Over the next week or so I will be working on a new video, this time from Meihan. I think it’s a good idea gathering all my footage from the 2 days we visited the circuit and throw it into a clip for you guys to see what It’s really like, as you know photos can only express so much. Seeing the cars from a wide perspective run along the wall only a few centimetres away will definitely get your heart pumping. Stay tuned.
It’s simple, if you don’t take the correct line at Meihan Sports Land you will end up like this. Even professional drivers such as the D1SL Mind Control Team had some difficulties under the competition pressure back in April.
Not only smashing the whole front end but the rear along the wall. Here you can see a great deal of damage ranging from bent rear arms, dented body, chipped spoiler and broken exhausts. One thing is for sure, if you clip the wall in the wrong matter it will take advantage of your car, but this is what makes them better drivers, right?
After this current run the red flag was exposed which sent the cars back to the pits. I walked up to the other end of Meihan and spotted this damage on the clipping point where you just click 3rd gear and send the car out wide in preparation for the wall ride. From what I saw, it seems the Mind Control driver took this line a little bit too seriously and hit the tire wall.
Just a few centimetres behind the tires I found 1/8th of his front bumper including the splitter. I gladly picked it up and took it back to the team which they were very thankful. It would have been an awesome souvenir for sure!
At the Wreck Em Meihan Day we held, some of the best drivers in the country showed up. Of course, local boy Naoki Nakamura wouldn’t miss it for the world, however he didn’t roll in in his pink and purple PS13, it was his D1 S15. What made the day even more exciting were passenger runs, it was rotating between a few guys such as Jesse Streeter, Bai-san from Origin and Kuroi-san from M-Bros. Shane Bingham and his wife spoke to Nakamura for me which landed me riding shotgun in his passenger seat.
Arriving quite late he looked desperately eager to get out onto the track, the car looked so gorgeous when it arrived, but I’m not sure I can say it stayed like that for very long. Once again I was completely blown away that I had the privilege to shoot such a well known car for the next 6 hours.
Here is the inside of the car, fitted with a couple of Bride seats, aftermarket boss kit a few gauges and some personal touches by the man who loves pink bits. I have to say it was one hell of an experience riding with Nakamura with no seatbelts, both of my hands were holding my camera filming onboard footage with Kuroi from M-Bros. Be sure to check out Wreck Em and stay tuned for the 2011 DVD which will feature some of my footage.
The power plant is very tidy, still running an SR20 with a high-mount GReddy turbo all processed through a Power FC. From what I can remember this engine pushes out over 500whp.
Not long after a few runs of wall scraping this is what the car looked like, in saying that it only got worse. Even though it’s battered I think it makes it look even tougher, only the best challenge themselves by getting closer and closer and that’s what makes them the drivers they are.
On the third lap in the morning Nakamura busted out a manly entry alongside the wall which not only destroyed his carbon fibre spoiler, rear tailight and rear bumper…
…oh and not to forget his exhaust. At least the D-MAX template is still pop riveted on right? I can’t wait for you guys to see the footage from inside it was one experience I will never forget until the day I pass on. What a driver and what a car, this makes me excited about heading back to Japan very soon!
If you’ve watched Team Burst videos over the past few years this particular RPS13 might look familiar to you. He goes by the name of Fujio-san and is the co-team founder of Burst alongside Nakamura. If there is a driver to defeat it’s this guy right here, unfortunately enough he never got the spotlight Nakamura did. I love underdogs just as much.
This is where all the aggressive backwards driving is done, how groovy is this for an interior.
Here is a photo of Nakamura’s rear end, I really can’t get over how much I love the colour combinations and the collage of stickers. This photo was taken in 35mm film hence the lack of quality from my scanner. In a week or so I will be sending my film away to get scanned properly onto CD’s which I can’t wait for!
I don’t think I would go as far as saying this is my best drift photo ever taken, but it’s definitely an image that has glued to my head since the day it was captured. This photo is of a very famous driver who goes by the name of Takamiya-san which of course drives this aggressive Team Magician JZX 110. I have to say it was pretty incredible watching this guy throw around such a large car at a reasonably tight circuit, the amount of noise this car produces is absolutely magic. Over the years the amount of media content I’ve reviewed on the internet of Team Magician is ridiculous, arriving to MSC on our 3rd day on my first trip in Japan all 4 cars were there sitting in the pits of Mobara Twin Circuit in Chiba, once again it was a complete blow away. Desktop anyone?