Zigzag Asia was there for a couple of reasons. One, to coorinate the XDL drift team with both JDM Drifting stars Manabu Orido and Nobuteru Taniguchi. Also Taniguchi was entering the Grand Am series in the SpeedSource RX-8 so I had to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible with his new team. When I went, I wasn't expecting to be his spotter on the radio but the team members didn't speak Japanese so naturally the job came to me. The race report is on the BMI blog.
The below photo shown is the RX-8 Taniguchi and his team mate Tarzan Yamada drove.
The second reason we where there was to follow Orido and Taniguchi around during the entire GTLIVE weekend and capture it on video. It will be for the reality style corner we have on our DVD called LIFE IN THE FAST LANE. It will be an interesting take on what these guys do on and off the track. This segment will be in our DVD scheduled for release at the end of July.
The drift demo went extremely well despite of the heat. Drifting puts so much stress on the engine and tires that we were lucky if we can put on a good 7 minute show. That just shows at what level a drift car needs to be set up to put on a good show. The day time demos were the toughest. Orido and Taniguchi would come around a do a few tricks in front of the crowd and then have to go back to the pits to spray water and ice on the engine to cool it down. Then they would go back out to burn more rubber. The Phoenix fans loved it. I believe it was the first time for many of them to see drifting. I think they got a chance to see what the fuss about this drifting was all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment