Last week we held a small get together at Autopolis International Racing Circuit in the Oita Prefecture of Kyushu. I had 3 photoshoots for 80R scheduled for this particular weekend trip down south, however a few could not make it last minute.

Last week we held a small get together at Autopolis International Racing Circuit in the Oita Prefecture of Kyushu. I had 3 photoshoots for 80R scheduled for this particular weekend trip down south, however a few could not make it last minute.
In this video we visit Skyline tuning masters Racing Factory Autobahn, deep in the countryside of Ibaraki. Kawai-san shows us some of the newer builds and I take a walk around the shop.
Of all the different types of Nissan chassis’s competing in time attack around the world, it’s fairly rare to see the GTR33 among them. It’s definitely the lesser of the chosen Skyline models for road racing, and if I’m speaking honestly, I’m not overly sure why. It is a bit heavier than the 32, but not too far off of the 34. It’s longer wheelbase leaves it prone to a bit more understeer, and some might say it’s lacking in the looks department (now that I list the reasons, I see why). Perhaps the R33 was just born to be the middle-child; loved, but not destined to be a favorite. There are some people, however, that refuse to believe the popular mindset, and work outward from the R33’s positive traits to create something so overtly great, you can’t help but like it.
Highend Makers isn’t exactly a household name in motorsports today, and, quite frankly, up until a year ago I wasn’t even aware of the outfit. The shop, located on the northern part of the island of Shikoku, has made a name for itself this past year at the Attack Suzuka events. Being located far from the epicenter of Japanese motor sport, the shop gets few opportunities to test their builds in comparison to shops in the Kanto, Kanagawa, and Kansai areas that we’re used to seeing. It’s a big production for them to have a good showing at time attack events, and a venue like Suzuka is well worth the trip.
I stumbled across this GTR33 built by Decide226 behind Suzuka’s pits. The notable shop, that’s based in Fukuoka, raised to fame years ago in Japan’s drag racing circuit. The RH9 accredited garage specialized in tuning high power, 400m focused builds. Concurrently they also prepped a range of cars for circuit racing; everything from GTR’s to EG6 Civics. This GTR is a great example of the street inspired builds the shop has become famous for.
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.
This past weekend, the annual Skyline Owner’s Battle event was held at Sodegaura Forest Raceway, Chiba. The name of the event has always been a little misleading however, because in actuality there are […]
Sekinei, Keito and I were driving to lunch after visiting Unlimited Works last weekend when I spotted this pretty cool R33 parked in a lot on the street we were on. I caught […]
Ran into this super clean R33 at Fuji last month. I didn’t get to see it on track, but it sure looked good sitting in the lot. It’s funny because I’ve reached a point […]
“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 […]
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 […]
I thought that this shot of Mr. ハマダ キヨフミ and his ECR33 was pretty cool. Garage Dual was tearing it up last time at Nikko – click for a higher res shot.
Going through a few photos this morning and came across this JZX with BN and R33’s that was at Shibaura PA; I thought it was worth sharing. I like the 745i badge the owner put […]
It’s now been over a week since Wekfest SF and I’m still finding myself pouring over pictures from the event! I think I’ll just combine the few pictures I have left in this post to wrap up the coverage. Typically people start losing interest in shows after the first couple days, but I gotta say, Wekfest traffic hasn’t slowed at all! In fact, I’m still getting almost as many hits per day as when the first part of our coverage dropped. That’s some bay area love right there. Click past the break to see what everyone has been talking about.
Welcome back to the second part of the R’s Meeting coverage from Fuji. I’m considering this a remote post because I’m actually not at home right now. If you’re a regular follower you’ll have seen my post about my computer crashing; so I flew to Oakland to get some software from my friend in Hayward. While I’m here I thought I may as well post up the second part of the Skyline madness. Remember we have a facebook page now – be sure to friend up on the side bar. Cheers!
Have you ever had one of those months that seems to last only a few days? Between work and my unnatural, incessant need to constantly be inside of an airplane, it feels as if I haven’t been home for more than a few hours each week. It shows in the site traffic too; so here to remedy this is the first installment of the GT-R Magazine R’s Meeting 2011 at Fuji Speedway. I gave you a preview of JDM Clips’ coverage when I posted the Encounter with Auto Gallery Yokohama’s R32, but past the break is the first round of event coverage. Enjoy.
. I know I promised to have our JDM Clips‘ coverage of Skyline Festival hosted at Fuji Speedway up today, but I’ve been incredibly busy, and keep in mind it’s a one man show here […]
. Here’s another good find from Jack. I’ve always liked the flush side-markers in the fenders. Are those OEM S14 wheels? Seems that the aero is too aggressive for OEM wheel offset; what do you […]
We were walking around some neighborhood in the evening and I happened to see this four-door Skyline in an apartment parking area. Upon closer inspection it looked like it hadn’t moved in a few weeks; which is no surprise because the Japanese drive far less than we do. I snapped a few pics.
. Hey guys, sorry about the lack of updates. I’ve been in Vegas the past couple days with the love of my life…losing all my money. Anyway, I’ll kick off the next combo of updates […]