The annual pilgrimage to Tsukuba Circuit for Hachiroku Competition is a should for any AE86 fanatic. Final 12 months’s occasion, held on Christmas Day, was proof of that with one of many greatest turnouts ever seen for the event.
Greater than 300 AE86s from throughout Japan descended on Tsukuba, with some followers coming from as far-off as Kyushu – probably the most southerly of the nation’s 4 largest islands – to be part of it.
With one-make occasions like these, there is no such thing as a scarcity of selection in fashion and builds. On the Hachiroku Competition, that meant all the things from purpose-built drift and time assault vehicles to low-kilometre, factory-spec panda Truenos that not often see the solar.
Certainly one of my favorite issues about Tsukuba Circuit is the placement of its pits. Positioned proper within the centre of the primary course, you’re surrounded by motion, which makes for an incredible environment.
With no storage doorways, taped-off areas or unique zones, the Tsukuba paddock is ideal for capturing all the things that goes on all through the day. And there was lots to see on the Hachiroku Competition.
A lot of Japan’s best-known Hachiroku speciality outlets have sturdy presence on the competition. Tec-Artwork’s introduced out a fleet of AE86s, together with their well-known drift vehicles in addition to one in every of my favourites – their metallic inexperienced time assault Trueno.
The day was cut up into a number of observe periods, with a mixture of drift and time assault. The drifting is in fact a spotlight, and a number of the greatest do it in AE86s they’ve owned for 25+ years.
Nonetheless, there’s something significantly particular about a number of the N2 time assault vehicles, a handful of which run sub-one-minute laps. For these not aware of Tsukuba TC2000 lap occasions, that’s quicker than a McLaren Senna across the 2.0km course.
Seeing Tetsuya Hibino out in his authentic D1 Grand Prix automobile was one other huge focus of the day. Watching Hibino-san get on the doorways of different drift Hachis by means of T1 at Tsukuba confirmed simply how good this ’80s chassis might be.
Hiroshi Takahashi, AKA Kaicho, returned along with his now-repaired Working Free AE86, a formidable turnaround since his disagreement with a guard rail again in November. In typical Kaicho trend, he was utilizing the whole thing of the tarmac, showering spectators with grime on the hairpin.
In a really comparable inexperienced to Tec-Artwork’s N2 AE86, Kojima-san’s 20V Trueno was additionally out for the day. This was simply one of many tidiest drift vehicles on the competition.
It’s not possible to play favourites at an occasion like this, nonetheless, there’s something so timeless about this street-inspired Hachiroku. 13-inch wheels is usually a controversial matter within the AE86 world, however this automobile does the look justice.
Regardless of the numerous variety of AE86s which were exported the world over, occasions like the Hachiroku Competition are a reminder that the eight-six scene continues to be very a lot alive in Japan.
As an proprietor of an AE86 again in Australia, I couldn’t assist however be impressed to empty my pockets and spend eye-watering quantities of cash on my automobile. I’m positive I wasn’t the one one, both.
The countdown is now on for the 2023 Hachiroku Competition, however till then you’ll be able to verify a lot extra pictures under, plus a video I shot on the day above.
Alex Pender
Instagram: noplansco
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