Autosport International 2010 - Part 2

Part 2 of Autosport and we arrive in easily the highlight for many of the show - the Live Action Arena. 1 entire hall is transformed into an indoor racetrack for racing and demonstration runs, so tight racing and very noisy! The Fiesta racing was the 1st racing demo out

Followed by the European Drift Championship drifters - Mark Luney, Paul Conlan and Pete Barber

and some close dirtbike racing

Then 5th Gear presenters Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler Henderson doing some semi drifting - Tiff struggled to do competitive drifting way back in 2006 so he might be better next time he fancies a proper go - or not, particularly when he claimed not to be able to turn the traction control off on the Jaguar he is seen driving above.... Vicki was a bit better in her Porsche though!

Then we have the Autograss specials - purpose built chassis, usually motorcycle engine powered so a very high power to weight ratio - so wheelies and the ability to drift almost the entire arena easier than the drift cars almost, although I think the wheelies were more for show, still good to see though!

And close racing, Id love to see these on their natural surface - grass and mud

The Formula Palmer Audi single seaters were good too, plenty of flames, although this,again, might have been done for the show with the cars adjusted to overfuel slightly, but looked good in the dark!

The cars were being driven by the finalists of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award

Pat (on the right, Fiesta) and Liam (on the left,Citroen C4) Doran about to do a rallycross demo - but given these cars are ideal for the slippery surface of the arena (4wd and 600bhp) the show they put on was a little tame compared to what Ive seen them do before, but then again with 17 shows to do over the 4 days of the show and practice sessions, you have to make the cars last

F1 stockcars - big, heavy, fast - and loud with their unsilenced Chevy V8's - always a favourite of mine - you dont just hear them, you feel them

Being RWD with low grip meant they too, were easy to drift around the arena and are full contact racing, so bumping,nudging and pushing is allowed

An original (not a replica) Lancia Stratos, sounded lovely with its raspy Ferrari V6

An original Audi Sport Quattro - driven here by none other than Stig Blomqvist - the original Stig!

And to end, figure of 8 banger racing, the previously made comment regarding 17 shows applies here too, Id say the last show on Sunday was entertaining!

Part 3 soon

Time Attack 2008 Round 1 - Donington

Its back!! Time Attack 2008 will be bigger and better. More tracks, more entries and much more interest all round! An interesting weekend, for Round 1 at Donington Park: dry,windy, rain and then snow, it had it all!

Pro Class
The day was eventually won by Duncan Tappy in the Autosportif/TEIN Subaru Impreza with a time of 1.20.550 in the damp but had earlier set a time of 1.12.758, the fastest of the day overall

Not far behind was Olly Clark in the Roger Clark Motorsport Subaru Impreza, with 1.22.691 in the final, easily the loudest car of the entire weekend with its side exit exhaust, visible just infront of the real wheel

Third was Jamie Stanley in the RC Developments Evo 6, with some great drifting at times even though its Time Attack! His final time was 1.23.114

One of the most improved cars in round 1 was the Scoobyclinic Impreza, driven by Andy Harvey, with a strong 6th place in the final
Not long back from its trip to Japan and Tsukuba was Fensports Celica running a new sequential gearbox, eventually finishing 9th

Stanley and Darren Robinson in the Whifbitz RX7, in the snow

Club Class
1st in the Forced Induction class was Kev Horsley in the Scooby Clinic supported car with 1.28.569

1st in the Normally Aspirated class was Paul Hughes in the Buddy Club UK Honda Integra Type R with a 1.36.185

Fastest overall club class lap was 1.18.286 set by Barrie Rycroft in the Distinctive Cars York Mitsubishi Evo 7

Not every day you see a Renault Clio (briefly) leading a R34 GTR

A few offs and crashes but this is the only 1 I caught on camera

And to end this overdue update, 2 of the more interesting cars running in club class:

Craig Winstanley's Mazda FD3S Rx7 -with a Chevy v8 transplant

and the Apex Performance Skyline R33 GTS - also with a Chevy V8

Tokyo Auto Salon 2008 - Part 2

Part 2 of my TAS report and we begin with 1 of the better R35 GTR's on show, respray in orange,very subtle bodykit and carbon inserts in the bonnet vents


1 of the bigger tuning suppliers in Japan,GReddy/Trust had their R35 GTR on display. I liked the vinyl livery (all the black/red bits are stuck on!!) , many didnt!!

