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Posted
Feb 12 2012, 05:30 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
Working as a Speedhunter may be the best gig on the face of the earth, but I certainly wouldn't call it an easy job. There's the travel, the long days, and the rigors of shooting in all types of weather - just to name a few of the challenges. Then of course comes the many additional hours of photo editing and preparing the stories themselves.
For me, yesterday was probably the longest and most exhausting 24 hours in my Speedhunting career, yet it was also one of the absolute best. This is all thanks to the Osaka's vibrant car scene, and more importantly - the hospitality of its people....
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Posted
Feb 11 2012, 08:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 18 comment(s)
Welcome to the new Lexus GS. It's taken over a million miles of rigorous testing around the world and countless rejections from Akio Toyoda to get to the car you see here. It is in many ways, like the Toyota 86, the result of very tough expectations put in place by Toyoda-san, who since taking the reigns of Japan's biggest car manufacturer has drastically changed, for the better, a company who's true potential was held back by a typically Japanese bureaucratic management. His instant...
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Posted
Feb 10 2012, 03:35 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 25 comment(s)
Good evening everyone from the home of the Hanshin Tigers, fried octopus balls, and some of Japan's friendliest people - the city of Osaka.
I've just returned to the hotel after a long day of shooting at Osaka Messe and thought I'd go ahead and post up a few photos and some initial impressions from the show....
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Posted
Feb 08 2012, 08:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 25 comment(s)
Just came across this short video of Taniguchi drifting the BenSopra GT-R at Mobara Circuit. As many of you will know the car is based on what was supposed to become Nomuken's next Blitz D1 machine, a 1000 HP R35 that was converted to RWD and stripped of all electronic driver aids. Abe-san from Blitz was there to fine tune the Motec ECU before Nob took the car out for a little test. Unfortunately the engine suffered turbo problems and was pretty much running without any boost. Still, it's worth a look as it's not often you see R35s drifting through tight tracks like Mobara! Can't wait to see this car all fixed up and properly vaporizing those big rear Yokohamas!
BenSopra
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Feb 08 2012, 04:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 25 comment(s)
Garage Saurus is one of those names that everyone has heard of. So you might be forgiven if you've been wondering what has happened to them. The owner, Hayashi-san, is still very much active in the Japanese tuning scene, continuing to build crazy GT-Rs and other JDM rides on a daily basis out of the Saurus workshop in Saitama. The reason that he and his cars haven't really been out at events and shows over the years is that well, he has pretty much achieved what he set out to do, and the...
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Posted
Feb 07 2012, 10:30 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 26 comment(s)
I had a fantastic time shooting the GTCC event at Tsukuba Circuit the other day, and based on your comments it seems you guys have been enjoying the coverage from this brilliant grassroots race meet. Regardless of what sort of you cars you like, I think everyone can appreciate both the passion and the fun-loving attitude that these weekend racers have.
With that said, here's the third and final part of my GTCC event coverage....
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Posted
Feb 07 2012, 08:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 13 comment(s)
Time for some more Battle Evome action from Tsukuba now with this final look at the event I attended the other weekend. You can think of this as a kind of preview of what's to come, as I will be meeting up with all these guys once again at the end of this month for the final session of the year. You can expect Under Suzuki and Horikoshi-san to push their cars even more, fine tuning engine settings and aero details to shave off as much time as possible from their already blisteringly fast laps...
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Posted
Feb 07 2012, 12:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 27 comment(s)
Now that we've had an intro to the atmosphere from Sunday's GTCC race at Tsukuba Circuit, I wanted to spend some time showcasing more of the cars from this event, as well as the day's on-track action....
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Posted
Feb 06 2012, 07:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 25 comment(s)
It would have been sacrilegious not to have posted a shot of Colin McRae's old WRC Impreza that was next to Solberg's car at the STI Gallery. So here it is, a true legend to say the least. STI STI Gallery
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Posted
Feb 05 2012, 08:35 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 37 comment(s)
As my adventures in Japan continue, I spent the day yesterday at one of my favorite places on the planet - Tsukuba Circuit here in Ibaraki. The course was playing host to the weekend racers from the GTCC series, and I knew this would be the perfect occasion to reacquaint myself with Japan's rich circuit culture....
