Earlier in the week, in a prior conversation with Hashimoto about a photoshoot, he mentioned that he was going to be at Tsukuba on Thursday morning assisting with Kiyotaka’s with his FD. Throughout the week, the TFR supported FD has been frequenting Tsukuba, testing various aero setups.
Kiyotaka Eishima had two requirements for the car he would choose to campaign in time attack; it had to be fast, and it had to look cool. So, after purchasing the FD in 2006, every decision he’s made has come back to those two obligations – and it is clear that he has never strayed from that path.
It’s been some time since the paddocks of Japan’s most credible race tracks have been graced with the presence of Ejima Kiyotaka and his TFR built FD3S. This year, changed all that, as the Attack Tsukuba Championship played host to his return, and the unveiling of his newly rebuilt FD. I wouldn’t say that Kiyotaka ever cut corners with this car, and it’s performance to date backs that up. Low 56 second lap times are no joke at Tsukuba; but he wanted more from the car. To achieve the performance he demanded, he would need to take a step back from competing.
One of my favorite things to do on my down time is research time attack builds in Japan. It’s akin to that of a treasure hunt for me. I enjoy the prospect of being among the first to find out about certain aspects of the build, and to both share it through the website and take inspiration from them for my own builds. There is still a large gap between the publicization of builds in Japan versus that of builds in Western countries, and because of this, information can be very difficult to come across sometimes. I think that’s what makes it interesting for me though; and this same theme plays true in other aspects of life as well. The harder you work towards something, the more satisfaction it brings you.
It’s been awhile since we’ve come across Nakashima and his red FD. No stranger to Attack and Evome events, Tomo has been competing in the Japan based time attack events in his RX-7 for years now. Stumbled across here in a Saitama parking lot, you can see a couple obvious changes since last year. New GT wing element, and Craft Square mirrors replace the Ganadors that were once affixed to the doors. Carbon side strakes line the skirts and help tie together the front and rear aero of the car. Looks a lot more aggressive!
A lot of what goes into running fast lap times is nothing but trial and error. We try out new parts, that on paper should work, and in the process of application we assess the results, problems or issues that may arise and we decide if the choice was a good one, or if we should try again with a different method or part. Experience tells us that the most cost effective decision is to keep this trial and error to a minimum. There are some people, however, that find pleasure in the possibilities of change.
Senkichi has modified his JZA80 specifically to handle the variety of turns at Tsukuba. Each modification that he chose was specifically tailored for TC2000. The engine’s drive-train has been upgraded and the bottom end built to handle the extra boost from the T78 turbine. Transmission gearing has been modified to put the car in the exact power range needed for each turn. Check out the results below.
Last year I was able to chat with Ejima-san about the car he has built over the past several years, at his shop TFR, to compete in the sport of Time Attack. Just by being around him, I was able to get a feel for the type of person he is and how his personality ties into his driving. It’s a duo I’ve come to enjoy watching over the past events, and it’s nice to be able to revisit the build again this year.
No stranger to a variety of cars, S15, Altezza, JZX100, (even the FD, having owned one before this) just to name a few, Muraki Tatsuhiko has more experience than most when it comes to how different […]
Battle Evome, and time attack events in general, are so unique in the sense that each participant has their own story; their own background. Where they come from, how they got into motor sport, things […]
The boys cruised through Shibaura PA this weekend to chase after a few cars they saw at Tatsumi earlier in the night. This FD was one of the more interesting ones. Our friend Riyouiti-san […]
Tatsuhiko’s all black FD sure made a presence at Tsukuba on this cold Sunday morning. A menacing profile that was backed up by sub one minute lap times around TC2000. The buddy club QF’s […]
Kiyotaka Ejima’s intimidating FD maxed out at a 56.580 at the beginning of the year. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do at next years Evome.
