Automotive by SeanJul 5, 201719:50

Close-Up: Ready Go Next – 青木FD3S

Since things have been a bit slow during the off-season, I’ve been using the time to try and design a few new products for the site and make some progress on my own car as well. It’s been a long time coming, but just a few more things to wrap up and it’ll be ready for it’s first startup. Although the car won’t be completely done for another few months, I’m looking forward to the first shakedown with the new motor shortly after it’s tuned. I was browsing some shots from earlier this year to gain some inspiration for my own car and came across some shots that Matt took of Aoki’s FD.

Automotive by SeanJun 15, 201701:39

Feature: Hiroyoshi Shimada – The Soul of Kyushu Danji

The concept of forming an amateur race team is something that appeals to quite a few of us. Aside from the obvious attraction of building race cars with your friends, there’s the added benefits of friendly competition, commradery and support among teammates; turns out there’s more positives to emulating Initial D than just looking cool. As a result we see attempts of this springing up all over the world – some good, some not so good. While we may have a ways to go on this side of the Pacific in making names for ourselves, no one in Japan does it better than the boys from Kyushu – ‘Kyushu Danji’; quite possibly the most notable and dedicated, time attack team in Japan.

Automotive by SeanJun 3, 201717:13

Feature: Hiroki Sakamoto – A Conservative Success

Hiroki Sakamoto may have possibly built, not only one of the fastest, but also the cleanest RX-7 in Japan to date. With a best time of 55.801 around Tsukuba, and a 2’14.399 around Suzuka it can definitely hold it’s own among the frontrunners of Japanese time attack.

Automotive by SeanMay 30, 201715:08

Gallery: エスピーアール HURACÁN LP 620-2 Super Trofeo

While I wait to hear back from a few people in regards to pending articles, I thought I’d throw up some photos of a car that isn’t seen often in the Japanese Time Attack ring. This Huracan ST was at Suzuka a while back running in the Attack series. I’m so used to seeing Japanese builds that the owners have toiled over for so many years that seeing this new, untouched so to speak, Italian race car caught me off guard. It was really quite a treat to see it out on track putting in some impressive lap times.

Automotive by SeanMay 23, 201704:44

Feature: A Man And His Car(s) – Masao Otani

I first became acquainted with Masao Otani back in 2014 when he attended our Attack Meeting in Doitsu Mura, Chiba. He had brought his 180 to the gathering which, 3 years ago, looked much more tame than it does now. That was back when the Attack community felt a little tighter knit than it does today, given the recent popularity increase. Which isn’t to be taken as a negative; with growth comes sacrifice in some areas, and the truth is that there are a lot more people involved in the sport today. Later that year, Masao and I had the fortune of connecting again through some mutual friends, and actually began talking quite regularly.

Automotive by SeanMay 20, 201700:58

Encounter: Racing Service Takagi GTR33

RS-Takagi is a tuning shop that specializes in Nissan applications, namely the 180 and Skyline, that’s based in the Gifu Prefecture; just Northwest of Nagoya. Their demo cars range from extremely high powered drag cars, to very well-balanced time attack cars – they even assist in some drift events. The owner states that no customer request is too big or too small, and that they are able to tailor projects to meet any customer’s needs.

Automotive by SeanMay 19, 201704:12

Event: バリドリ天国 Vol 6 – Golden Heaven

1990’s motoring in Japan, for a few people, has recently increased in popularity, becoming somewhat of an abstract study into a very unique culture. A lot of what we see today, especially in drifting, is an amalgamation of trends and lifestyle cues from that era; things that we aren’t necessarily privy to (unless of course you were a teenager in Tokyo in 1995). Yuji Hasunuma, owner of Pro Shop Wave, was a prominent figure in the peak times of ‘hashiriya‘; a time where the older generation today, was growing up and exploring the world of motorsports. Despite the change in trends, Yuji and his shop is still around today in Kanagawa, and as a ‘tip of the hat’ to the age his generation loved, he began the Bari Dori Heaven events.