Taka Aono 2009 Formula D video from Ross Fairfield on Vimeo.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Finally back from Las Vegas.
So...me & taka left home around 6:30am on Thur...and this time, we took 2 cars cuz it is hard to park @ Vegas hotel w/ pick up.
We got there around 1pm...and it was already HOT!
We stayed @ Vegas Club Casino Hotel in downtown. It was kinda old hotel, but it was OK. And...on the way to the venue...there were many tents on the street for homeless people.
***Pit Report on Fri.**
Anyway, again...we got mechanical problems @ Las Vegas.
On Thur., the oil cooler was cracked again that just had replaced before New Jersey cuz of the vibration/tension/location (?) of the oil cooler. But it was lucky that didn't happen when he was running.
So Fri., we got a new oil cooler & Taka made temporary brackets before the practice started.
Then x 1, just before Taka was @ 2nd qualify run, he found out the primary throttle return spring was broken probably cuz of metal fatigue (?)... But he didn't have time to fix it...and luckily, he managed to finish the course w/out fixing the problem.
Then x 2, after the qualify...Taka found a big oil leak from the Wiggins Clamp @ pit. It took a while to fix the leak, so...he lost the practice time like Atlanta and New Jersey events...
***Event Report on Fri.***
O...BTW, Taka qualified 18th place on Fri. Not the best, but better than last 2 events! I hope he does better next time!
Qualify Run #1
Qualify Run #2
@ Spotter Station, there was Mr. Orido cheering Mr. Miki.
He just got to the venue and started sleeping @ Spotter Station. And his head was all over falling asleep sitting on the chair. It was sooo funny that everyone there was laughing so hard!!
***Pit Report on Sat.***
Our team mate, Hiro, came to support Taka! Thank you very much, Hiro!
The first round, Taka was running against Ryan T. and unfortunately, he lost. So...we finished our day pretty early...
So I decided to go back to the pit.
I found a girl on the left wearing weave tights (?)...and I was...imagining...
Like..."What if she didn't put sun block...and get burnt w/ that kinda pattern"...I guess I was hungry.
Next to our pit...w/ Matt P.'s crews...They are drifters and drifter's friends...not rockers!!
Somehow they multiplied to 9 or 11 or something like that during the event...
And...somehow, they lost 1...somewhere in the end of the day .
Of course, Taka's Pit...Thank you very much for your support!!
On the way back to LA...the space on the 2nd bottom @ right...there was a black circle missing some logo...
I only came up w/...our favorite, Starbucks!!
O, BTW...I had bad headaches on Thur. & Fri.
And looks like it was caused by lack of caffeine. Yeah, me & Taka are...caffeine addict.
There was an accident that made bad traffic jam. And the afternoon sun was pretty bad. I guess people got blind and got an accident.
BTW, one of the car's bumper was kinda pushed in/messed up...but I guess I got used to "Drifter's Accidents (?) " too much, so it didn't look bad at all...
Sometimes, being used to...is kinda scary.
Yoshie
We got there around 1pm...and it was already HOT!
We stayed @ Vegas Club Casino Hotel in downtown. It was kinda old hotel, but it was OK. And...on the way to the venue...there were many tents on the street for homeless people.
***Pit Report on Fri.**
Anyway, again...we got mechanical problems @ Las Vegas.
On Thur., the oil cooler was cracked again that just had replaced before New Jersey cuz of the vibration/tension/location (?) of the oil cooler. But it was lucky that didn't happen when he was running.
So Fri., we got a new oil cooler & Taka made temporary brackets before the practice started.
Then x 1, just before Taka was @ 2nd qualify run, he found out the primary throttle return spring was broken probably cuz of metal fatigue (?)... But he didn't have time to fix it...and luckily, he managed to finish the course w/out fixing the problem.
Then x 2, after the qualify...Taka found a big oil leak from the Wiggins Clamp @ pit. It took a while to fix the leak, so...he lost the practice time like Atlanta and New Jersey events...
