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Posted Feb 07 2012, 08:00 AM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 13 comment(s)

Speedhunters
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 03 2012, 05:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 20 comment(s)

Speedhunters
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 Jan 29 2012, 05:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 22 comment(s)

Speedhunters
While Mike was down in Tokyo covering the JCCA New Year Meeting yesterday, I headed up to a frozen Tsukuba Circuit to catch what has probably become the most competitive amateur time attack soukoukai in Japan. I am of course talking about Battle Evome, an event that initially started out as a Lancer Evo only gathering but has now matured to include a wide variety of cars. This is where Under Suzuki has made his name in and yesterday, after a few small modifications to his Scorch Racing S15, he managed...
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Posted Jan 11 2012, 05:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 28 comment(s)

Speedhunters
It's time to devote some time to a Lancer chassis that not a lot of people may be familiar with. Most of us associate the 4G63 with the latest crop of Lancer Evolutions, starting from the Evo I in 1992, but it was actually first used in the Lancer EX2000 Turbo, which came out in 1981. This angularly designed Lancer was never sold in the US but it sure made a name for itself in Japan and Europe. Most notably it helped Ralliart's initial success in the world rally scene as Pentti Airikkala...
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Posted Jan 11 2012, 07:00 AM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 40 comment(s)

Speedhunters
I think the Skyline Meeting that was mixed in along with the AE86 Matsuri in Tsukuba really needs its own separate posts because there were a hell of a lot of cool cars and it just wouldn't be right to rush over this very special group. The best thing was seeing a showing from so many generations of Skylines and GT-Rs, from the KPGC10 in the opening shot to this ridiculously extreme carbonized BNR34! By mid-morning this is the little group that had begun to form in one area of the main paddock...
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Posted Jan 10 2012, 11:45 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 19 comment(s)

Speedhunters
Haven't gotten your hachiroku fix quite yet? Good, as there's a lot yet to see from the AE86 Matsuri in Tsukuba. There is hardly anything that can touch this gathering in AE86 circles, even the "86 Day" in August. Why you may wonder? Well it's simple, not only do you get an impressive showing of street cars, rides we have seen before at Tsuzuki or Daikoku parking area meets... ...but you are also treated to the cream of the crop, the very best highly modified track racers like...
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Posted Jan 08 2012, 11:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 27 comment(s)

Speedhunters
There is one final event of 2011 that I haven't yet had the time to post. It happened a few days after the Super Battle and the venue was once again Tsukuba Circuit. The opening shot kind of gives it away; with a paddock stuffed full of hachirokus of all colors, it could only be the yearly AE86 Matsuri! This time round the organizers did their best to pack even more excitement into the event and invited, various Skyline clubs, the Mitsubishi Lancer owner club as well as a few professional drifters...
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Posted Dec 29 2011, 01:00 AM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 17 comment(s)

Speedhunters
There were a total of 71 cars present at the Tsukuba Super Battle this year, so you can imagine what kind of pace an event like this can have. With the rain kind of ruining things in the morning it was a scramble for most entrants to get at least one chance at a decent fast lap attempt. Here is how the day unfolded. Along with the Pan Speed FDs that we saw in the previous post Komoriya-san never forgets to bring his mighty RX-8 out for a test. And that is a very good thing as it managed to lap in...
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Posted Dec 27 2011, 11:30 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 27 comment(s)

Speedhunters
Before I get to some action from the Super Battle that was held a few weeks back in Tsukuba let's take a look at the cars that showed up to the event. There has been a noticeable drop in full-on Open Class vehicles over the last few years, tuning shops preferring to concentrate on street cars to keep a more tangible link to customers and their cars. Shops like Car Station Marché who showed up with their GDB demo car running an HKS GTII turbocharger upgrade. Despite the not so perfect surface...
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Posted Dec 22 2011, 07:00 AM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 41 comment(s)

Speedhunters
I say it every year, but for me there is nothing more exciting on the Japanese event calendar than the Tsukuba Super Battle (TSB). For over two decades now this has been the place to come at to prove what your car, shop and driver are capable of. This is where tuning gets pushed to extremes, where function takes precedence over looks and pretty much everything else. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I arrived at a very wet and cold Tsukuba circuit the morning of the event. The weather...
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Posted Oct 28 2011, 12:00 AM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 16 comment(s)

There are very few race series like the idlers events. Every time I have gone to Tsukuba to cover their legendary gatherings I have come away with a great feeling, like I was part of a special group of enthusiasts, people, friends. This new Fatlace film by Luke Huxham dives deeper into what it is to be part of idlers, with a mix of great images and a touching commentary from a member of the RWB crew.

