|
|
Apr 18, 2017 10:52:16 GMT
|
Did someone mention Japan? Loving that first Toyota CROWN! I know of an unused coupé close to my home, manual with the 4M-engine, but also as rotten as a pear...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 31, 2017 20:20:22 GMT
|
Another month gone by since the last update, still at the "WE HAVE TO GO BACK!"-stage. I'm afraid I'll be staying at that stage right until the day we really do go back.... Looks like you were bumming around Shiodome. I've stayed in Jimbocho (the next station east) plenty of times, but usually only the first night I get there. We did spend some time in Shiodome, mostly on our visit to the Hamarikyu Gardens (lovely place, perfect for some peace and quiet for a change _DSC8749 by G C, on Flickr If...no... when we go back, Tsukiji fish market, right next to Hamarikyu, will be high on my list of places I'd like to visit as we didn't have (or made) time for this last year. Some superfresh sushi instead of the cheap stuff we bought daily in the Family Markets/7Elevens A nice clip I've found about bmx-ing in Jaan, cool edits and a few places I recognized. But most of all, Mario Kart-action ClickyAnd an article about Tatsumi. Having been there: the photos give you an idea of the sort of cars you will get to see, but nothing is able to catch the atmosphere of that spot and the laidbackness (is that I word? Well, now it is.) of the people visiting it. CLICKY
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 25, 2017 21:45:27 GMT
|
Can't go wrong with a boxy old J car slammed to the ground, looking forward to some on the road pics!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 25, 2017 21:19:48 GMT
|
Another awesome thread from the OP! We salute you sir! Hahaha, thank you very much! All of this is very good indeed. love reading your threads, living the dream springs to mind. We have a few lads who we race with that seem to have a 'whos got the biggest balls' competition This is prime example- Oooh, quite a long way from living the dream...believe me If I was, I would probably be driving myself instead of standing in the rain, soaking my pretty basic camera gear, waiting for a handfull of cars driving past at high speeds while I'm chewing on some sandwiches from the day before. Those are some nice jumps too, nice! My "hardcore rally friend" went to the WRC Finland: "the rally of a 1000 lakes...and 1001 jumps". Cherains jump is nothing when comparing it with those guys, but still....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 25, 2017 21:11:20 GMT
|
In true Belgian style: it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings....and in this case she even sang twice The evening of the rally we heard that one of the competitors filed a complaint about non-legal tires on Cherains car (and two others), that complaint was dismissed the next day. End of story, right? Well....NO. The same guy repeated his complaint, saying that the tires were homologated for the WRC rallies, but that they hadn't published this yet...And because of this, the tires were still non-legal. Cherain and the two other cars are disqualified six days after the race, the guy filing the complaint is now "the winner". A very wise guy (ahem) in a very serious movie (ahem...) once said "Ask any racer. Any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning", but this isn't the way I would want to win things... (Or maybe I've become a Cherain-fanboy, but...really...look at that jump again and try to blame me for it! ) Anyway, pictures! _DSC6464 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6465 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6468 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6470 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6475 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6481 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6487 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6493 bewerkt-3 by G C, on Flickr _DSC6523 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Reasonably happy with my pics considering the conditions (rain all day long, luckily no wind worth mentioning), but too much shots that look the same (panning the car from left to right in 80% of the pics). So next time some more variation (and less rain if possible, thank you).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 21, 2017 19:36:04 GMT
|
The Escort did a respectable distance airborne, but one of the moderns was on another level of dedication. Every single car braked lightly before the crest, we could hear Cherain coming (this guy has a reputation of taking risks....and quite often not finishing) in the distance: "Yeah, he'll probably slow down about now...or now...or... YOU CRAZY curse word!!! " Pedal to the metal, landing after 30-40 metres almost on the other side of the road and into the forest. www.facebook.com/paulfraikinchampions/videos/1818097598440841/In the end Cherain also won the rally, so well done chap The balls on that guy are gigantic - impressive stuff Rumour has it that his racing seat was custom-made because his nuts wouldn't fit otherwise Best sounding cars were the 911 GT3's, no doubt about it: One of the 911's on the jump _DSC6443 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr And another two of that first E30 _DSC6460 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6462 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 21, 2017 12:01:50 GMT
|
_DSC6438 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr This is the coolest photo I've seen in a long time. Awesome Sauce It was the first time they drove that course, but the woods were absolutly packed with people. The Escort did a respectable distance airborne, but one of the moderns was on another level of dedication. Every single car braked lightly before the crest, we could hear Cherain coming (this guy has a reputation of taking risks....and quite often not finishing) in the distance: "Yeah, he'll probably slow down about now...or now...or... YOU CRAZY curse word!!! " Pedal to the metal, landing after 30-40 metres almost on the other side of the road and into the forest. www.facebook.com/paulfraikinchampions/videos/1818097598440841/In the end Cherain also won the rally, so well done chap A very cool and quick Manta, which would end up winning the rally later that day. _DSC6390 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Ascona B I usually venture out there end of April early may at the earliest when servicing and often to Flanders, better weather, usually! I've seen the blue and white BMW up in Flanders, less escorts in the events I attend but they aren't purely historic or full belgian championship events, more regional. Whoops, I hang my head in shame...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 20, 2017 19:21:33 GMT