***Event Report on Fri.***
O...BTW, Taka qualified 18th place on Fri. Not the best, but better than last 2 events! I hope he does better next time!
Qualify Run #1
Qualify Run #2
@ Spotter Station, there was Mr. Orido cheering Mr. Miki.
He just got to the venue and started sleeping @ Spotter Station. And his head was all over falling asleep sitting on the chair. It was sooo funny that everyone there was laughing so hard!!
***Pit Report on Sat.***
Our team mate, Hiro, came to support Taka! Thank you very much, Hiro!
The first round, Taka was running against Ryan T. and unfortunately, he lost. So...we finished our day pretty early...
So I decided to go back to the pit.
I found a girl on the left wearing weave tights (?)...and I was...imagining...
Like..."What if she didn't put sun block...and get burnt w/ that kinda pattern"...I guess I was hungry.
Next to our pit...w/ Matt P.'s crews...They are drifters and drifter's friends...not rockers!!
Somehow they multiplied to 9 or 11 or something like that during the event...
And...somehow, they lost 1...somewhere in the end of the day .
Of course, Taka's Pit...Thank you very much for your support!!
On the way back to LA...the space on the 2nd bottom @ right...there was a black circle missing some logo...
I only came up w/...our favorite, Starbucks!!
O, BTW...I had bad headaches on Thur. & Fri.
And looks like it was caused by lack of caffeine. Yeah, me & Taka are...caffeine addict.
There was an accident that made bad traffic jam. And the afternoon sun was pretty bad. I guess people got blind and got an accident.
BTW, one of the car's bumper was kinda pushed in/messed up...but I guess I got used to "Drifter's Accidents (?) " too much, so it didn't look bad at all...
Sometimes, being used to...is kinda scary.
Yoshie
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Team Last Min. Racing...
Well, we have been last min. to prepare things for the Formula D events...
Even this morning...I was fixing damaged graphics for Taka's competition AE86.
Me w/ sad face...not a monkey face! (Please no more hit, Taka!)
Now, his car is on the trailer... Of course, we haven't prepared for ourselves YET, tho.
But I don't really feel bad for this time...
Team Kaaz (or Lemonchex?)'s car hasn't fired up for some reason, so Taka brought some ECUs to test.
They have been awake for many hours...and ended up...they lost the count (?).
(Left: Taka, Middle: Yasu, Right: Ray)
Also, Team Tanaka Racing's car was @ Technosquare today...for the last maintenance.
The gentleman drove the trailer to pick the car up.
(Left: Dwight, Right: Taka...again)
And...Team CityTireOnine...looks like just finished graphic job this morning.
And...Team Jeff Jones Racing...looks like doing some graphic job today w/ a big help of Naoki.
And...Team Apexi...looks like their car got some issue yesterday.
And...Team Dynamic Autosports...broke something on last Sun @ El Toro.
Probably...there would be more stories... And, we all could be "Team Last Min. Racing!!"
Yoshie
Even this morning...I was fixing damaged graphics for Taka's competition AE86.
Me w/ sad face...not a monkey face! (Please no more hit, Taka!)
Now, his car is on the trailer... Of course, we haven't prepared for ourselves YET, tho.
But I don't really feel bad for this time...
Team Kaaz (or Lemonchex?)'s car hasn't fired up for some reason, so Taka brought some ECUs to test.
They have been awake for many hours...and ended up...they lost the count (?).
(Left: Taka, Middle: Yasu, Right: Ray) Also, Team Tanaka Racing's car was @ Technosquare today...for the last maintenance.
The gentleman drove the trailer to pick the car up.
(Left: Dwight, Right: Taka...again)And...Team CityTireOnine...looks like just finished graphic job this morning.
And...Team Jeff Jones Racing...looks like doing some graphic job today w/ a big help of Naoki.
And...Team Apexi...looks like their car got some issue yesterday.
And...Team Dynamic Autosports...broke something on last Sun @ El Toro.
