My only other experience at the Taupo Motorsport Park was a track day for a local club, where I somehow managed to be tricked into flag marshalling for the majority of the day.

I had never seen drifting on this track before either, so suffice to say I didn’t really know what to expect.

After driving down from Hamilton and arriving at the track it was straight into the Friday practice round sessions.

The pit-lane and garages at Taupo are a lot more scenic and spacious than Pukekohe, which I appreciated from a photographers point of view.

The drivers and teams probably found this space useful too after put- ting in hours fixing car issues after Friday’s practice run.

Red Bull driver Mad Mike’s car always makes an impact on the track, but it looks just as good sitting in the garage.

Friday saw Mike testing out his new Nitto NT05 tires on the Madbul RX7.

Above is Mike’s slammed Hiace – a popular trackday transport amongst the teams.

Photo bomber and promo girl hunter extraordinaire Cole Armstrong doing his thing.


It’s great to see these cars up close and take a look at how much work goes in to them.

Above is Hugo MaClean’s new JDM looking Grabatool livery on his AE86 Levin. Hugo recently switched from the F20C setup to a 13b rotary engine. The new purple tones make this car look even better in my opinion.

There’s something about Bruce Tannock’s Achilles S13 that makes it look amazing in black and white.

It has such a classic style, and I’m sure it would look right at home on any Japanese track.

Got to love the Rocketbunny rear wing!

The cars of Carlos Walters and Steven Sole both stood out in the pit lane too.

Here’s a shot inside the D1NZ RX7 FC in which rides are being auctioned off for charities. It’s great to see D1NZ supporting a good cause!

Above are a few of the other media photographers shooting near one of the clipping points. Well done for surviving the rain guys.


The D1GP insipired S15 of Sky Zhao is getting an updated look very shortly, and will also have a twin brother in the form of a 350z.

I can’t wait to photograph these new cars very soon.

The S-Chassis is still one of the most popular choices in D1NZ and any mechanical issues with them seem to be sorted out very quickly!

Even with the unfavourable patches of weather it’s been great to shoot this round of D1NZ in Taupo.

Thanks to Brendon White and the other D1 officials for inviting us and for organising another successful event.

I’m looking forward to the Mount Smart night round which is coming up soon. This crowd favourite round is a smaller circuit under lights with lots of wall tapping action. Stay tuned!

Words: David Atkinson
Photographs: David Atkinson & David Sanson

It was so incredibly sweltering out at the showgrounds (even with full cloud cover) and I had a great day of beer drinking, mini cinnamon donut eating and checking out all the beautiful classics on display. Tyre stretch and ride height doesn’t matter here, it’s a whole different world and I must admit it’s quite nice to escape once in a while. Here are a few of my favourite shots to share…

This crazy looking rod was powered by a blown rotary.

Usually I’d go for a Chevy pick-up over a Ford, but there was just something about this truck that made me stop and stare a while longer than the others. Love the bright red against the big white walls and the wooden rails on the tray.

I remember seeing this Impala down at Beach Hop last year and falling in love with the immaculate lilac paint job.

Everything else in the car is mint too, from the interior…

…to under the hood. Very impressive engine bay!

Not usually into shaved doors but this worked quite well.

I usually favour the bigger luxury coupes such as the Cadillac de Villes and Impalas, but strangely enough I think this old Buick Century was my favourite car of the day.

I love the over-exaggerated front grille, how the factory two-tonne has been retained as well as the beautiful curving hip under the rear window.

And this!

The huge air conditioning unit, window visor and headlight covers on this are all so awesome. So gangster!

Cute 50′s Corvette. I would so own this! (I say that about nearly every old car I see at festivals like this!)

Another Century with a sweet matching trailer.

Old Skool Rydz in their usual pozzie.

Keep it trill.

At the end of the day I finally spotted a pink ’57 – I’ve seen this one before though. I took this image as I was imagining what it would be like sitting behind the wheel and driving it. One day!

Nationals were a huge success and it felt amazing to just be a part of it all. On Friday night we actually lowered my front coilovers by 10mm and I was finally happy with my ride height – before the front was the slightest bit higher and it annoyed me so much. I have to say that my favourite part of the day was actually driving my car home afterwards. At one stage I actually pulled over to ask my flatmate (who was driving behind me) if there was anything wrong with the car as so many people were pointing and yelling at me. It’s okay, that’s just my guards making that noise! And those sparks are just a special feature – nothing to worry about! It was cool to see that even random people on the street that probably didn’t even know anything about cars still recognised it as something out of the ordinary.

