The JapShow June 2005 Report (click photos to enlarge)

The JapShow June 2005 Gallery

JapShow started early for some with the JapShow test day on Saturday 18th. The weather was scorching hot, but hundreds of club cars and Run What Ya Brung cars made the trip to the Pod a day early to make a weekend of what was to come. Some of the top cars were warming up and testing settings, including the CRD Supra and Impreza who were making a welcome return to the Pod after a too-long absence. Impromptu appearances by the Fireforce jet car and Terry Grant made this so much more than a normal Run What Ya Brung day, and the evening was finished off with a barbeque and a beer as was befitting such a fabulous day.

Sunday started (very) bright and early for most, and temperatures were right up in the 30's right from sunrise. Club areas filled up first with well over a thousand cars present. It was a fantastic sight to see rows and rows of gleaming metal and we want to extend a warm thank-you to all who attended. You always put on a great show.

The track action kicked-off straight away, with the famous dragstrip warm and dry from the word "go". Run What Ya Brung action was running throughout the day, with nearly 300 cars entered into the system, competing for trophies in 7 manufacturer-based classes. Run What Ya Brung always throws up a few wildcards, and it was interesting to see new cars and faces setting the pace on the strip.

Below is a run down of the top times in each class. We will hopefully be able to bring you a top three in each class shortly. If you see your name here and you have not collected your trophy, please contact Santa Pod.

Also taking place on track was the eagerly anticipated Pro Shootout, featuring some of the top cars on the Jap tuner scene. The shootout was run on proper drag racing rules with competitors expected to make three qualifying runs in the morning, and eliminations (knock-out rounds) would take place in the afternoon. Qualifying results were as follows:

Qualifying also saw a few of the pace-setters suffering from irreparable problems, and some of the first-round races were run on bye runs (no opposition) due to these breakages. Dave Rowe in the CRD Impreza had a string of problems. first of all a broken propshaft which was replaced, then after an incredible wheels-up launch (first for a 4WD car?) and storming run, the car returned to the pits with engine damage. Sadly the car wasn't able to make the first round. Mick Begly's R32 also suffered engine damage, but the car was cannibalised by Dee Ireland for its fuel pumps to keep Dee in the competition. Top sportsmanship Mick! We can't wait to see the car when it gets its new Abbey engine. Guy Chamberlain didn't make the first round of eliminations due to a crunched gearbox, but top marks to Guy for getting a front-wheel drive car into the competition at all!

Eliminations Round One:

Andy Barnes had little problem despatching Nito Morelli, who never quite managed to set the times the car promised. Gary Passingham had a disaster in the first round of eliminations, dozing on the lights to let his #1 customer, Dan Wrench, beat him at his own game! To make matters worse, Dan retired the car despite the win due to differential problems. Adrian Smith was on a bye run in round one due to Dave Rowe's departure, and Paul Blamire left Tony Charles for dead when he stormed to a frankly stunning 10.4 second pass in his impreza. This appears to be the fastest ever run by a Subaru at Santa Pod. Great stuff! Dee Ireland threw all his eggs in one basket to defeat Mike Haywood, despite the continuing problems with the awesome Supra. Leon Green and Tim Webster were both on lonely trips up the strip due to the retirement of their opponents.

Eliminations Round Two:

Andy Barnes was on a bye run for round two- the result of qualifying number 1 means that the journey to the finals is easier! Adrian Smith was also on a bye run for round two due to Dan Wrench's retirement. Paul Blamire was up against Dee Ireland, and this is where things go interesting, as Paul was absolutely on form, and Dee was lacking consistency. Despite an incredible 10.5 second run from Paul, Dee was starting to get things under control again, and smoked his way to a 10.1 pass at over 140mph. Leon Green was well off the pace this weekend, and despite expectations of 9's, Leon couldn't get his nitrous working quite right and suffered at the hands of Tim Webster who got his fantastic Skyline on song at the critical moment to pull a 10.2 out of the hat. Tim was jubilant, but Leon had frustration written all over his face.

