Watching the beginning of the race unfold through my camera lens served as a great way to get me even more pumped up for my first outing on track. I spent a good hour running back and forth between shooting in the paddock and watching lap times drop on the garage monitor as the drivers began warming up to the conditions.
Two weeks ago I made the not-so bad flight (I was lucky enough to snag a first class seat, so I slept the entire way) across the Pacific to Japan. I would once again be driving with the RWB team in the Idlers 12 hour Enduro at Twin Ring Motegi. This would be my second, non-consecutive, time both driving and photographing the event. It had been 5 months since I was last in Japan covering Evome, and in all honesty I wouldn’t have been back until Winter if it wasn’t for this event. The relationship that RWB has with Idlers and the people involved in both organizations are the key reason behind this event being so fun, not to mention well organized. Aside from driving Porsche’s around Motegi (not sure I need any other reason), seeing the international involvement is reason enough to go. Reuniting with people from all across the globe, and putting faces to names, is what makes this event so special to me.
As the sun rose over the grandstands of Twin Ring Motegi, I knew that the time to start the endurance was getting close. Not yet tired, despite being up a solid 24 hours at this […]
When I left off, Alex and I had just taken off from RWB in the 964 Rough Soul; but it wasn’t long before we were stopped on the side of the road with engine trouble. […]
This series of posts may be lengthy to read, and pretty much all about my experience driving in Idlers. It’s really not something you see too often on this site, as it is not […]
Snapped this real quick on our way back to Chiba from Motegi. We had been up for about 2 days straight and were in need of some energy to get us back to RWB. Although […]
Brake masters DIXCEL Japan and their Shinryo Auto built Super Taikyu EVO will be at Tokyo Auto Salon next week (Hall #6) – be sure to stop by and say hi, and wish them […]
…and as the rain began to fall ever harder, the Super GT cars charged on; fueled by the calm determination only those behind the wheel know. We pick up on the continuing coverage mid […]
So, it was 5am and the only thing I could think about was getting caffeine into my system; not if my friend was going to be late, not if it was going to rain […]
This past Sunday marked the end of the 2012 Super GT season with the final race at Twin Ring Motegi; and despite the cold, rainy weather, the action was as hot as ever. […]
A few weeks ago Super GT held the final official test day for the 2012 season. The venue; Twin Ring Motegi. While the majority of the teams set out to gather data for the upcoming […]
On September 17th, Super GT held it’s final Official Test Day of the season at Twin Ring Motegi. Our friends at JDM Clips were there to catch all the action as both the GT300 and […]
. One of the benefits of multi-class motor sport events is the opportunity to see cars of all different power levels and drive configurations on track at the same time. It’s almost like turning an […]
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Here’s a post I’ve been waiting to share with you for awhile now. Let me preface this by saying that the pictures won’t really do this experience much justice. In Japan, a pit walk is something you can pay a little extra for to take an actual walk on the pit road to view the cars and team. Well, I thought you could view the cars and team anyway. In reality, it turns out it’s a mad rush for the thousands of spectators that are there solely for the race queens. I literally had to fight my way through the crowd and sneak my way past the stanchions to get a glimpse at the race cars. I was even told a few times that I couldn’t be past a certain point I had snuck by. Seriously though, I paid for a pit walk to see the cars! My friend and I were probably part of the 5% of people there to view the actual vehicles. They should really look in to separating the girls from the garages a little; throw them out on the straight or something. With that said, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I find it extremely amusing being the only foreigner in a crowd of crazed motor sport (read ‘race queen’) fans, and getting caught up in the moment. You know the saying “If you can’t beat them, join them”? Well, about halfway through I gave up trying to get car shots and ended up joining everyone else in snapping some girlies. They were all about it too! Perks of having blue eyes I suppose. Click past the break to see the experience of my first pit walk.
