Tag: Fuji Speedway

Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Close-Up: APR HASEPRO GT300 Toyota Prius

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Aside from the KERS outfit on a Formula 1 car, it would be a safe bet that the last thing that goes through peoples minds when discussing motor sports is the term ‘hybrid’.   So when Toyota, along with APR Racing, and Super GT announced their intentions to develop a Prius GT300 car the buzz was quite large.  Japan has always been a leader in hybrid technology and promotion of its use, so to me, it didn’t come as much of a surprise.  It was really only a matter of time until hybrids made their way into the racing scene, and Super GT seems like a great place to start.    The Super GT series is the flagship of Japanese motor sport, and with the increase of various chassis comes an increase in fan base.  Everyone who drives a Prius will now have a reason to come watch the races and cheer on their own team; which in the end is great for the sport and probably Prius sales.  Although the consumers might be a little disappointed when they can’t get the car up to 220 km/h dropping their kids off at school.  I should point out not to get me wrong when I start throwing the term ‘hybrid’ around so loosely, because this is not your average grocery getter.  I think we would all agree that it would be a little naive of us to assume that this is a stock Prius.  While it does retain the stock hybrid system, it gets a little extra help from something special mounted in the rear.  Click past the break to learn more about the first hybrid in Super GT.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Super GT Round 2 – Throwdown at Fuji Speedway v.3

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In two weeks the Super GT teams will make their way over to Malaysia for the third Round of the series that takes place at Sepang International Circuit.  So, that means I have two more weeks to show you coverage of the Fuji race!  Just kidding; I have a few more shots of the race left, so I’ll throw them into this post.  I also have some cool shots from qualifying that I’ll sprinkle around throughout the rest of the week.  Judging by the traffic, it seems like you guys are enjoying this series.  It’s really a unique race with some awesome cars – for me it was really enjoyable to watch, photograph, and now share.  Hope you are enjoying it – click past the break for more .

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Super GT Round 2 – Throwdown At Fuji Speedway v.2

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We continue the coverage of Super GT Round 2 from about the middle of the race.  By now I had wandered myself around the better half of the track and started making my way back to the paddock area to get something to eat.  While doing so, I managed to miss the massive crash of the Art Taste Porsche driven by Tim Bergmeister that ended up sending him to the hospital.  I’m not sure if he had a puncture in one of his tires that threw him off, or if it was a driver error, but the accident was pretty horrific.  This delayed the race for a good 30 minutes while they cleaned up and got the car off-track.  It didn’t take long though for the GT cars to start up at full throttle again.  Click past the break to check out more racing action from Fuji Speedway.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Super GT Round 2 – Throwdown At Fuji Speedway v.1

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Nothing can short change the excitement of a good road race.  Rapidly changing weather conditions, split second decisions, class differences, mental fatigue, and constant overtaking all combine to create an environment that only motor sport can provide.  Super GT, Japan’s premier racing series, brings this to the table round after round.  Mixing GT300 and GT500 contenders make for a packed grid and the opportunity to see some great driving.  This particular race held many challenges for the teams to overcome; challenges that would leave the unprepared teams either on the back of the grid or, worse yet, off the track and retired.  It’s my pleasure to bring you coverage from Round 2 of Super GT held at Fuji Speedway in the Shizuoka prefecture.  Click past the break for a look at the action.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Close-Up: Auto Gallery Yokohama – GT-R R32 Heart Attack!

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A few years ago, if you were to have asked someone stateside if they knew what Auto Gallery Yokohama was, you’d probably get a blank stare.  Or perhaps someone would say that it’s an automotive museum in Yokohama; which, per se, wouldn’t be a bad guess.  Bottom line is that no one would know who they were or what they did.  Actually, around 3 years ago, even I wouldn’t have known much about them.  My first exposure to their now iconic battle-spec R32 was in an Option magazine a few years back.  It was a panning shot of the Skyline blazing down the straight of Fuji Speedway.  Since then, the just about every part of the car has gone through a massive amount of changes.  The bottom line remains the same though; to be the fastest.  And in many ways AG-Y has succeeded in doing so.  The car constantly breaks records at Fuji and holds respectable times around Tsukuba.  For a private company, there is no doubt it holds it’s own in a fight against the big dogs (see what I did there? – NDF!).  I recently stopped by Auto Gallery Yokohama’s garage to see for myself the car that I’ve been dreaming about for years and get an up close and personal look at it’s heart.  Click past the break for more.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Close-Up: Spoon Endurance S2000

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Those of you who know Spoon, know that they are no strangers of the endurance.  So it comes as no surprise that they compete in the Super Taikyu series in Japan.  What may come as a surprise though, is that this is the last time we may ever see a Spoon car in the traditional blue and yellow livery.  As of the 2012 race season, Spoon has decided to do away with the iconic paint job that has adorned their cars for 25 years.  This S2000 (AP1), seen at the official test day at Fuji Speedway,  is their 2012 Super Taikyu entry and will be competing in the ST-4 class.  This year’s drivers include Taketoshi Matsui, Yasunori Nakajima, and Tatsuru Ichishima – Mr. Spoon himself.  As of last weekend, the first round of Super Taikyu has already concluded, and unfortunately Team Spoon did not fare well.  You can see the official results here.  Hopefully, within the next couple days here, I can get to posting that coverage.  Round 2 of Super Taikyu takes place at the end of April at Twin Ring Motegi.  You can expect live coverage of that via NDF’s Facebook page, as I’ll be traveling to Japan to meet up with JDM Clips for a super terrific Japan motor sports tour.  For now, click past the break for a closer look at Team Spoon’s S2000.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Super Taikyu Official Test Day: Fuji Speedway v.1 – The Integra

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It feels like it’s been so long so my latest post!  My apologies, as I’ve been extremely busy this past week; traveling for work as well as trying to buy some property.  I am super stoked on NDF though because I’ve been getting some really cool inquiries as of late.  I’ve also just got the go to start planning my next trip back to Japan – which is going to be quite awesome.  The best news is that I plan to share it all on the blog.  While I try to keep the ‘personal’ out of this page, and stick just to features, events, and auto related posts, it is after all a blog about Japan.  I figure the followers would be just as excited as I am to see what a week spent in Japan visiting tuner shops, attending a Super GT race and interviewing tuners is actually like.  March is a great month for motor sports all over the world.  I don’t even have to mention the start of Formula 1; but in Japan specifically it marks the beginning of Super GT, Super Taikyu, and a handful of other series.  JDM Clips recently attended the Super Taikyu Official Test Day at Fuji Speedway.  Needless to say, the 6 different classes involved in this series makes for a great amount of variety on track.  In my opinion, one of the coolest entrants is the DC5 – and it seems to be a popular platform as well.  In this post, I focused on only that chassis.  Click past the break for more!

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Nismo Festival 2011 v.2

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Ahhh, Nismo Festival.  A celebration of all things Nissan.  Oh, wait.  I already introduced this coverage with some mediocre commencement.  Let’s dive right in to the second part of the Nismo Festival coverage with these RC cars.  No, not radio controlled.  RC stands for Racing Competition in this case; a series of cars built by the NISMO factory specifically for competition.  When I say specifically for competition I mean just that – you cannot drive these on the street; and yes, they are expensive.  But if the car isn’t enough, and you’re looking to spend even more money, you can also buy NISMO’s technical support upon delivery.  Think of it as a warranty on steroids.   Let’s check out some more past the break.  You guys are in for a treat with this post…

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