JapShow Finale 2009 - Report
Read the JapShow Finale report below and view photos on the JapShow 2009 Gallery page.
The JapShow Finale is over for 2009. With Europe’s fastest and most powerful Japanese cars gathered in one place, and wall-to-wall autumn sunshine giving the Pod a glorious glow, all the signs were good as the gates opened on Sunday morning. The Saturday test day had already seen Johnny McKeon’s GTR Skyline run a 9.4 in street trim, along with a whole host of excellent Run What Ya Brung times, providing a welcome opening act to the action on the main day.
The main show day on Sunday saw a welcome drop in the wind, and a cloudless sky, with thousands of Japanese cars from all over the country descending on Santa Pod for the annual end of year pilgrimage. Club display areas and the main car park quickly filled up, and the JapShow was all staged for launch!
The dragstrip was bone dry and ready to go from the start, with eager drag-fans out on track setting more hot times across the classes. Jaw dropping machines hit the strip HARD, and 11-second runs were all over the show. The highlights of the RWYB were Robert Shadwell’s 9-second run in his heavily modded R32 GTR and Ben Linney’s 10.8 second run in his almost-stock R35 GTR. Amazing stuff from the Nissans as usual. But it was the Toyota Hilux of Ian Powell running 10.0s on jacked-up suspension that really turned heads!
RWYB
Sharing the track with the RWYB was the HKS Drag Series. With championships to be decided, there were some upsets and great runs, with new people on the podium and close pairings. Round winners were as follows, full race report coming shortly.
HKS Drag Series Round Winners
Other track highlights included demo runs from two of Europe’s fastest 4WD cars, both R33 GTR Skylines, with Andy Barnes running an 8.4 in the Sumo Power car and Mick Begley running an 8.1 in the TR Racing car. No 7-second runs were recorded, but we certainly enjoyed watching these two cars try!
| Those who wanted to test their cars around corners also got the chance to put their metal to the test when the handling track opened in the afternoon. This double-slalom suited small cars on stiff suspension, and gave the ¼-mile outcasts an opportunity to shine. Sure enough, it was the MX5 roadster of Alex Bennett who topped the tables with an unbelievable time of 20.85s. |
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More cone-dodging was going on at the top end of the track in the drift area, where some of the UK’s best drifters tortured their tyres and kept a crowd all day with smoking opposite lock and engines bouncing off rev limiters.
Over in the Show & Shine competition, some of the UK’s top show cars came together and made the most of the flattering light to really get that paint gleaming. The old cliché of “every one being a winner” was once again true, and it was criminal that some truly great cars failed to pick up awards, but the actual trophy winners below were all of an exceptional standard, and each car really did something different.
Show & Shine
Other highlights from the day included helicopter rides, traders, amazing stunt shows from the UKFMX freestyle motocross crew and Podzilla monster truck, and the occasional promo girl trying to get a last bit of tan on her legs before the winter sets in once and for all.
A massive thanks go out to all the clubs and individuals who have supported the show. The JapShow and the HKS Drag Series will be back next year bigger and better than ever!
Provisional dates are:
JapShow – 4th July 2010
JapShow Finale – 3rd October 2010
View more photos from JapShow Finale 2009 on the JapShow 2009 Gallery page. |
