Tag: Fuji Speedway

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Close-Up: The Circuit Scalpel – Esprit’s NSX

On many occasions, probably due to lack of my creativity, I’ve written excerpts on this site comparing certain managerial techniques to a variety of car builds.  That may or may not have something to do with my education and work background in the business sector, but I feel it’s something I can comfortably relate to.  These topics, at surface level, I would imagine to be somewhat obscure on an automotive website.  The truth of the matter is, in almost all regards, the processes discussed are very much applicable to time attack builds.  The practice of Continual Improvement is one such business practice, and in the realm of time attack, not many shops demonstrate this practice better than Esprit in the ongoing development of their NSX.

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Encounter: The Height of Challenge – ATTKD GTR32

I’ve always held ATTKD in high regard.   Not only because of their rich history in parts development and tuning, but more so because of their ability to put pressure on the frontrunners of time attack. The surprisingly large shop based out of Nagano is responsible for a handful of notable Nissan builds; namely their flagship 32 you see here.  Working closely with their long time test driver, Mitsuhiro Kinoshita, they were able to get under 2 seconds shy of the Top Fuel S2000; which has quickly become the benchmark for time attack at Fuji.  In an almost ‘behind the scenes’ fashion, Mitsuhiro Kinoshita piloted the Skyline around Fuji Circuit in a remarkable 1’40.925.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Encounter: The Samurai Archives – Revolfe S.A. GTR33

The picture below cracks me up.  When I had started walking around the back portion of the garages at Fuji, I came across the Revolfe S.A./Kleer R33 Skyline that was competing once again in the Hiper Challenge at HKS Day.  I must have had my blinders on or something because I just walked up and started taking pictures of the car, and didn’t even notice Mizota-san standing in the back.  After I had taken this shot he came up to me all surprised.  Later as I was going through these photos I saw him in this one pointing right at me hahaha.

 

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Event: Tension’s Fuji Takeover & HKS HCC Snapshot

So, yeah.  This will probably go down as the most random post of 2015 NDF, but I figured I’d combine the two as we didn’t spend that much time at either.  The same day that HKS held their Premium Day event, our friends at Tension reserved the Fuji drift track and held their own ‘Premium Day’ so to speak.  While the guys in Tension are all super nice, they have a somewhat sketchy history, so I’m glad Sekinei is good friends with them.  They’ve always support NDF and I couldn’t be more stoked about it.

So during the lunch break on the Speedway side, Sekinei and I meandered over to Fuji’s drift track to say hi and snap some photos.

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Close-Up: Snowflake On Fuji – Arvou’s White Capped AP1

Arvou; a name that, over the past few years, has become synonymous with time attack focused S2000 builds (and more importantly Lotus for all you Euro fans) – with good reason too.  With their focus pulled toward developing their HKS Supercharged demo car, it’s hard to think that they were involved in anything else.  You might be surprised to hear then, that Mr. Shibata actually founded the company in 1985, making Arvou nearly 30 years old.  That’s a lot of racing history attached to the company!

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Close-Up: プライムガレージ HC35 Laurel – An Unconventional Attack

As I weaved my way in and out of the garages along the Fuji Speedway paddock, my eyes were drawn to many an interesting machine.  Mostly revisions of cars that had run in the previous year’s Option Super Lap; the Esprit NSX, Pan Speed’s FD, the pair of Arvou S2000’s, the endless bounty of R35’s that seem to radiate an enormously unnecessary amount of power.  So, basically it was your typical HKS Day lineup.

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Close-Up: The Nagano Rush – Team Garage Mak Z33

 

I wonder if it’s acceptable, in the off chance one falls victim to writer’s block, to type freely their thoughts?  I mean, this is a blog after all, and blogs are typically written in an informal or conversational style.  It would be difficult to keep it informational to the topic however, if I were to just start spouting off about a random thought.  In the case of the Garage Mak Z33, I could start typing about Nagano; the hometown of the shop.  Or perhaps about the Miyagawa brothers, the two creative powerhouses behind the brand.  I could always fall back to uncreatively (is that not a word?) listing off the modifications to the Z33.  To be honest though, I’m pretty sure I’ve covered all that basic stuff in prior articles – it seems redundant to keep typing it.  I could talk about how I was naked in a public bath again…does anyone even read this?

 

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Event: HKS Premium Day 2015 – Assault on Fuji

 

There I found myself; laying on the ground, the unmistakably cold chill of the natural wooden planks pressed against my warm back, staring blankly at the clouds drifting lazily overhead.  I slowly closed my eyes, ignoring the incredulous stares from the other men in the room, relaxing my exceedingly overworked muscles.  As the cool breeze consumes my elevated body temperature, and a somewhat effervescent steam radiates from my naked body, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander – recollecting upon the events of the day.  It had been a long one, I thought to myself, and ending the day with a trip to an onsen was nothing short of perfect (I realize that introduction has very little to do with the event, but I thought it was notably humorous).

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Uncategorized by Narita Dogfight
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Close Up: The HKS GT1000+ – The Final Act V.2

 

The poster child of HKS Premium Day; the GT1000+.  An enormously high powered R35 that was built for the sole purpose of achieving the fastest lap possible.  The build, which will compete in WTAC next year, was also the other half of the final event where they pit the GTR against the Endless Sports z4 GT3 I posted just yesterday.

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Close Up: ENDLESS E89 Z4 GT3 – The Final Act V.1

 

Have you ever had this strange urge, when opening a new book, to read the last paragraph before you actually start to read it?   I have. For whatever reason, I’ve always been compelled to turn to the last page before starting.  Often times, it doesn’t yield any spoilers or give any of the plot away, but sometimes it can give you a pretext of what to expect throughout the new literature.

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Locale: ADVANCE Hello’s and Harajuku Strolls

Awhile ago, I had messaged my friend Masahiro that I was in the area and if he was at the ADVANCE, I would stop by to say hello.  Fortunately he was there, and while Sekinei made a quick trip to the DMV, I was able to chat with him and snap some pictures around the shop.  There’s always something new going on here, as many of the NSX owner’s (and other car enthusiasts in general) in the Kanagawa area know, ADVANCE is one of the most knowledgeable shops for their chassis.  When I arrived, one of the lead techs, Yagihashi, was working on a white NA1 but was able to take a break to chat.

 

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Encounter: ガレージマック! – Motor Games Fuji

    Our partners over at Garage Mak put on a very impressive display at Motor Games last weekend at Fuji.  Amemiya’s S15 looked particularly great on the new Enkei RS05RR.   その後、程なくして、Formura Driftの写真。午前の予選が終わり、Offset Kingの会場へBakkyさんにあって、彼のS15の写真をパチリ。相変わらずかっこいいです。そこで […]

Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Event: Motor Games 2014 – Scorched Fuji

    ピットの端まで来るとUnder Suzukiさんの　S15　BodykitをUpgradeなさったので、是非とも取材したかったのですが、Except Rear aeroeffectのみ写真OKとの事だから、RearはWTAC Australiaまで 秘密にしてとの事なので、Detailはありません。     Another draw of Motor Games was the World Time Attack Challenge Japan, which was a spin off of the famous WTAC Australia that’s coming up […]