VIDEO> Violent Drifting At Ebisu w/ Naoto Suenaga
AMAZING!!! Check out violent high speed drifting at its best, from this helmet-cam video of D1 Grand Prix driver Naoto Suenaga from Team Orange in his missile – an RPS13 Nissan 180SX “battle car.” Most people know Ebisu for its legendary Minami Course (the famous South Course used in D1GP competition), but check out Naoto as he drifts the high-speed Higashi Course (East Course) at Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Japan. (more…)
OH SNAP> Tsuisou! Tandem Drifting at Ebisu Circuit
I love Ebisu Circuit!!! And I’m not the only one. This photo is one of the reasons why! Look at the white S13, being driven by Naoto Suenaga from the world famous Team Orange – his front wheel is right up against the sideskirt of the purple S13, being driven by street drifting hero Naoki Nakamura of Team Burst!
No wonder people from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Japan several times a year! (more…)
COVERAGE> The Bay Area Celebrates the AE86
The common man didn't have to settle with just dreaming about the AE86 and gazing over pictures of its bodywork in magazines. No, instead, the common man could actually get behind the wheel of one since a new, fully-loaded Corolla GT-S would cost on average $12,000 at the time. And though AE86 became the last generation of the affordable front-engine, rear-wheel-drive compact from Toyota (until the FR-S/FT-86, we hope), it is still remembered, still used and still loved by the common man. And that love is why the Bay Area joins together each year to celebrate this iconic vehicle. I give you The Bay Area 8-6 Day meet! Read more...
NEWSWORTHY> Floating Cars in Fukushima Japan
Oh no! I’ve been glued to my computer screen, unable to take my eyes off the Al Jazeera/YouTube live stream that has been playing nonstop coverage of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Northeast Japan yesterday (March 10) at 2:42pm, not to mention the resulting tsunami that has been flooding parts of the Fukushima prefecture and other parts of Northeast Japan.
MotorMavens is not CNN or NBC or ABC or NHK. Why post news coverage such as this, then? Simple, really. I have developed many strong friendships in Japan, and I’m praying for all the people in Japan that are enduring this insane natural disaster… especially my close friends and family!
In case you didn’t read the story I posted on the site a couple days ago, featuring the Team Orange CT9A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9, Fukushima Japan is the home of The Holy Land of Drifting, Ebisu Circuit. It’s also the home of my very close friends from Team Orange. I’ve been trying to call their mobile phones for hours, but I can’t reach any of them. I can only imagine that phone circuits must be jammed, busy, or non-functioning because of the tsunami… (more…)
ARCHAEOLOGY> Team Orange CT9A Lancer Evo 9
These photos really are old - I shot most of these photos back in 2007, when the car was first built. In fact, I shot these photos with a Canon 40D and my old school 20D - that lets you know how old these pics are - those cameras are archaic now! That being said, I apologize for the crap photos. Old as they may be, these photos depict Kumakubo's then-new Lancer Evo 9 - the world's very first Mitsubishi Lancer ever to be built for professional drifting competition. Read more...
VIDEO> Riding the Wall at Ebisu Circuit
So last night on Facebook, I was talking to Luke Huxham, an Aussie-living-in-Japan who is producing a documentary film about drifting in Japan called “We Are Drift.” Undaunted by hard work and a shoestring budget, Luke spends most of his waking hours either shooting drifting footage or urging others to support his new documentary film. In my experience, I’ve come to learn that relentless persistence like this can only mean one thing – EVERYONE is going to know about this film in the drifting scene.
As Luke showed me the newest teaser video clip he shot at “The Holy Land of Drifting,” Ebisu Circuit just this past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces in it! Namely, Formula D driver Calvin Wan (and his RHD zenki S14 Silvia) and Naoto Suenaga (and his white RPS13 180SX) from Team Orange. We even see a brief cameo from Team Orange’s hilarious crew chief, Igusa, driving his girl’s black R32 Skyline 4-door.
Look at how close Calvin gets to the WALL at Ebisu’s School Course! Awesome! And look how close these guys lead and follow! Since this is just a small sampling of the action we can expect in Luke’s video, I can’t wait to see the whole documentary film!
:: Antonio Alvendia
PS: Bonus Points>> Can anyone spot other D1 drivers in the video? And can anyone recognize the shirt Naoto is wearing?
We Are Drift Documentary Film Website
VIDEO> Honeymoon at Ebisu Circuit
Exactly one year ago, my good friends Jody and Chris Manacop (you might recognize the covers he’s shot for Performance Auto Sound Magazine, but you probably wouldn’t know his name cause PASmag effed up more than once and put someone else’s name under the photo credit! LOL) got married… on the day before Toshiki Yoshioka won first place at Formula D Las Vegas.
So today, on the 1-year anniversary of our good friends getting hitched, I decided to post up a video from their honeymoon. (No, no, you won’t see any night-vision camera stuff here… Google Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian for that.) I’m posting up a pretty cool video from their honeymoon in Japan; these two decided to go to the Summer Drift Festival at Ebisu Circuit for their honeymoon!
As luck would have it, I had just finished a photo mission in Germany, Belgium and the UK, so I met up with them in Japan during their “Honeymoon at Ebisu.” So there we were… Chris, Jody, Kumakubo, Naoto and the rest of our Ebisu Family in Fukushima Japan… just chillin out, looking for delicious Japanese drinks and snacks at the kombini (7-Eleven)… when Kumakubo asked Chris and Jody if they wanted to check out Ebisu’s Touge course.
In the words of Tokyo socialite Kenta Ogawara, Chris responded “well, OBVIOUSRYYYY!” and hopped into Kumakubo’s yellow Autech PS13 Silvia Convertible with his Canon SD 800IS point and shoot camera and an old school drifting helmet, which looked more like a baseball helmet.
So here’s the video that Chris shot with his SD 800IS, on his first ride up and down Ebisu’s touge with the King of the Hill himself, Kumakubo at the wheel… and the white RPS13 180SX in the background is being driven by Team Orange’s Naoto Suenaga with Chris’s wife Jody sitting shotgun.
So HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Chris and Jody! And thanks for the funny ass video! See you in Vegas tomorrow night! I’m gonna stop name dropping and get on the road now!
:: Antonio Alvendia
(PS: Excuse Chris’s high pitched laughter, LOL)
WEBMINING> D1GP Miami, shot by Floridaracing.org
Thankfully, with the help of our friend Google, we were able to find images posted on a forum by one of the guys from Floridaracing.org. (We've seen some of these guys at the track before - whenever we see them at the track, we see them with multiple Canon DSLR bodies and some huge Canon lenses.) We were searching the internet for photos for a few days, and the ones found on Floridaracing.org's album seem to be the best photos we've found from D1 Miami thus far. Props, guys! Read more...
