JapShow Finale Report - Sunday 7th October 2007

We had the heavens to thank for a very pleasant weekend’s weather- warmer and drier than is reasonable to expect, especially after the summer that wiped out the June event, but the dry conditions brought out the biggest ever crowd to the show.

The JapShow started early for a huge number of people that showed up for the test day on Saturday. Not only did they get a chance to run their car on the track, they were there to witness some of the HKS Drag Series racers testing their set-ups, and in some cases, producing their best runs of the weekend. Steve Whittaker for example, ran a new personal best of 8.0 on Saturday, and others went home early, such as Dee Ireland with a badly blowing head-gasket.

Many clubs arrived early, and had a social night of camping on Saturday night that also meant they could have a few beers and they didn’t need to drive an inch to be at the Pod for the big day on Sunday.

And what a day it was! From the minute the gates opened on Sunday, it was clear that this was the event everyone had been waiting all year for. The Run What Ya Brung competition carried over from the Saturday, and set the standard for the cars running on Sunday to try and beat. There were some superb machines out on track, from 10-second MR2s and 11-second Civics through to hilarious Toyota “super trucks”. A big thanks to everyone who entered, you kept the track buzzing all day, and we appreciate your patience while the track crew cleaned up the various oil-downs that we experienced. Many, but not all of Saturday’s times were bettered.

Class A – Nissan & Datsun 10.8586 seconds @ 131.63mph Jhangir Hussain, Nissan Skyline R34 GTR

Class B – Toyota & Lexus 10.6003 seconds @ 137.10mph Shahid Mirza, Toyota MR2 Turbo Mk2

Class C – Honda & Acura 11.0899 seconds @ 131.97mph Wendell Brand, Honda Civic Mk5

Class D – Mitsubishi/Proton 11.097 seconds @ 135.54mph David Green, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3

Class E – Subaru 11.1971 @ 131.18mph Simon North, Subaru Impreza

Class F – Mazda 12.707 @ 115.61 mph Kaship Raspoot, Mazda RX7

Class G – Suzuki/Daihatsu/Isuzu 14.4470seconds @ 96.77mph Ian Davies, Daihatsu Charade GTTi

Class X - Non Road Legal (inc. vehicles on slicks) 8.271seconds @ 164.90mph Andy Barnes, Nissan Skyline R33 GTR

A massive two days worth of Run What Ya Brung times made this a tough but fascinating competition, with class A having the highest entries, making it the toughest class to succeed in. It’s great to see some new winners and new types of car topping the tables, notably an MR2 deep in the 10’s. Brilliant stuff.

Also on the dragstrip was the HKS Drag Series running at intervals throughout the day, and it was a rollercoaster ride of great racing, amazing runs and disastrous failures! You can read the full race report on the HKS Drag Series website, but congratulations to our winners: Leon Green who won the Pro class, Mick Begley who won the Street class, and Scott Whitelaw who won the Front Wheel Drive class.

The dragstrip certainly took a pounding on Sunday with some amazing demo vehicles too: the 7-second Super Street bikes were breathtaking modified Japanese motorcycles, and of course, not forgetting the Jet Car, hurtling up the strip in an amazing 6 seconds.

Away from the track, the Meguiar’s Show Car Paddock was rammed with gleaming Japanese metal, and although it’s a cliché, the judges had a very difficult time picking the top 5 cars. The shortlist was actually 20 cars, and to narrow that down was an almost impossible task, but after many heated arguments, these cars came out on top:

BEST OF SHOW - Phil Fletcher - Toyota Celica Phil’s candy red Celica is a regular at Santa Pod Show & Shine events, but his car looked astounding at the JapShow, with fully loaded ICE and bright white interior, it was the best modified car here.

TOP 5 – Ashley Manton – Honda Civic Type R Ashley’s Civic was bristling with carbon fibre offset with gleaming white paint, rolling on unique two-tone wheels and with a great stance.

TOP 5 – Mick Chanlesworth – Subaru Impreza WRi Mick’s Scooby was fairly new and the mods to it were subtle, but his attention to detail won him universal praise for the judges, with a carbon fibre dashboard and bright engine, and an interior that was so clean it looked like it had never been sat in.

TOP 5 – Mick Onions – Toyota Corolla AE86 Mick’s 1985 Corolla was in remarkable condition for the age, with smooth panels all over and a clean standard-looking interior. It was the oldest car in the show, but his car was also rolling on some up-to-the-minute rims with stretched drift-inspired low profile tyres. Nice thinking!

TOP 5 – Mark Lampard – Honda S2000 Mark’s S2000 was loaded with subtle unique touches, from the carbon fibre wing-mirrors and bonnet to the eye-catching 19” rims, Mark had sourced most of the mods from the USA himself just to be different, and it was certainly worth the effort.

Over in the drift arena, Lex and his crew didn’t give the track a minute’s break, with tyre-destroying drift action. At some points you could barely hear yourself think, with the cacophony of screaming engines and tortured tyres from 5 or more drifters in action. What a sight! Big thanks to everyone who helped fill the track with action all day.

On the other side of the track, the Live Action Arena played host to Terry Grant who put on three great shows, incorporating his new Mitsubishi Evo and two-wheeling Honda Civic. Between Terry Grant shows, the Live Action Arena hosted the handling circuit, the tight and twisty cone-dodging exercise, which was surprisingly won by Steve Linton in his Toyota Supra. The Supra is not known as a nimble car usually, but he wrestled it to the only sub-48 second run of the day. View the Handling page for the full leader board from the day.

There was also lots of static stuff to keep you busy all day too, from the extensive trade stands to the HUGE club displays. It’s hard to know where to start when describing the highlights of the club stands, but the Civic Jordan club painted the Pod yellow, and the Mk4 Supra club brought together more Supras than most people see in a lifetime in every colour of the rainbow. However, it was the SIDC that took the best club award for a huge number of cars in perfect formation combined with a great promotional unit. Top work!

A massive thanks to everyone who made it to the JapShow Finale 2007, we hope you had a great day at the Pod, and we welcome you back in 2008.

Check out the JapShow Finale Gallery for more photos.

New UK Records set at the JapShow Finale 2007

It almost comes as no surprise to find that the boundaries of drag racing with Japanese cars have been pushed back once again after a storming weekend at the JapShow Finale at Santa Pod Raceway. Records were being observed for Front Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive and Rear Wheel drive Japanese cars, and all three were smashed in dramatic style.

Scott Whitelaw ran a new UK FWD record for a Japanese car in his CPL Racing Honda Civic Type R of 10.691 seconds and 137.27mph, backing up his personal best and beating Paul Jones’ record which stood for just one week.

Andy Barnes ran a new UK 4WD record in his Sumo Power Nissan Skyline R33 GTR of 8.408 seconds and 162.48mph. Andy ran a personal best of 8.271@164.90 but failed to back it up to 1% for the record. This is an outright record for any 4WD car in the UK.

Steve Whittaker ran a new UK RWD record for a Japanese car in his XS Power Toyota Supra, which ran a record pass of 8.389 seconds, and a record speed of 168.61mph. Steve also ran an 8.013 second pass and one with a terminal speed of 173.14mph but failed to back up either to within 1%.

All records stated are backed-up to within 1% at the same event in accordance with MSA regulations.