In the heart of Winter this year, I made the trek down to Kyushu to attend Autopolis Superlap. Unbeknownst to me (because it happened when I was in-flight from Tokyo to Kumamoto) the event had been cancelled due to excessive snowfall in the area. For the past week, the likelihood of the event taking place was always brought into question.
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.
It goes without saying, that 9 times out of 10, wheel choice defines the way a car looks. Coming from a background predominantly in Hondas, I’ve always viewed the Desmond Regamaster as the wheel to end all wheels. It’s a choice that looks good on nearly every car; quite similar to the TE37. Up until I started to frequent Japan some time ago, I didn’t realize just how utilized the wheel was on other platforms as well.
Awhile back, if I recall correctly the day I was leaving Japan, I messaged Kaz to see if he was around the shop; I had 30 or so minutes to spare and was in the neighborhood. Things generally get pretty quiet throughout the summer in the realm of time attack, and I was curious to see if Unlimited Works had anything cooking for this coming season.
Early morning at Fuji Speedway. G-Force brings out their newest CT9A build to test their work. With Taniguchi behind the wheel, the EVO was able to clock a very quick 1’42.154; proving that Tazawa-san’s camp isn’t all talk. Enjoy the gallery.
A couple shots of the Unlimited Works EVO at Tsukuba Circuit. Kurita-san piloted the EVO 6 around TC2000 in a staggering 57.247. Sub minute laps are no stranger to Japan’s fastest street EVO though. Check out more past the break.
It’s a bit crazy to think that the car you’re looking at used to be the iconic HKS CT230R EVO – the one that used to be wrapped in red HIPERMAX vinyl (and just bare carbon before that). The same car that ran TC2000 in a staggering 53.5 and was subsequently shipped to the US to destroy the Buttonwillow record (1’48.5). That’s right; cue the ‘pour one out for your homies’ soundtrack of your choice, because this car is now powered by natural gas.
You may or may not remember me mentioning a little bit about Mitsuyoshi’s super pink Evo in the post I wrote awhile back about his conquest in the CT9A; if not, here is […]
“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is […]
If by chance you found yourself driving on the Hachioji Highway in Kitamachi, West Yokohama, there’s a possibility that you may catch sight of a bright red building in your peripheral […]
The whole sport of time-attack has been picking up speed as of late, and over the past few years, one team has stood out amongst the rest as leaders in their own right. Based […]
The brisk grounds of Tsukuba played host to the second round of Battle Evome this morning, and as quickly as it came, the battle has ended. While not all contenders came out unscathed, a […]
Continuing my walk around of the Queen Mary grounds where Wekfest was being held, we pick up around 1:30 pm when the crowds started to get bigger. The tour of shows that Weksos organizes has […]
I can honestly say the last few weeks, for me, have been the busiest I’ve experienced in a long time. Losing a week in Charlotte for work, playing catch up back at the office, and […]
Garage HRS EVO IX spotted in the paddock of Tsukuba Circuit. The owner was competing in the Dunlop Challenge that afternoon.
This past weekend Justin, who runs Autocon, messaged me about a trailer they were shooting in Los Angeles for the upcoming Autocon event on June 1st. It was last minute, so I couldn’t make […]
We pick up on circuit late morning in Tsukuba, where, lap by lap, the times are decreasing ever so slightly. By this time, many of the drivers have recorded personal bests or were well on […]
As the morning sun rose over Tsukuba, and the clock closed in on 9am, the lighthearted paddock conversations gave way to a sound that I’m not even clever enough to describe in words. The first […]
Battle Evome; the name itself invokes a sense of elitism and power. The event, held at Tsukuba Circuit just 4 times a year, attracts the fastest of the street and privateer time attack cars across […]
Over the past weekend a couple of friends and I attended an open event at Streets. Unfortunately, I wasn’t driving, but I still like to come along because you really never know what you’ll find […]