With the upcoming unveil of the first Rauh Welt USA cars at SEMA and the RWB Natty Dread being featured in NFS The Run, this film couldn't have come at a better time. Turn up your speakers and enjoy.

Fatlace

Maiham Media

Rauh Welt

idlers club

 

-Dino Dalle Carbonare

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Posted Jun 23 2011, 08:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 33 comment(s)

Well it's finally here. Luke Huxham has been working non-stop to get his latest film finished and I'm sure you'll agree with me the wait has been worth it. I've always mentioned that no matter how amazing Nakai-san's Porsches may look in pictures, it's hard to get the full effect of just how imposing they are until you see and hear them in action. Hit play and prepare to get the full effect!

Rauh Welt on Drift Colors

idlers Games 2011

-Dino Dalle Carbonare

 

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Posted May 30 2011, 10:30 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 25 comment(s)

Speedhunters
The fascination with time attack is something that has really captivated Japanese tuners over the years. The urge to push modified road cars to their limits for that all-important lap time is something that has helped create some of the most impressive vehicles we have ever seen. But to me it's the end user that impresses the most; and enthusiasts in Japan really don't do things half way. I guess if you are going to do something, you might as well do it well. This Lancer Evolution VI to me...
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Posted Feb 28 2011, 08:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 20 comment(s)

Speedhunters
Time to revisit Tsukuba for the final time this month and wrap up the coverage from the last Battle Evome round of the season. Some of the cars like this 4-door DC2 Integra Type-R were part of the M-One track day but with such a tantalizing selection of rides I wasn't going to ignore... ...cars like this cream B310 Sunny on matte black SSRs. Like I mentioned in the previous part the guys from Video Option have began covering the Battle Evome series, finally realizing just how much win there is...
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Posted Feb 25 2011, 06:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 36 comment(s)

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Tsukuba is a pretty technical track. Its combination of tight corners and hairpins connected up by short sections of straight tarmac rewards only extremely well balanced cars. There is no point having tons of power if you can't put it down and there is obviously no advantage in piling on the speed if you can't slow down in time to nail corner entries. AWD cars obviously have an advantage, like the Evo 8 MR in the opening shot, a street legal car that managed a best of 1'01"202.....
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Posted Feb 23 2011, 07:30 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 47 comment(s)

Speedhunters
This year Tsukuba has been quite the busy little track. We've so far been there for the Rauh Welt meeting, the Omega Oil soukoukai and now we are back at everyone's favorite Japanese track for the Battle Evome time attack session. The BE-Circuit guys usually hold six rounds from December to February, the coldest months in the Kanto region. This is the best time to shoot for lap records as the dry winter usually yields optimal track and air temps, just what you need for high grip and max horsepower...
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Posted Jan 09 2011, 10:30 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 27 comment(s)

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It's time to conclude our look at the Skyline Owners Battle now with this final selection of images from the last event I covered in 2010. Judging from the response to Part 1 it's obvious these older Skylines are still very much loved and appreciated by enthusiasts. It always surprises me just how many parts and products are readily available in Japan for older cars like this, and when things aren't available off the shelf you can always count on the ingenuity of tuners to come up with...
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Posted Dec 29 2010, 04:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 12 comment(s)

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Back at Tsukuba now to revisit the AE86 Matsuri from a few weeks back. This is one event that was all about action and it's pretty impressive to see just how fast some privateers have managed to make their own rides. If you can't understand the appeal of the hachiroku among people and cars like these you may as well give up trying to. The enthusiasm and absolute devotion that I saw people share with each other is what it's all about, not only about their cars but the whole scene. These...
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Posted Dec 26 2010, 09:00 PM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 34 comment(s)

Speedhunters
With the end of year festivities and the Speedhunters awards taking precedence over the last week I thought I'd hang on to the coverage of a very special event until today. Two Sunday's ago I woke up yet again at the inhumane time of 4 am in order to beat traffic out of the city. My destination this time would be Tsukuba Circuit, for an event why I hadn't had the chance to cover yet, the AE86 Matsuri. Arriving at the track just after 6 am always gives you a different perspective of an...
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Posted Dec 16 2010, 07:00 AM by Dino Dalle Carbonare with 29 comment(s)

Speedhunters
Time now for a final look at the 2010 Tsukuba Super Battle, an event that seems to always come to and end all too quickly. With each car being allowed to participate in only three timed sessions, most begin packing up as soon as they are done, or even earlier if they run into unexpected problems. So once again I was very glad I started shooting in the paddock early in the morning, as this is one of those gatherings that really fills up memory cards quickly! With Japan's fastest GT-Rs and Evos...
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