In the week following the Tokyo Auto Salon, I worked as a driver, translator and phone-call-making guy for the Autosalon magazine guys as they toured and reported on a bunch of workshops and aftermarket parts factories.
The one that stands out most to me was the final one we visited: Mine’s.
Let’s have a look at a couple of drivers that competed in Expert Class at last weekend’s Nikko Queen, Rie Shinmi in the R34, and Michiko Yasue in the bronze S14 Silvia.
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I’m not going to bother doing a big event report on this year’s Nikko Queen event, since a lot of the stuff I shot would be more fun as part of a few mini-features, so look forward to those.
Just to get the formalities out of the way though, here are the ladies who placed in the Expert Class competition!
First Place was Akari Nagasawa. It’s rare to see anyone drive Nikko Circuit’s first corner as neatly and consistently as she did all day. A quick flick in, stomp on the brakes to settle the car and full acceleration right out wide towards the judging stand with not a single bit of visible handbrake correction.
I have something new to try next time I drive at Nikko, I think…
Keep in mind, her boyfriend is D1 Street Legal driver Hideyuki Fujino, so you can imagine the sort of conversations that go on between those two.
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My coverage of last weekend’s Hyper Meeting wasn’t as good as it could have been, because I attended another event on the same day.
Two events in one day is kind of how it is around here. I could potentially do it again this weekend, but the subject of this Sunday’s event is worth a fair bit of attention. More on that next week.
About an hour and a half away (if you drive properly and not stop to look at weird old Supras parked in back lanes, perhaps some Canadians will understand what I mean) at Nikko Circuit on the same day as Hyper Meeting was the annual RB Meeting.
Organised by old-school D1 driver Shunichi Tomikuda (I have some of his “face and helmet” stickers available if anyone wants to buy one), who specialises in custom parts for RB engines, the event was strictly for RB-engined drift cars.
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