Time Attack UK - UK cars to compete at Tsukuba

[nismoman]

any pictures or vid of the winning r34 ,that must be one fast car

[Listerofsmeg]

pics....

Tsukuba - a photoset on Flickr

[GTR R34]

Greet results for the uk cars.
The 59 second lap is amazing for a car first time out amazing result for the aussie gtr.
Good to hear the gtr's did well.

[Hugo]

Originally Posted by nismoman

any pictures or vid of the winning r34 ,that must be one fast car

[nismoman]

NICE

[MrLeone]

That is pure porn.. If that car comes available in the future, then I will buy it!
Thats for sure..

[stuartstaples]

Is that front splitter damaged on the M-Speed car or is the shape deliberate? (How did it get the damage or why the hell did they shape it like that?)

[Hugo]

That's indeed a bit strange..

[Hugo]

Here's some video footage of the M-Speed YouTube - Tsukuba Super Lap 2007 Part2 (from 4:25)

[m6beg]

Originally Posted by stuartstaples

Is that front splitter damaged on the M-Speed car or is the shape deliberate? (How did it get the damage or why the hell did they shape it like that?)

Made like it Stuart for Tsukuba for cornering.

Mick

[banzai g]

Anybody any idea of the engine spec of the m-speed r34 ???

[GTR R34]

Originally Posted by Hugo

Besides the australian gtr and m speed gtr what other gtr's competed at the event?

[Andy Barnes]

Hi all,

We're all finally back home and what a week its been. Everyone has thier own stories to tell and Tsukuba is just the tip!

Further to the updates I scrabbled together in the week the events continued to unfold and test us all. In the end we all came away very happy even though lady luck could have been a bit better here and there for Zen and Fensport, what an experience we'll all never forget.

Prior to the trip our aim for our 350Z was less than 1 minute at the track but it didnt happen. Our quickest was 1.03.5 and although the car was better than ever, it was working hard on the tight and twisty track of Tsukuba.

Although we didnt hit our target, I am pleased that on Monday Tarzan Yamada drove our 350Z for a session and managed a 1.03. OK it took more sessions for me to catch up but I am really pleased to match Tarzan's time in the car so Ive come away happy that I drove the car 110% on the edge ( as those who were there may have witnessed with my large 'do or die' lap at the end in which I exited the last fast corner broadside towards the wall ) I also believe that with more sessions for us all, we would have seen the times fall further without a doubt.

Although I visited Tsukuba last year to watch and get some ideas for our own trip, having now driven the track I can advise its NOTHING like the videos and you cannot grasp how small the track is and without any run-off area, just hard grass and then walls. No wonder the place is regarded as the Mecca for car setup, it has to be 100% right for a good result as you are constantly doing something, as a driver there is no let-up in the car and no time at all to relax, the straights are extremely short and by the time youve exited on to them and changed gears a couple of times you're back in a corner. Its like a large go-kart track, nothing like anything Ive ever driven before thats for sure. Although I had respect for the times in the past, I now have a new found respect for people like HKS, M Speed and Cyber who get those cars around that track as quick as they do, god its impressive - not impossible but impressive. I guess like anthing if that were our local track we could spend a bit of time perfecting a car to it but to turn up with the power and ratios we all did, we missed a trick this time around as its just so critical to get it right and the locals have obviously done that.

We'll be updating our Sumo website this week with a full write up and Rob will be also updating the Time Attack site too so keep an eye on updates this week when we get back into the swing of things.

I have loaded up some pictures particularly of our car etc, I have other pictures of everyone else but thought I would leave them to tell thier own stories how they want.

This event was a dream for me and Rob and we were so pleased to live-it along with our other tuning friends. I am sure this is not the end for Tsukuba, rather the beginning, now we know what the place is like and how to attack it, we can return prepared to run better numbers in future. The Time Attack Series continues to support our scene in the best possible way and this trip, although with much more personal meaning to me, is an extension of that and our vision for events in future. I believe that the trip has demonstrated not only that we can provide the best platform for our industry here in the UK but also our professional approach extends overseas and can make things happen for real and without drama based on good decisions and leaning on industry friends that are able to provide us the keys to unlock doors for a common goal.

At this point we would like to thank the following people who have supported us to make this trip happen and without whose help none of it would have happened - thank you for your support and believing in our ability to carry it off successfully. I would like to add that the people listed below are supporters of us all here in the UK and extended thier help whether financially or in service to help us in a foreign country and that we should remember them in future in this regard, they put thier hands out to help us live the dream :

Time Attack Series UK
Do-Luck Racing Service Japan
Boom & Sumo Power UK and Japan
Toyo Tires, UK, Europe and Japan
JapaneseUsedCars.com Japan
Autoglym UK and Japan
HKS Europe and Japan
Sunoco Fuels Japan
TM Works Japan
DAMD Inc Japan
BLITZ Japan
Power Enterprises Japan
ARC International Japan
KunnyZ
News Publishing Japan
Tsukuba Circuit Japan
RC Developments
Zen Performance
Fensport Performance
Clash Productions France

and especially to Maz from HKS Europe for being there for translation and general help to me and everyone else.

The man that makes it all possible : Mr Ito, Do-Luck Racing Service




























Now back to work.....I will be catching up on emails etc this week for those who have contacted me, also we plan to release dates for 2008 imminently too for those waiting on entry to the Series in 2008, its high on the agenda all bar a couple of phone calls this week.

Cheers and thanks to all 29 people who came along with us,we had a great time and enjoyed every minute.

Cheers

Andy

[hyrev]

Originally Posted by Hugo

That pic was from last year.

[Hugo]

Congratulations Andy and all the others for living the dream, great result for a first outing on Tsukuba! Hope to see lot's more non-Japanese competition on Tsukuba in the future!