly is predominantly done out of his own work shop. The results at Tsukuba and Sugo are proof that he knows what he’s doing; both in the shop and behind the wheel.
We featured Itakichi in Volume 3 of 80R, but recently got an opportunity to see the newest version of the FD up close at Sportsland Sugo. I shot some videos to put together a Machine Check! video that’s available for viewing now alongside the gallery below. Enjoy!