|
Another Mk2 Escort _DSC6396 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6398 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr One of the moderns sadly entered a curve a bit too fast, understeering to the outside and hitting a concrete post with its right rear wheel _DSC6419 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Hmmm...looks like it's kind of heading for me... _DSC6420 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr A couple minutes earlier I was thinking about getting on top of that rock to have a better view, but it didn't seem the safest spot so I stayed right behind my tree. Good call I guess _DSC6421 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Four wheels on the ground, but not the way you want it to be.... _DSC6425 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Zero wheels on the ground, exactly the way I want it to be... (but not with my own cars I guess ) _DSC6438 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 19, 2017 20:30:20 GMT
|
_DSC6380 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6381 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Another E30 M3, this time in a very cool Camel-livery. Later on that stage they had a little mishap: the wipers packed up and sadly they left the road, not too much damage but the radiator was hit...game over _DSC6384 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr A very cool and quick Manta, which would end up winning the rally later that day. _DSC6390 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 19, 2017 20:25:01 GMT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 19, 2017 20:20:31 GMT
|
Because one of my friends is really into rallying and his regular crew had other plans this weekend, I volunteered to accompany him to "Rally Spa". This was, as you've probably guessed, organised in and around the town that is also known for its circuit (and the water, yes ). Being the second race on the calendar of the Belgian championship, there were both moderns as historics tearing up the countryside. I'll try and focus on the historics over here, but I hope you won't mind the odd modern racer I'll probably trow in the mix. I'm already counting down to the next rally, so I guess I'm hooked... so expect some updates throughout the year... _DSC6246 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr A VW Beetle in running gear _DSC6322 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Well, they do call it the Impreza " classic" afterall, so it has every right to be here? _DSC6329 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr _DSC6332 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr Some fast Ford love _DSC6345 bewerkt by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 11, 2017 18:45:26 GMT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 24, 2017 20:40:19 GMT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 21, 2017 16:13:02 GMT
|
Was the next stop Sudenlyshita? This thread is going down the drain
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 21, 2017 12:29:57 GMT
|
Oooh, and if we were childish (which we obviously aren't, at all) we would have laughed pretty hard when we saw the name of this station. _DSC9284 by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 21, 2017 12:20:54 GMT
|
A couple extra random pics Another taxi _DSC5208 by G C, on Flickr Shibuya Crossing _DSC5302 by G C, on Flickr How we navigated most of the time:"Are we in the right lane?" Not sure, i'll check Google maps and our satnav.....hmm, still not sure... "I have to know now... Does the first Japanese character look the same as the road we should be taking?" .... I looks roughly the same...I think"Then let's go!" _DSC7436 by G C, on Flickr And finally, a cellphone pic I really like. Looks almost as if the building was copy-pasted into the image IMG_20160711_191131 by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 17, 2017 21:18:54 GMT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 17, 2017 21:15:19 GMT
|
Hmmm, I love those MoonEyes hubcaps
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 17, 2017 21:12:08 GMT
|
"Only in Japan" was something we must have said dozens of time during our trip. I mean, how often do you get to see a Toyota CROWN taxi in another country...? Oh, and that BMW E93 in Barbie pink...almost didn't notice it... _DSC5071 by G C, on Flickr Although, there is no (stock) car that screams "Japan" louder than a Nissan Skyline. In this case a fully OEM R33 GTR spotted close to the Tokyo Tower in the Minato prefecture: styling-wise not really special (R33 is to me the least desirable of the modern Skylines in terms of looks, but still...wouldn't mind owning one) , but mechanically (RB26) and technically (Attesa 4-wheel drive system, Hicas rear wheel steering,...) these things were mightily impressive when launched. And, as we later found out during our little exploit on the C1... even stock they still cover ground fast enough _DSC5080 by G C, on Flickr In other news: today someone who read about our trip contacted me on facebook. He's going to Japan for 4 weeks...just like he did in the previous years and will be drifting at Ebisu, drifting at Nikko Circuit, doing some touges, checking out some garages, and so on,... Not that I'm jealous of him... at all, but I am extremely jealous... and checking the prices of flights...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 17, 2017 12:26:19 GMT
|
The Yokohama Ferris Wheel seen from the highway. I think we were heading to Tatsumi for the first time at that moment,...too bad we picked the wrong Tatsumi... Pro-tip: check whether you are heading for the parking lot on the clockwise or counter-clockwise road... P1020633 by G C, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
|