Since I’ve been back from Japan, I’ve become so absorbed in a new project that I haven’t really set time aside to sort through the images I took while I was there. I was browsing Facebook this evening when I decided to reach out to Asano-san from Techno Pro Spirit to see how the testing went at Fuji Speedway. He and Kumakura were out there testing a few changes to get ready for the upcoming N2 race Hot Version is hosting next month.
To say that Takumi Hayashi has an affinity for the Toyota AE86 would be a rather dramatic understatement. The peppy, 130ps 4A-GE motor combined with the car’s FR drivetrain became an instant hit with not only himself, but many other tuners in the mid-80’s for that matter. It didn’t take long for the Corolla to be a favorite worldwide, and Japan was no doubt leading the pack in motor sport development of the chassis.
I first had the pleasure of meeting young Yoshinori-kun at Idlers in 2013 in Motegi (actually we first met at RWB, but that’s beside the point). He had been helping the entire event by […]
I can’t remember what day it was but I do remember Alex, Park, Noogz, Matt and I ended up at Up Garage sometime during our last trip; big surprise there right? Not really. If […]
A couple shots of the Techno Pro Spirit Corolla that were taken at Tsukuba during the Hot Version N2 Race last year. By no means the craziest build at the race, but definitely one of […]
This past weekend I flew up to the Bay area to photograph Dino’s Corolla. We were strapped for time on Saturday evening, so we agreed to meet up again to finish up some interior […]
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So, last weekend I rode up with a couple of friends to Willow Springs Raceway for a drift event at Balcony that was put on by Colab. Whew, that sentence is way longer than it seemed when I started typing it. Now I’m wondering if I should even start this post off with it…whatever. If you don’t know what Balcony is; it’s a spot at the top of WSIR that is used for various things, but it’s probably most known for it’s use as a makeshift drift course. It’s actually a decent spot to practice and I’m sure organizing events there is much cheaper than HTM. I had nothing planned for the weekend when the guys told me about the event, so I figured it would be worth going along to get some practice shooting drift events; I really have never shot drifting before. Also, I’ve been wanting to shoot Kem’s 240 for awhile, and still want to do a decent shoot with it, but it was fun getting some shots of it sideways. That’s his car with the R33 intercooler – it’s a little crooked, but who cares this car is rad. Charlie brought out his RB25 240 as well, and there were a couple other cars out that day as well. This will mostly be random pictures with no story line or commentary because that’s basically what the day was. Pretty much every car broke anyway. Click past the break for more.
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Continuing on with the coverage of Hot Version’s filming at Tsukuba Circuit, we’ll take a look at more of what the garages held, and also get a preview of some of the on-track action. For video of the event, be sure to check out the JDM Clips channel. So far we’ve seen a ton of RX-7’s, the majority of which were competing in Advan’s Amateur Tournament. However, the main attraction over the weekend was without a doubt Hot Version’s N2 Race. AE86 tuners from all over the country travel to compete in this annual event. Check this one out getting a little sideways on track. Click past the break to see more!
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C-h-e-c-k. Check. OK, my keyboard still works. Holy shit I’m tired. Two nights before Nisei I was stuck at work for 23 hours straight. Yeah that’s right, 23. I never fully recovered, so on the morning of the show I was hating my life. I remember a fairly large line when gates opened last year, so this year I showed up pretty early and to my surprise come 11 o’clock, there was only about 15 people behind me. I guess it must have picked up throughout the day though because people were saying the turnout was good. I had stuff to do in Westwood a little past 1 o’clock so I figured I had around 2 hours to take care of business; Wakayama Ramen lunch included. Click past the break for part one of however many Nisei posts I feel like making out of the 400 pictures I took.
. The infamous 86 coupe tandem drift extraordinaire team Mouse. I can’t remember what blog I found these on – if I can remember I’ll post it up. . . Love the fender mirrors .