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I think I’ll break up the Wekfest coverage with the second post of Super Taikyu from Twin Ring. I have a few fans that are awaiting the continuation of this and it just so happens I initially started posting it right before Wekfest hit town; which was not my intention. Plus, seeing a couple of race cars fight it out on track will be a nice contrast to the show coverage. We left off on the last post somewhere near the start of the race, after the practice laps. By now you have a good impression of the diversity of this series; I’m pretty sure I’ve said that a million times now, but it’s part of why this is such a cool race. Part of the appeal of Group-N racing series’ is that it has the ability to make any regular person feel like they can be a race car driver behind the wheel of there normal, every day car. That’s not to say that they should…but it’s nice to have that feeling. A popular car among the Super Taikyu contenders is the Sturm Motul STi. You can see it here propped up on the air jacks in the team garage; the crew going through a few final tests before it’s unleashed on the track for the 4 hour stint. Check the continued coverage past the break.
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耐久 [Taikyu] – Translate the word to English and it becomes ‘Endurance’, or ‘Persistence’. Both of which are needed in a series like Super Taikyu; where the most average of cars are transformed into octane devouring, tire burning, track monsters for their drivers to tame around the circuit. A series that pushes both man and machine to the brink of exhaustion; endurance racing at it’s finest. Now don’t get me wrong – this is no 24 Hours of Nürburgring. It is, however, grueling in it’s own right – I barely survived photographing it, let alone driving it. It’s possible that some readers are not familiar with the series, although, they may be familiar with the term ‘Group-N’ racing. A particular type of motor sport, governed by the FIA, where standard production vehicles are allowed to be slightly modified for competition; I use the term ‘slightly’ very loosely. No doubt about it that each and every one of these cars is fully built to be race metal. The main reason I fell in love with this series is the amount of classes involved and on track at the same time, all racing to be number one in their own right. In this sense it’s a bit like Le Mans racing, except Super Taikyu has 5 classes. I’m really excited to share this series with you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Click past the break for more Twin Ring action.
. During ‘Golden Week’ in Japan, it’s typical to see carp-shaped streamers flying in the wind. These special flags are called 鯉幟, or ‘Koinobori’. These are traditionally flown in Japan to celebrate 端午の節句 (Tango no […]
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Saw this R34 while we were parking at Twin Ring Motegi and thought I’d snap a few pics. I like the bright gold Top Secret Edition TE37 against the blue paint. It kind of reminded me a little of a 90’s car show the way it was parked in the grass haha. Click past the break for a closer shot of the wheels.
. Super Taikyu – not the most popular of series, but exciting in it’s own atmosphere, and one I’ve grown quite fond of. It would be a stretch to say that many people know about […]
. Good evening NDF! I apologize for the lack of updates, but since I’ve touched down on Japanese soil, I’ve literally been moving non-stop. I think I’ve slept a full 5 hours in the past […]
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Ah, Monday. Hope you all had a good race weekend; congrats to Sebastian Vettel for his second 2011 season win! As promised, I’m posting up some shots of a Super GT Test Day at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. While these shots may be dated a bit, they are still awesome. This post will be followed up with some race day shots as well. Unfortunately, the Super GT series has been delayed due to the tragic events in Japan. I know we’ve heard it a lot, but let’s hope Japan can bounce back and things can return to normal soon. Thanks again to JDM Clips. Check out the NSX GT-R FR – looks so mean.
. In lieu of the recent events that have taken place in Japan, you can imagine that gathering content for a site that focuses on Japanese motorsports is quite challenging. To be honest, I’m not […]
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I apologize for the lack of posts this month. I’ve been super busy with life (& GT5), and have really been putting off finding content. I was supposed to head to Irwindale today after work to check out Industry Day, but got tipped off that it wasn’t all that (thanks Addy). To hold you over I’ll post this desktop that Taka sent over of the Japan GT Castrol NSX. Click past the break for some desktop links.
In this post I’d like to both thank, and welcome Taka to the NDF Blog team. Taka runs the JDM Clips channel, and is now a contributor to Narita Dog Fight. He sent these pictures of the Beams Tokachi 24-hour endurance race car from the Twin Ring Motegi Honda collection hall. In 2003, when Honda became the sole engine provider for the INDY series, Motegi was added to the IRL schedule, and is famous in Japan for being the only oval ring circuit. When there are no events going on though, the Honda Collection Hall is the place to go. Many old and current race cars are displayed for the public to view; this Integra being one of them.
. Honda R&D’s secret gem has been revealed! A FR, GT-spec NSX with KERS! Check out this video of testing at Twin Ring. Read the video info for specs and backstory. Found @ JDM Clips.
