It was 3:50 a.m. when I first woke up to get ready to meet Masa and Katsu from Best MOTORing to go to Tsukuba Circuit for a battle that included the brand new Integra type-R.  The sky was barely turning grayish blue but I wasn’t tired at all because I new that it was going to be a nice day.  I had to be at Shinjuku train station by 5 a.m. for us to get to the circuit by 7 a.m. which was when the race would start.  So I hurriedly got ready and got on the train that headed for Shinjuku station at 4:32.

     I met up with Masa and Katsu exactly at 5 and we started our long drive to Tsukuba circuit.  We sort of got lost on the way, but seeing a fixed up M3 heading the same direction we knew we were on the right track.  When we arrived, most of the cars were already lined up.  The cars included a NSX type-S, Silvia S14 spec-R, Honda S2000, Subaru Impreza WRX STi edition, 1997 Honda Integra type-R, and a Toyota Altezza.  All cars had internal cameras set up to monitor the driver and his footwork and also the race from the driver’s point of view.  As we looked around we could not spot the brand new Integra type-R.  But a quick search revealed the type-R hidden behind the pits, it was already ready for it’s time trial.

     We went up in the bleachers where we could get the best view of the race and waited.  All the cars went through timed solos to determine the position in which the cars would start in the battle.  The NSX was the fasted, then the WRX, so those two were placed in the very back.  The battle was extremely intense, I was not allowed to use a camcorder but I tried my best to snap the cars with my digital camera.  I’m not allowed to say who won the race, but let me just say the battle was extremely intense.  If you want to find out how the race turned out, you need to buy the next issue of Best MOTORing Video.  It was a great experience and if any of you have the chance to visit Japan, Tsukuba circuit is definitly a place to visit.