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Posted
Feb 08 2012, 09:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 5 comment(s)
As I write this, I'm busy packing for a short weekend trip to Osaka to have a look at the 2012 Osaka Auto Messe. I'm really looking forward to checking out Kansai's car scene, but before I hop on that bullet train, I thought you guys might enjoy some desktops from last weekend's GTCC event at Tsukuba. ...
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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, 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 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
Jun 17 2011, 05:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 10 comment(s)
I've chosen some of my favorite shots form the idlers Games in Tsukuba and prepared a nice selection of desktops for you guys. So if you are after a nice front view of Nakai-san's Tunerhaus 993 as it powers out of the in-field hairpin... ...or this classic 911 making its way around the first corner... ...or maybe a hachiroku unable to resist a powerslide, head over to the Desktops section to download them in either Widescreen or Standard resolution. There you will also find a snap of an RWB...
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Posted
Jun 16 2011, 05:10 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 20 comment(s)
I haven't been covering the idlers Games for very long, but this is one event that over the last two years has quickly become one of my favorites. It's a similar, but altogether different look at the JDM time attack scene, with such a concoction of styles and variety of cars all thrown into a big melting pot. One thing I really love is the relentless evolution of trends, the way people and tuning shops continue to experiment, vary... ...or straight out take things to the extremes. This little...
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Posted
Jun 14 2011, 06:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 24 comment(s)
The sound of naturally aspirated and boosted flat-sixes was interrupted by the occasional scream of Japanese tuned machinery at the idlers Games this past Sunday. Porches and hachiroku still dominate the series but it was nice seeing some familiar cars out on track too, like Hirikoshi-san's Exceed Moat Silvia, the unmistakable orange S14 capable of lapping Tsukuba in 56-seconds. It's always great seeing new cars, and the Ventiler Golf is one I noticed straight away, as it used its obvious...
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Posted
Jun 12 2011, 09:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 14 comment(s)
There is probably no other event in Japan that has a bigger impact on the senses than the idlers Games in Tsukuba. Being confronted so early in the morning by a sea of revving engines, warming up before the day's first session, is enough to get the adrenaline pumping no matter how sleep-deprived you may be. And that's before you get to see the cars! The idlers Club has become synonymous with RWB Porsches, at no other event will you find such a high concentration of Nakai-san's creations...
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Posted
Apr 13 2011, 03:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 29 comment(s)
For the second of my Honda galleries from good old Tsukuba Circuit, I thought I'd pull a selection of S2000 shots out for you guys.
You have to love scenes of Honda's open top sports car winding around one of Japan's most well known circuits. ...
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Posted
Apr 04 2011, 01:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 32 comment(s)
As part of my contributions for Honda Month, I thought it would be fitting to take a look back through my archives and post some Honda-related photos from Japan.
During my numerous trips to nearby Tsukuba Circuit, I caught countless Hondas doing their thing on the track. For this first selection, I've assembled a group of front-drive Honda shots for your viewing pleasure....
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Posted
Mar 10 2011, 08:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 81 comment(s)
Behold the Master Piece. There was no way I was going to leave Tsukuba after the RWB Meeting in January before getting a couple of shots of this camo 930 widebody. Originally when this car came out of the Rauh Welt workshop in Noda it was white. However, after the owner required a color change, Nakai-san decided to do something completely different and came up with what has to be one of his most original matte finishes. This is one Porsche that just screams look at me! If you don't look closely...
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Posted
Feb 26 2011, 06:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 31 comment(s)
If you ever wondered what driving a close to 700 HP S15 around Tsukuba feels like from the driver's seat this video should give you a close enough idea. This was filmed during the final round of the Battle Evome series, so you can see when the engine of the Scorch S15 finally lets go. Next time we will see this car in action will be in Australia at the WTAC!
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Feb 16 2011, 08:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 29 comment(s)
It would have been a great pity if I wouldn't have shared this last selection of shots with your from the RWB meeting that Nakai-san organized last month. With the Tokyo Auto Salon hitting shortly after this track day at Tsukuba I kind of put this final post on the back burner as I tackled the inevitable mountain of shoots that always follow Japan's biggest tuning show. But since it's not every day that Nakai's creations are seen all together in one place I think this post, even if...
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Posted
Feb 15 2011, 11:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 35 comment(s)
With so many great time attack cars participating at the recent Omega Oil Soukoukai, some of the not-so-extreme vehicles often tend to get left out of the coverage. In this final post I will try to concentrate on rides that may not be record breakers, but are just as impressive and very much part of the whole grassroots scene. The 350Z continues to be a popular car for anyone wanting to have a great time out on track. You can't go wrong with a torquey V6 and FR layout. This has to be one of the...
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Posted
Feb 15 2011, 07:20 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 34 comment(s)
Senna Forever indeed! We all know how the great Ayrton Senna was responsible for fine-tuning the handling and chassis of Honda's greatest sports car, and the driver of the Kyushudanji NSX, Hannita-san, obviously has a lot of respect for the greatest driver that ever lived. Since managing to get a 56-second lap at Tsukuba his NSX has been all over the internets... ...because as far as I know, no naturally aspirated NSX has ever gone quite so fast around Tsukuba Circuit. In fact I think I can count...
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Posted
Feb 15 2011, 04:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 44 comment(s)
Weighing in at only 725 kg in stock form your can imagine the Suzuki Cappuccino is quite the fun little car to drive, despite only 63 HP at its disposal. Of course once it's stripped out and modified to produce over three times its original power then it becomes something else all together. As soon as I saw the tiny orange ER11R from Fighter Engineering I knew I had to run a spotlight on it, as this was unlike any other Cappuccino I had ever seen. Out on track it managed laptimes in the 1-minute...
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Posted
Feb 14 2011, 07:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 37 comment(s)
It's been a very busy couple of weeks for the grassroots time attack scene here in Japan, and of course Tsukuba is at the center of it all. So let's get back to the Omega Oil soukoukai and after that take a look at this past Sunday's final Battle Evome event, where Suzuki-san's famed Scorch S14 ended up snapping a conrod and ending his attempt at a 54-sec lap! All of you downunder that were hoping to see his car at the WTAC this August, don't worry, he is building a new engine...
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Posted
Feb 10 2011, 11:32 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 33 comment(s)
56 seconds around Tsukuba is seriously quick and it's usually 650+ HP turbocharged cars that manage to record times like this. So you can imagine how happy the driver of the Kyushudanji NSX was when he managed to lap Tsukuba in 56"959 sec this past Sunday at the Battle Evome session. Turn your speakers up and enjoy.
Kyushudanji
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Feb 10 2011, 05:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 51 comment(s)
Man I love Japan. If you think that covering high-profiled events, jam-packed with famous demo cars would give you exposure to the best the JDM has to offer you would be so wrong. I was reminded of this last Friday when I was completely blown away by the turn out at the Omega Oil organized soukoukai event in Tsukuba. I mean seriously, look at the cars in this post! Imagine being surrounded by such time attack goodness...I didn't even know where to start from! And to top it all off most of the...
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Posted
Jan 12 2011, 05:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 76 comment(s)
Time to pick up where I left off yesterday and head to Tsukuba for the second part of the Rauh Welt meeting. As if seeing close to thirty wide-assed Porsches run wild on the highway and regular roads wasn't enough the best had yet to come as these lovers of all things rough , and wide, were just about to let loose on track. When we arrived in the paddock there were already some other cars waiting for Nakai-san, mainly people that had made the journey from other sides of the Kanto area. Like at...
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