Eliminations Semi-Final:

Probably the most exciting racing all weekend took place in the semis of the pro-shootout, where Andy Barnes was pitched against Adrian Smith. Adrian 's consistency was excellent as usual, but Andy clearly had the quicker car over all. Andy launched hard and was well in the lead, but as he changed up from second, he stuffed it back into first! Andy lost momentum immediately, and Adrian came flying past, but was then chased to the line by an infuriated Andy, who just couldn't quite make up the ground needed. That's racing! In the other semi, things were closer still. With Tim's times coming crashing down, Dee would really have his work cut out to make it through. As both cars left the line hard, it was impossible to separate the two. Dee 's car smoking its tyres in the trademark way, and Tim's car laying down the power hard. No one knew who had won until the finish lights flashed up. As Dee came down the return road to the pits, he opened his door and asked who had won. he had by fractions of a second!

Pro Shootout Eliminatilion Tree:

PRO185 0.467 11.258 142.02 PRO139 0.395 12.610 114.73		PRO185 1.575 17.368 52.56 Bye
Bye       Bye
PRO153 3.482 10.614 133.93 PRO138 0.602 11.896 122.95		PRO138 Broke/Abort PRO160 1.241 16.577 88.72
PRO160 0.974 16.218 85.40 PRO82 Broke/Abort
PRO106 1.168 10.477 133.17 PRO159 0.868 12.965 109.80		PRO106 0.192 10.558 132.77 PRO81 0.136 10.129 143.74
PRO81 0.518 10.110 144.21 PRO128 0.569 11.731 125.29
PRO141 1.052 11.524 140.99 PRO107 Broke/Abort		PRO141 0.894 11.218 137.65 PRO127 0.627 10.278 138.47
PRO127 2.256 20.711 66.17 PRO37 Broke/Abort
Semi Finals / Final
PRO185 0.110 11.094 127.18 PRO160 0.323 10.722 134.31		PRO160 0.422 10.810 134.23 PRO81 0.534 9.994 148.43		PRO81 Winner Dee Ireland
PRO81 0.411 10.209 141.45 PRO127 0.685 10.334 141.14

The finals were held up by Fireforce's enormous top-end crash at over 200mph. fortunately the driver, Martin Hill was absolutely fine, and jumped from the wreckage unaided. The car, however, was much worse off, and is unlikely to be back in action for a while. All the best to the Fireforce crew who work so hard for our entertainment.

When the finals came round at 5pm , the tension was incredible. Dee was certain of only one thing, and that was that Adrian would run a mid 10! Dee would have to get the car to stick and remain reliable. and that's exactly what he did, finishing off Adrian with a well-deserved 9.94 at over 148mph! Top marks to Dee for getting back into the 9's when things were not going right. The 9-second run was made without nitrous, and in conditions that were frankly adverse. Traction was not 100% due to the track overheating. no more glue could be added because it would pull up the soft, hot tarmac. Power was not 100% due to the incredibly hot air affecting the performance of the turbo-powered cars, and Dee had a string of technical issues that prevented the car from tearing up the record-book. We can't wait for October. this car isn't going to go any slower! Congratulations to Dee for winning, but well done to all the competitors for the great show of racing and top times!

At the JapShow, things cantered around the track for the racing, but there was so much more going on on site! The drift-track hosted three incredible shows of drifting action, and was a massive hit once again. We'll let the pictures do the talking for this. If you fancy seeing some more drift action, check out GT Battle at Rockingham on 25 th & 26 th June.

The trade area was buzzing with top trade and demo stalls, and there was something for everyone, weather you were after a rear light cluster. or a picture of a page 3 girl! Dominating the trade area was the pace products marquee, showing their support of the Jap scene, and the range of top quality cooling and lubrication products on offer. If you saw something you were interested in, check out www.paceproducts.co.uk for more info.

The Pace RWYB Sticker Draw was open to anyone who went down the strip with a Pace number plate sticker displayed on the back of their car. The winner was Anthony Chun Kit Chan in his Honda Civic Type R who received a drum of Hi Octane Cool Blue race fuel.

The Maguiar's Show Car Paddock was packed with top cars, and it was a crying shame that we could only pick three winners. so top marks go to Craig Mudd's Subaru Impreza (1 st ), Craig Prescott's Mazda RX-8 (2 nd ), and Paul Jackman's Nissan 300ZX (3 rd ) for cutting through the superb competition to take home the bacon (erm, Meguiar's products actually!).

JapShow is now over until October, but we can't wait to see all the top cars back on the track, and all the show and club cars in the paddock! Thanks to all who attended, we hope you had a great time!

The JapShow June 2005 Gallery