Driving Tsukuba
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: East Bay SF
Driving Tsukuba
I just got back from a trip to Japan. I try to do this every year, my wife is Japanese and we have to go back and visit her friends and in-laws in Kyoto. We made arrangements to go up to Tokyo for a few days and to see one of my friends, Tome up there. He is not a car guy but has contacts in the motor sports world in Tokyo. (He just quit being the manager for Eiji “Tarzan” Yamada.) The night before we were to go out and bum around Tokyo, visiting shops and sightseeing he told me to make sure to bring a long sleeved shirt as we were going to Tsukuba and Garage HRS was doing a track even there.
I was thinking this will be cool, I get a few ride along.
Nope.
After an hour and a half drive into the sticks we get to Tsukuba. It’s in the middle of a cabbage field. It’s a lot smaller that I thought it would be. The whole facility would fit in the parking lot for California Speedway, with out a problem.
Also just so you know Tsukuba has two tracks, the big one called the 2000 that everyone knows from the “Time Attacks” and the smaller one called the 1000 that I was at.
I wandered around the parking lot looking at quite a few really cool cars we came across the HRS Evolution 4 demo car. Tome pointed out the car to me and said, “That’s the car you will be driving today.”
WTF, Driving? Kick ***.
I have never driven a right hand drive car before. So I was a little nervous about it, but like hell I was going to pass this up.
So after a few warm up laps with Sato-san , Garage HRS’s Ace driver, which basically was , turn here, brake here, careful braking no abs, it has cross mission(???!?!?!?).
Then I was tossed into the driver seat. It was a very JDM seat. I’m 6’3, 240LB with a 38” waist. It was interesting trying to fit into a seat that was made for a Japanese guy that’s maybe 100LB soaking wet, but I fit so off I go.
One thing I saw was that after you get waived onto the track, you toss your four ways on and take it east for half a lap. Then go. You also use your turn signals for point bys, not your hands.
I was out there for the better part of a 20 minute section, it felt like 3 seconds. I was having SO much fun. I have never driven a right had drive car before. Shifting came easy, it’s the same pattern but you’re just on the other side. The gas and the brake are the same.
The one thing that will toss you for a loop is that you’re on the right side. You’re since of where the car is compared to where you are is tossed out the window. (Which are up on track by the way) It took me a while to get a feel for the car and really start to do ok with the lines and apexes. About the time that I started to feel that I wasn’t a retard *** hat driver it was over.
I had the BIGGEST grin on my face for the rest of the day.
One more thing that tossed me for a loop was Tome came up after as we were walking back to his car and told me “Mr. HRS is sorry to have you out on such a small track, next time maybe we can get you on the big track at Tsukuba or Fuji or maybe Twin Rings…”
Ok…twist my arm…I can’t wait to get back to Japan!!
So here are the pictures.
My Wife and I infront of the Evo4
Mr. HRS(in the black) and Tome(with the hat) and Me(in the car)
I was thinking this will be cool, I get a few ride along.
Nope.
After an hour and a half drive into the sticks we get to Tsukuba. It’s in the middle of a cabbage field. It’s a lot smaller that I thought it would be. The whole facility would fit in the parking lot for California Speedway, with out a problem.
Also just so you know Tsukuba has two tracks, the big one called the 2000 that everyone knows from the “Time Attacks” and the smaller one called the 1000 that I was at.
I wandered around the parking lot looking at quite a few really cool cars we came across the HRS Evolution 4 demo car. Tome pointed out the car to me and said, “That’s the car you will be driving today.”
WTF, Driving? Kick ***.
I have never driven a right hand drive car before. So I was a little nervous about it, but like hell I was going to pass this up.
So after a few warm up laps with Sato-san , Garage HRS’s Ace driver, which basically was , turn here, brake here, careful braking no abs, it has cross mission(???!?!?!?).
Then I was tossed into the driver seat. It was a very JDM seat. I’m 6’3, 240LB with a 38” waist. It was interesting trying to fit into a seat that was made for a Japanese guy that’s maybe 100LB soaking wet, but I fit so off I go.
One thing I saw was that after you get waived onto the track, you toss your four ways on and take it east for half a lap. Then go. You also use your turn signals for point bys, not your hands.
I was out there for the better part of a 20 minute section, it felt like 3 seconds. I was having SO much fun. I have never driven a right had drive car before. Shifting came easy, it’s the same pattern but you’re just on the other side. The gas and the brake are the same.
The one thing that will toss you for a loop is that you’re on the right side. You’re since of where the car is compared to where you are is tossed out the window. (Which are up on track by the way) It took me a while to get a feel for the car and really start to do ok with the lines and apexes. About the time that I started to feel that I wasn’t a retard *** hat driver it was over.
I had the BIGGEST grin on my face for the rest of the day.
One more thing that tossed me for a loop was Tome came up after as we were walking back to his car and told me “Mr. HRS is sorry to have you out on such a small track, next time maybe we can get you on the big track at Tsukuba or Fuji or maybe Twin Rings…”
Ok…twist my arm…I can’t wait to get back to Japan!!
So here are the pictures.
My Wife and I infront of the Evo4
Mr. HRS(in the black) and Tome(with the hat) and Me(in the car)
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: East Bay SF
