BAD DAY: 180SX crash and flip at Bihoku

January 22, 2009 2:02 am Published by

Here’s one for all the people who make a big deal about not using bolt-in cages in drift cars.

The first corner at Bihoku Highland Circuit is bordered by a steep dirt wall with stacks of tyres in it. Usually, the tyres cop it if someone strays a bit too far off the proper line when they initiate, but someone the dirt sees a bit of action too.

I was walking behind the judging tent when it happened, so when I pulled back the zoom to catch more of the action, the autofocus caught onto the foreground and made the rest of the photos out of focus, which kind of sucked.

The car actually jumped up the dirt hill, did a half-spin in mid air and landed square on the roof from over a meter up, then spun around a couple of times before stopping.

That “circle” sign being made by the guy in the background means “everything is OK”.

The driver (tired-looking guy in blue overalls) was fine.

Not a very happy picture, but at least his TE37s are OK.

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This post was written by Alexi

23 Comments

  • dousan says:

    yes at tleast the TEs are safe
    car looked pretty cool too
    any before crash shots of it?

  • SoSideways says:

    Yeah that car looked nice.

    Guess the “death trap” of a cage wasn’t such a death trap afterall.

    LAWL at all the naysayers out there.

  • Brian Harte says:

    Dang, wild.

    At least now there is more photo evidence against that people who live their life by telling others that a bolt in cage will collapse and kill you in an accident.

    Do you hear that, idiots???

  • Brian Harte says:

    p.s. the brooms they have there always make me laugh.
    It looks as if a real WITCH made them.

  • Paul says:

    Images are fake. Any occupants of a car that rolls with a bolt in cage will die instantly.

  • garage_86 says:

    2009 everybody ! Get Cages, 5pts and fire extinguishers

    WSIR is checking !! and keep your @ss SAFE !! the more we progress , it gets more dangerous!

  • Japan can’t afford dimples

  • Akai-Oni says:

    Looked like a pretty good wreck. I’ve probably been to 30-40 events at Bihoku and there has been a significant wreck at at least half of them. I’m pretty sure I recognize that car. I have a bunch of pictures of it. The owner is from Hiroshima, and judging by the stickers and the fact that Yoshinaga (owner of RYO) is helping flip it back over he might be one of his supported drivers.

  • Jeremy says:

    in the words of Seinfeld, that’l just buff right out.

  • Fury-S12 says:

    Alexi said “Not a very happy picture, but at least his TE37s are OK.”

    i was gonna say the same thing :p

    so wats the bad thing about bolt in cages or were you saying there ok?

  • Akai-Oni says:

    Weld in cages are for pussies! lol. I’ve seen so many damn cars roll at Bihoku with just a bolt-in or no cage at all it’s ridiculous. How many suffered serious injuries? None. I probably have an hour of footage of just wrecks at Bihoku and none of the drivers ever required medical attention.

    The worst situation I witnessed was when Kaji from Okayama Unions girlfriend was competing in his car at an event during the summer and passed out from heat stroke while waiting for her run.

    As for myself I came a bit too close to the out cropping in turn 1 one time and hit the rear quarter panel and rolled twice. No cage. Just a harness/helmet. Save for the piss in my pants I was fine.

    Life in Japan is a bit different. No cage? Cool. No harness? Cool. At minimum all you need is a helmet. Why? If you kill yourself because of the lack of safety equipment it’s your own fault. They aren’t liable. They way it should be.

  • Geoff says:

    You really do update daily. How do you get so much good shit?

  • Alexi says:

    dousan
    I’ll have to have a look.

    BH
    I thought they were kind of silly until I actually used one. They work suprisingly well and weigh about one third of what a regular push broom does.

    Akai-Oni
    Ryo-san was about the fifth person to get to the car, and he had to run all the way from pit exit.

    Geoff
    I update daily because I have so much good stuff. I have so much good stuff because I have to find enough stuff to update daily. Get it?

  • Garth says:

    “I update daily because I have so much good stuff. I have so much good stuff because I have to find enough stuff to update daily. Get it?”

    LOL so true

  • Geki Luke says:

    I just use bolt in cages to look cooler, its good to know they work aswell haha.

    Nah haha, also a very good and cheap mod to help stiffen the car up, had two bolt in cages so far and you can feel the difference in the car with them bolted in as well as the added roll protection.

    Worst stories i have heard from roll overs in Japan are from Brazilians drifting with windows down, they roll cars and get legs or arms cut off. Hoshino has told me of at least 2 cases, one at Nikko which was a leg and one at Ebisu which was an arm. Watch a lot of Brazilians or Gaijin at Matsuri and you will see them flapping their arms out the window.

  • Polyestergun says:

    Man.. You get some of the craziest footage in Japan.

  • deftstyle says:

    Man such a nice car, that sucks!

  • Lorenzo says:

    So who was flapping their leg out of the window? It must have been some serious roll or crash to loose a leg! Even so still lucky it was a leg and not a head….

    You can find the REAL serious race cars like those found in Time Attack and Super Taikyu are proper welded roll cages. The bolt in ones are easy and cheap for those who use the car for street and drifting etc. Also the bolt on cages are easy to get here and pretty much off the self so no real need to properly strip the car to get it done right.

    I am sure the reasons for bolt in roll cages are for costs and time and those who like DIY. Cusco would have tested theirs to be safe within certain limits they find beneficial.

    People aer recently saying that the Japs are shit at what they do but really the real facts are that there are real pros here at F1 level and you got the grunts with dodgy DIY crap. Shops with Dynos and those who never owned a dyno, map on the road but still make 8sec drag cars. Just depends on the one doing it really.

    In this case it was enough to save him from bigger headaches …..

  • Fury-S12 says:

    picturing someone drift with a leg out the window is just plain funny

    i never knew there was so much hate for bolt in cages i figured thered be a little difference but besides a dodgy product there both secured to the structure of the car so why would one be so bad

  • Ruiz XIII says:

    MAJOR BUMMER
    Car looks cool too…

  • Bruce says:

    Sucks for the car. At least driver is okay.

    Thanks Alexi for the post.

    Good source for any of those guys who believe Cusco/Safety 21 stuff is a death trap.

  • Kulibin says:

    Настроение хорошее и блог по душе пришелся, и смотрю не мне одному.

  • Isaac says:

    The problem with bolt in cages is when people dont re-inforce the floor when mounting them.

    http://jalopnik.com/5390934/mustang-cover-boy-tries-to-corner-flips-over-tire-wall

    Cage screwed directly to floor, no additional plates.
    The japs do it properly and put extra plating on the floor where it mounts.