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Posted
Feb 04 2012, 09:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 45 comment(s)
When I finished shooting the BRZ STI Concept a couple of weeks ago at the STI HQ in Mitaka, I headed upstairs to the STI Gallery to see if there were any cool cars on display. It seemed I had picked the perfect day to have a wander... ...as there was a cool triplet of WRC cars on display. Next to McRae's 1998 "P14 WRC" Prodrive rally car was Petter Solberg's 2006 WR car... ...that was used in the 2007 Rallie Monte-Carlo. The STI staff let me have a nice look around the car and even...
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Posted
Feb 03 2012, 09:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 12 comment(s)
I've just finished uploading my first batch of high res desktops from this year's JCCA New Year Meeting. You can head over to the Desktops section right now to find several images to give your computer some vintage JDM flavor....
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Posted
Feb 03 2012, 05:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 20 comment(s)
Let's head back to Tsukuba for Part two of the Battle Evome soukoukai, for yet more time attack goodness, of the amateur variety. There is something so addictive about chasing lap times, for both those that do it as a hobby as well as for those that just like to drop by and spectate. The whole technical aspect of the cars will satisfy even the biggest nerds out there and I am admittedly one of those. There is a lot to learn... ...by walking around and checking out what each owner/driver has done...
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Posted
Feb 03 2012, 07:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 24 comment(s)
For my final bit of event coverage from the JCCA New Year Meeting, I have a wide assortment of photos from both the inside of the show. Unfortunately It's impossible to show every car that was there, but hopefully this will give you an idea of just how great the New Year Meeting is.
There's a lot to post, so let's get started....
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Posted
Feb 02 2012, 06:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 40 comment(s)
By the time I'd finished walking Sunday's JCCA New Year Meeting and the surrounding parking lots it was pretty late. The sun was beginning to go down and the event was wrapping up. That of course means there was a seemingly endless stream of vintage cars heading home. Naturally, I decided to pull out the camera do some more shooting....
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Posted
Feb 01 2012, 07:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 56 comment(s)
I thought I'd take a quick break from my JCCA New Year Meeting coverage to post some street sightings from the roads of Japan. I've been here for a week now, and whenever possible I've tried to bring my camera to grab photos of various cars I see rolling around....
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Posted
Feb 01 2012, 06:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 24 comment(s)
While the JCCA New Year Meeting draws some of Japan's finest vintage cars to Odaiba every year, the event is about much more than just the automobiles. The swap meet and "auto jumble" sections of the show always draw massive crowds looking to part with their hard-earned yen in exchange for an amazing selection of vintage car parts, accessories, and collectables.
As part of my New Year Meeting coverage, I thought it would be fun to take a look through some of the items up for grabs this year....
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Posted
Jan 31 2012, 05:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
Whenever I can I like to stroll through the parking lot at events I attend. Whether it's a Hot Rod show, a race event or something else - there's always cool machines to be found outside in these parking areas. The lot at the JCCA New Year Meeting though, is on an entirely different level.
As I mentioned before, there are lots of people that head to this event every January without any intention of viewing the main show. Such is the power of the New Year Meeting parking lot.
Now then, let's begin our journey through these lots of glory....
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Posted
Jan 30 2012, 08:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
As we begin our look through the 2012 JCCA New Year Meeting, let's go ahead start off with a look through the main show itself. The parking lot is great mind you, but that doesn't mean the official festivities are to be missed. Not by any stretch....
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Posted
Jan 29 2012, 09:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 41 comment(s)
Last fall when I began planning my trip to Japan, I wanted to make sure our visit included some cool automotive events. Tokyo Auto Salon came to mind of course, but being a classic car nut there was one event I absolutely had to see this year - the JCCA New Year Meeting in Odaiba.
The last time I attended the New Year was back in 2009, and ever since I've had the itch to get back for a fix of vintage Japanese motoring. ...
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