Probably...there would be more stories... And, we all could be "Team Last Min. Racing!!"
Yoshie
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Taka's Broken Car...
So...Taka brought his competition AE86 to Technosquare to fix his throttle on Mon.
And...Our fabricator, Richey, was removing bolts & nuts to take a look...
This was how it looks...You can see the broken throttle shaft.
Another view...If I look only this part...I don't even know what this is...hahaha
Looks like...the bell crank (?) wasn't welded right angle to the shaft, so it had been getting too much tension...so it kept breaking down.
Again, last mins. preparation. I hope the car won't have any problem @ Las Vegas.
-------
Today @ Technosquare....Hakosuka Dyno tune. Our ECU Tuner, Tadashi, was dynoing w/ Howard (expert of old school carburetor...).
And this is the dyno chart using SuperFlow. The number reads about 20% tougher (less) compare w/ DynoJet.
The black line is the "AS IS". The blue line is in the middle of jetting. The red line is the final.
Big difference, ha?
When Taka hit the wall w/ his comeptition AE86 @ Formula D Long Beach, he broke the body kit including the driver side door that was falling apart as almost 2 pieces...
And his door was fixed. Gun Ho (Steve) came earlier to our house in good timing for Taka by accident (?).
He helped to fix the fiber glass to 1 piece. So now, no problem opening & closing the door!
Thank you, Gun Ho!
Yoshie
And...Our fabricator, Richey, was removing bolts & nuts to take a look...
This was how it looks...You can see the broken throttle shaft.
Another view...If I look only this part...I don't even know what this is...hahaha
Looks like...the bell crank (?) wasn't welded right angle to the shaft, so it had been getting too much tension...so it kept breaking down.
Again, last mins. preparation. I hope the car won't have any problem @ Las Vegas.
-------
Today @ Technosquare....Hakosuka Dyno tune. Our ECU Tuner, Tadashi, was dynoing w/ Howard (expert of old school carburetor...).
And this is the dyno chart using SuperFlow. The number reads about 20% tougher (less) compare w/ DynoJet.
The black line is the "AS IS". The blue line is in the middle of jetting. The red line is the final.
Big difference, ha?
When Taka hit the wall w/ his comeptition AE86 @ Formula D Long Beach, he broke the body kit including the driver side door that was falling apart as almost 2 pieces...
And his door was fixed. Gun Ho (Steve) came earlier to our house in good timing for Taka by accident (?).
He helped to fix the fiber glass to 1 piece. So now, no problem opening & closing the door!
Thank you, Gun Ho!
Yoshie
Busy weekend...
So...me & Taka went to NOS Center @ San Bernadino on early Sat morning.
We had a promotional photoshoot thingy for Drift 101/102 before the Megan Racing Competition started.
And even before the photoshoot, we had to mount the Nexen tires to XXR wheels, change the tires, put the sponsor stickers, and blah blah blah...Taka, Hiro, even the student helped to put the stickers on the car! Thank you everyone!
I should get a bit more stickers...but didn't have time to make the matching stickers on time.
Me sitting in passenger seat explaining to the student...
But somehow, I look like the student listening to the instructor, don't I?! hahaha O well.
And...he was a good student! Tire smoke w/ stock KA power!
After the photoshoot, my Drift 102 car was displayed w/ Drift 101 car!
This is the president of Megan Racing, Calvin. He looks like...an actor in action movie...hahaha
Thank you very much for your loyal support for a looong time!
Anyway, I was gonna...just relax watching the event...BUT, I heard my great friend, Amanda was a ticket girl for the day BY HERSELF. So...I just decided to stay w/ her to annoy her. She is pretty, ha?
Anyway, we thought....this nice booth was the one we would use.
But...this was the one we used...At least, we got an A/C in the booth.
O, the hand-writing paper thingys were made by me. But...I forgot to take them off after the event.
Amanda told me to pose like a FOB...Did I do a good job?
