On Friday, January 27th, on his second session on track, Yoshiki ‘Fire’ Ando broke the 50-second barrier at Tsukuba Circuit with a record 49.897 second lap time. A truly incredible moment for motorsport enthusiasts world wide and a massive breakthrough in Japanese time attack.
One of the reasons I enjoy visiting Hayashi at his shop, Auto House Solid, anytime I’m in Gunma is that there is always a large variety of tuning cars on hand. Hayashi services a wide range of customers so there is guaranteed to be something interesting in the shop.
The ‘Kagayaki’ (かがやき) is a high speed train service that operates between Tokyo and Kanazawa on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line. It is jointly owned by JR East and JR West, and is the fastest train on this particular line reaching speeds of up to 260kph. It also served as the inspiration for the livery and overall appearance of Oya-Ji’s widebody Evolution 5.
Attack Tsukuba marked the return of Oya G, ‘The Prince’, back to the circuit in his newly rebuilt EVO 5. Backed by Koyo KBC, the car is back better than ever with a brand new engine to power it around the track.
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.
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 […]
Continuing on with Hyper Meeting coverage, we’ll head out to the circuit where some of the time attack and races were taking place. HKS’s R35 GT1000 was on hand putting in a couple hot […]
This past weekend Mr. Satsuei was at Tsukuba Circuit to get coverage of Hyper Meeting 2014; an event that offers an extremely wide variety of popular cars, shops and a few events in both […]
“People can’t be just tied together. They have to connect. Otherwise, they’ll find themselves bound hand and foot.” A quote (from the Japanese movie NANA) that holds true in most cases; especially when referring to […]
Garage HRS EVO IX spotted in the paddock of Tsukuba Circuit. The owner was competing in the Dunlop Challenge that afternoon.
Brake masters DIXCEL Japan and their Shinryo Auto built Super Taikyu EVO will be at Tokyo Auto Salon next week (Hall #6) – be sure to stop by and say hi, and wish them […]
I had to make a quick run to Akihabara one afternoon (I say ‘had’ because I don’t particularly enjoy going there) to pick up something from ヨドバシカメラ, a.k.a 12 story Mega brain hemorrhage electronic/everything […]
So, last Sunday turned out to be a little less than typical; well, kind of. Typical in setting and happening, it just had a little twist on the medium. We swung by Jay’s house to […]
.
If you were to imagine a specific car that, in your own mind, possessed the qualities of protector, or a guardian; what car would you choose? For me, it would always be the Mitsubishi EVO. Something about it just gives off a ‘sentry’ feel. Perhaps it’s the bold, boxy lines, it’s potential for great power or even it’s masculine stature. There is quite obviously a good amount of guardian like character in any EVO, but this one in particular, has more than most. I’ve never seen where Algier lives, but I bet I would feel pretty safe with his EVO standing watch over the neighborhood. Right, I’ll admit that the theme to this feature is a little far-fetched; but it’s still a bit amusing if you think about it. Modified cars coming to life to protect…the…people…oh my god I’m describing Transformers…damn. I knew I had heard of that concept somewhere. Anyway, all that aside, Algier has put together an extremely quality build that I’ve really taken a liking too. This past weekend I flew up to the bay area and made the short trip over to San Jose the next morning to meet up with Algier. He had just spent the entire previous day at HIN so I was thankful that he was able to make it out for a few hours the next morning. Click past the break to see more of this insanely clean 8.
.
When I think of MOD, I immediately hear “EVO”; and frankly, that’s all I need to hear. I’ve grown to have no particular interest at all in any Mitsubishi other than their Evolution line of cars. Not to discredit the fans and enthusiasts of Mitsubishi’s other great cars, I can definitely respect the work and passion that goes into any chassis (and there were actually some really cool builds with unique swaps), they’re just not my cup of coffee (I’m switching that saying up). So, I’ll tell you ahead of time, the only cars you will see in this post are of EVO’s – I suggest checking out Mitsubishi forums or other blogs for full coverage. With that said, I really enjoy MOD. It’s one show that I have a very laid back attitude towards. and feel no pressure to show up early and stay until everyone leaves. In fact, I rolled up over an hour after it started and had left within an hour. Parking is never an issue because it is in the business district of Cypress and the surrounding businesses are nice enough to let show goers use their lots. As a result of the show being sponsored by Mitsubishi itself, it is very well organized. Let me start my post out with a shot of the Monster Sport equipped LOT USA EVO 9 – one of my favorites. Click past the break to see more EVO’s at EVO..I mean MOD.
.
I’ll admit, while there were many great builds at MOD this year, there weren’t too many that were built for full track dedication. Maybe that’s why this particular one caught my eye as a possible feature. I really can’t tell you much about it though – I couldn’t find the owner anywhere. It may be built with the assistance of Massimo Power; a specialist in EVO tuning. So for a few minutes, disregard my lack of knowledge, grab the popcorn and enjoy the crispy shots I snapped of it past the break.
.
Before I continue the coverage of the Skyline Festival, I figured I’d post up a walk around of the visitor’s lot, so you can get an idea of the caliber of the cars that weren’t in the actual show area. As usual, you can find some pretty cool stuff in these lots, as most enthusiasts pour their hearts into their own personal cars. You’ll see too, that even people who don’t own a Nissan can still appreciate the Skyline and what it has brought to the motorsports scene across the world. Click past the break for more.
.
Welcome back to the second post of our MOD coverage. I’ll start of the next batch of pictures with this LOT built EVO IX. I remember seeing this at the It’s JDM Yo! Anniversary meet, but couldn’t grab a good shot of it. I’m glad I got to see it again at this meet, as it is a very well put together car. Click past the break to see a few more EVO’s.
.
Disclaimer: Aside from the Evolution, I am not a fan of any model car that Mitsubishi has produced in the US. I respect the potential of a DSM engine, but as far as aesthetics go, ugly is the word. With that said, I should change the name of this post to ‘EOD – Evolution Owner’s Day’, because that is basically all that I shot. For that reason, some of you may get bored with this post. This meet had a full spectrum of Mitsu’s; everything from the cleanest built EVO’s to the worst looking and sounding Eclipses and Galant’s – no disrespect to the owners. So if you’re looking for shots of those or more complete coverage, check out Speedhunters in the next couple days because I know Mike Garrett was there clicking away as well. Click past the break to enjoy some shots of various Evolutions. This post is sponsored by D-Sport, the Import Tech magazine because they gave me free stickers. D-Sport!
