Yesterday it was back to Nikko Circuit for another mid-week drift meeting, this one held by Kazama Auto Service and Pit ORC. As normal for this time of year in Japan, the weather was cloudy and warm, but fortunately the rain held off for the most part. After fighting a seemingly endless fleet of slow moving trucks on the highway, I arrived at Nikko Circuit to find tire smoke filling the air and a large number of cars already out on the course ripping it up.
What first struck my eye was Kazama Auto's JZX110 Mark II demo car pictured in the opening photo. This car happens to be featured on the cover of the latest issue of Option2 magazine. Speaking of Option, Daijiro Inada was also there with his green "Stream Z Jr." 180SX but I did not see him on the track. Maybe he had some machine trouble? Nonetheless, he was still in really good spirits and was enjoying the event.
Like most drift events, there were several different classes based on driver skill level. Here we see a group waiting to enter the track. Check out how wide the front wheels are on the C33 Nissan Laurel in the middle!
While on the subject of that particular Laurel, take a look at this photo. THIS is why drifting at Nikko is so great. That front driver's side wheel has to be at least a foot or two in the air. You can also see sparks flying out from the undercarriage as it scrapes along the ground. Look at the expression on the passenger's face! Priceless.
This event also had a strong turnout from my fellow gaijin including the guys from Powervehicles and Newera. The Powervehicles JZX100 Mark II is an absolute beast!
Although it retains a mostly stock appearance, this 3-door AE86 Trueno was performing very well.
Here's the Newera Levin. A beautiful car with an even nicer sound.
Although it wasn't out there drifting, the Pit ORC JZS161 Aristo was so cool looking that I had to post a photo of it. Great fitment on the Advan wheels. I really like seeing Aristos that are tuned for performance instead of just VIP style.
This JZX81 Mark II was part of a group of three JZX81's at the event. All were sitting super low with very aggressive wheels. These are such cool looking cars, check out how long the trunk looks!
Here is the 180SX from the famous drift team Sexy Knights. The rear wheels are anodized, which is a pretty rare sight here in Japan.
Perfect dirt drop execution by this JZX90 Mark II from Technical Garage Sudou.
Man there were tons of nice AE86's at Nikko. This is the same car from Ukiya Shoukai that I shot at Tsukuba back in the winter. It looks black in the photo but like the Do-Luck Supra Antonio shot, it's actually a deep purple color. Concave face TE37's are one of the best wheels ever.
This decal-less 180SX was another one of the day's top performers.
I almost never see R31 Skylines on the street, so it was really nice to see this one out there sliding around. The driver was quite talented as well.
The Powervehicles Mark II was dominating the category of smoke production.
It's not too often that you see a Y33 Nissan Cedric/Gloria at a drift event. Especially one with the Benz style front end conversion.
Another shot of the Sexy Style car.
I love the body color on the Syndicate S14.
The JZX81 group in the pits.
R32 Skyline takes to the air.
The Hoshino Car Style Silvia.
Another shot of the Sudou JZX90. I love everything about this car.
More JZX81 hotness.
Powervehicles JZX100 again.
Another view of the Kazama JZX110 with its radioactive Gram Lights 57D's.
And in closing here is a shot of the driver of a JZZ30 Soarer desperately trying to save his car from spinning after entering the corner with too much angle. He may have spun, but at least it looks really dramatic in snap shot form.