And...one time, we asked Naoki to get changes. Somehow, he bought us some candy bars (?) to get changes, but it was warm...so I just cooled them down taping near A/C...This was how much I got bored...
And...I guess, I annoyed her too much to knock her down...
So...we didn't get to see any drift action at all...and we went back to the ceremony...but there were too many people in front of the cars...and ended up it became so dark.
Matt Powers got the 1st place! Congrats!
He is a Formula D driver and will be @ Las Vegas, so cheer him up if you see him! He is a really cute & nice person...and posed for me for many times...but I couldn't take clear pix as always. Sorry...
We went home like 12:30am...and had to be ready for Drift Day @ El Toro on Sun.
----
And...we arrived @ El Toro a bit later than 6:00am...and of course, no one was there...
Taka brought his competition AE86 to the event site to practice. Pic stolen from Club4ag.com.
There were several Formula D drivers came to the event, but I was too lazy to take pix.
Like, Chris F., JTP, Alex P. , Kyle M., Matt P., and the end of the day...Dai Y, Ryuji M., Robbie N., Eric O...and of course, Taka & Hiro...hahaha
Chris F & JTP...Pic Stolen from chrisforsberg.com
Unfortunately, Taka's car was broken AGAIN! The throttle broke. When he got a turbo system, the throttle thingy was broken 4 times.
Anyway, he couldn't practice as much again. So sad.
Yoshie
We had a promotional photoshoot thingy for Drift 101/102 before the Megan Racing Competition started.
And even before the photoshoot, we had to mount the Nexen tires to XXR wheels, change the tires, put the sponsor stickers, and blah blah blah...Taka, Hiro, even the student helped to put the stickers on the car! Thank you everyone!
I should get a bit more stickers...but didn't have time to make the matching stickers on time.
Me sitting in passenger seat explaining to the student...
But somehow, I look like the student listening to the instructor, don't I?! hahaha O well.
And...he was a good student! Tire smoke w/ stock KA power!
After the photoshoot, my Drift 102 car was displayed w/ Drift 101 car!
This is the president of Megan Racing, Calvin. He looks like...an actor in action movie...hahaha
Thank you very much for your loyal support for a looong time!
Anyway, I was gonna...just relax watching the event...BUT, I heard my great friend, Amanda was a ticket girl for the day BY HERSELF. So...I just decided to stay w/ her to annoy her. She is pretty, ha?
Anyway, we thought....this nice booth was the one we would use.
But...this was the one we used...At least, we got an A/C in the booth.
O, the hand-writing paper thingys were made by me. But...I forgot to take them off after the event.
Amanda told me to pose like a FOB...Did I do a good job?
And...one time, we asked Naoki to get changes. Somehow, he bought us some candy bars (?) to get changes, but it was warm...so I just cooled them down taping near A/C...This was how much I got bored...
And...I guess, I annoyed her too much to knock her down...
So...we didn't get to see any drift action at all...and we went back to the ceremony...but there were too many people in front of the cars...and ended up it became so dark.
Matt Powers got the 1st place! Congrats!
He is a Formula D driver and will be @ Las Vegas, so cheer him up if you see him! He is a really cute & nice person...and posed for me for many times...but I couldn't take clear pix as always. Sorry...
We went home like 12:30am...and had to be ready for Drift Day @ El Toro on Sun.
----
And...we arrived @ El Toro a bit later than 6:00am...and of course, no one was there...
Taka brought his competition AE86 to the event site to practice. Pic stolen from Club4ag.com.
There were several Formula D drivers came to the event, but I was too lazy to take pix.
Like, Chris F., JTP, Alex P. , Kyle M., Matt P., and the end of the day...Dai Y, Ryuji M., Robbie N., Eric O...and of course, Taka & Hiro...hahaha
Chris F & JTP...Pic Stolen from chrisforsberg.com
Unfortunately, Taka's car was broken AGAIN! The throttle broke. When he got a turbo system, the throttle thingy was broken 4 times.
Anyway, he couldn't practice as much again. So sad.
Yoshie
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