If you will have spent an prolonged time in Japan, you’ll appreciate a sunny spring day. This particular spring day was made even higher with a Hachiroku drift event at Mobara Circuit.
Join me as I nerd out on 86-only mayhem.
For the uninitiated, Mobara Circuit is a multi-purpose motorsports complex nestled just across Tokyo Bay in Mobara City, Chiba. While most know Mobara for its various drift and time attack competitions, the venue also hosts motorcycle and go-kart track days, most of which happen on the lesser-known short course track just off the side of the foremost circuit.
Having attended my fair proportion of events at Mobara Circuit and being quite aware of average AE86 power output, I used to be desirous to see how these cars handled the ‘Gallery’ corner – a giant sweeping left-hander onto the straight. Typically, that is the foremost judged zone in D1 Divisional and similar grassroots competitions. For anyone who hasn’t visited Mobara in person, it’s difficult to convey on camera how much elevation change there may be at this point on the track.
Taking a stroll through the pits, there have been more AE86s than you might poke a stick at. As expected, Team Mouse and Major Force were out in numbers, with among the nicest-built and most recognisable cars. You can be kidding yourselves when you thought they’d miss an event like this.
A friend of mine, Marcello, was driving on the event in his Garage Matsuyama-built Levin for the last time before returning home to Australia. While Marcello and the remaining of Club 4AGE were charging hard for many of the day, it was sadly cut short for my Aussie counterpart when his Levin’s highly-strung engine threw off its timing belt, causing some piston-to-valve contact. Not good.
That’s the funny part about drifting, though. Despite the catastrophic failure, it was all smiles and laughs. I don’t think I might have been capable of hold the identical brave face if it had happened to me.
If you happen to’d like to envision out more of the chaos in video format, I put together a brief event recap which you’ll watch above.
I believe it’s protected to say this 40-plus-year-old chassis isn’t going anywhere anytime soon in the case of motorsport – especially drifting in Japan.
Alec Pender
Instagram: noplansco
This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