Like the majority of R35's there, GReddy had already made a new exhaust system for the car

HKS had made a bigger effort though, as their R35 had new suspension, exhaust, Bride seats aswell as the bonnet up....

The VR38DETT engine already has been fitted with new air filters and blow off valves aswell as HKS making their FCon V engine management system compatable. Not much (yet) but Id imagine they were busy in the 2 months leading up to TAS, and with the cramped engine compartment of the R35 you will agree HKS had made the biggest effort so far in tuning the R35

MiNES have also been busy with their R35, new exhaust,suspension, brakes but more importantly they are the 1st tuner to crack the factory ECU so are now offering their own VX-Rom, which delimts the car aswell as it being able to run on different octane fuel if required

Still has a long way to go until its at the level of their R34 GTR N1 though!! Still the ultimate street tuned GTR for many including myself

HKS also had the latest version of their Zero R on display. The Zero R began in the early 90's and was a complete tuning package for the R32 GTR offered by HKS, with various updates over the years. This is the 2008 version. Good to see the R32 is still held in high regard

The famous Cyber Evo Time Attack car. This car can lap Tsukuba circuit in around 55 seconds, which is very quick, and is the 2nd fastest Evo around Tsukuba, with the HKS Carbon Evo being the quickest


Another thing better at car shows in Japan - the food. Some warm yakisoba (roasted noodles) for lunch, which I queued up for 30 seconds beforehand, paid an excellent price and which kept me going for the entire day, unlike soggy burger and chips that you pay a fortune for back home!

The best R32 GTR of the show for me was Phoenix Powers example, just immaculate. Apologies for the poor photo but it had people around it the whole time

Although the image of the Japanese tuning scene is for GTR's,Evo's,350Z's etc the new trend is for more affordable compacts with similar levels of modifying, carbon,wheels,engine tuning,brakes,suspension etc. This is Sunline Racing's very tidy Suzuki Swift GTi

and Mugens new Honda Fit (or Jazz). Still plenty of tuning options for these smaller and less powerful cars and certainly more affordable


Many feel that the new GTR is proving difficult to tune and that the Fairlady Z (or 350Z) is the last truly tunable Nissan. The Amuse car was 1 of the best at the show, not overdone either


Back to drift cars and BN Sports pair of JZX100's,a Mark II and a Chaser both with 2JZ-GTE transplants and the most powerful cars in D1 at present with over 750bhp each!

Another new D1 car, Toshiki Yoshioka will use this Lexus SC430 (or Toyota Soarer) in D1GP in 2008 instead of his AE86. No idea of engine spec yet, hopefully the 3UZ-FE 4.3 litre V8 will be retained
Another impressive new car ST Garage/Wedsport Lexus IS250 with a 2JZ-GTE transplant, maybe D1 bound too

And to finish, my personal favourite cars from Tokyo Auto Salon 2008:

The RE Amemiya carbon widebody Mazda RX-7 with the Porsche style front

Another RE Amemiya car,RX-7 with widebody conversion and 20B triple rotor engine conversion. This car won a trophy, but until the TAS website is updated I dont know which 1!!

Finally my favourite car of the entire show WELD JZX100 Mark II. 2JZ-GTE engine transplant,massive Trust T88 turbo....

and the engine has been moved back for better weight distribution. A lot of work has been done under this car, including a custom differential carrier, new alloy floor panels to reduce weight,the shell fully seam welded and all excess metal removed

not to mention Welds trademark foward opening bonnet aswell as their wild graphics

and lots of carbon!! This car also won an award at the show,ill update when I find out!!

So that was my 1st Tokyo Auto Salon and what an introduction! Ill certainly strive to return in the future as it was a new experiance compared to any other car show Ive ever been to!!