There are just a few people I would like to thank that have helped me with my car, and that I wouldn’t have been able to do this without. Firstly my wonderful flatmate and now qualified mechanic and auto electrician, Patrick O’Carroll. Patrick, I really love you (no homo) and appreciate all your amazing help with my car over the past year! Thank-you to Peter at Waikowhai Automotive who has put up with car being at the workshop so often, Redline Performance, Grant at GT Refinishers, John from Guardworks, Joe & Steve from Project G, Liam for my seats, Dad, Mum & Alistair, Marcus and Michelle and another huge thank-you to Ben Phillips who painted both my car and wheels – congrats Ben for winning best wagon on Saturday! So stoked! Cole and Elliot from Bodyworks Panel & Paint who helped me with my suspension and also fitting my front & rear lip for me. And of course Pedey, who has always supported me with this blog, with my car and with pretty much anything and everything that I want to do.

I’d also like to thank CJC for the amazing job they did organising the group stand at Nationals, I was so proud to have my car parked beside some of the coolest cars in the country! I know these guys have received a bit of hate in the past, but in all honesty they really are a super kind and helpful bunch of friends that just want to have fun with their cars, drink beer and eat fried chicken. I’m pretty stoked to be the ‘one girl’ in that equation!!!

Thank-you to every other person that has helped me and supported me throughout my MX-5 journey. It’s definitely only just begun…

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on the Kumeu Classic Car & Hot Rod show, Part 2 of painting my wheels, and coverage from the weekend of the 4 & Rotary Nationals 2012.

Shut down, again… we’ll never give up! More photos here.

I recently checked out a girly urban art party in the Town called Femme Cartel with nothin but female artists showing their wares. These ladies are passionate, talented and fearless.  Check the pics out below.      

Kimlynh (on the left)

Maria Fatima Urbi

The Few and Far family.  

This coming Friday is yet another first Friday of the month aka Oakland Art Murmur.  If you haven’t yet definitely come see what I’m talking about.  You’ll be glad you did.   Oh and come say hi.  Me and my crew will be here.    

Till the next episode…

Thursday February 2nd
8-11 PM
722 N Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA

Before the D1GP 2012 season gets into full gear in a few months, fans could catch a preview of the kind of action they can expect to see this year at the annual kickoff event during the Tokyo Autosalon. Held on a tight makeshift course in the convention center parking lot, it was a great chance to see the top drivers showcase their skills and go head-to-head in some friendly tsuiso battles. The crowds of people that made it out to Saturday’s exhibition were greeted with mild weather and a healthy dose of fresh tire smoke.

Prior to the exhibition’s main event, Team Orange was on-hand, providing some entertainment to warm up the crowds.

They brought out three S-chassis demo cars to for a unique and exciting performance.

Members of the event staff and organizers were also quite busy keeping all the entertainment on schedule.

Team Orange’s demo really got the crowds into it, featuring precision driving, electronic music, and….

…NINJAS?!

It was actually quite entertaining, as all three Team Orange demo cars “battled” a clan of ninjas. If you follow the action up at Ebisu circuit, you may have seen these guys practicing and perfecting the show on Ebisu’s driftland live webcam in the weeks leading up to the Autosalon.

Even Kumakubo was dressed for the performance. The samurai sword is a nice touch.

The crowd was really into the story, and excitement levels were high as the actors jumped over and “fought” the cars as they sped between them.

Here, Kumakubo and Suenaga prepare to join the action. Careful timing was needed for the show, so they used microphones to communicate during the performance.

Although the area was pretty compact, there was still plenty of sideways speed on display.

Since the Autosalon was a three day event, if you missed part of the show you could be sure to catch it from another angle the following day.

Hmm… What could be hiding under here?

After the energy level was upped by Team Orange, it was almost time for the main event. First the drivers each had a quick run around the course. Tezuka hammers out of the staging area in his new Bee-R R34.

Always a crowd-favorite, Daigo Saito didn’t fail to impress, making the most of the course’s cramped quarters and getting plenty of angle right off the bat in his JZX90 Cresta.

Of course, the main draw for a lot of fans was to catch the debut of Hibino’s FT86.

The bright blue and green Falken livery seems barely recognizable beneath the yellow swirl and numerous sponsor logos, but overall the look is pretty good.

The response from the fans was positive after a few quick laps around the course.

The drivers all lined up for quick introductions and a bit about the upcoming season.

Then it was time to warm up the tires and get into action.

Saturday’s bracket was set up like this; from left to right: Kawabata (RPS13), Suenaga (FD3S RX-7), Saito (JZX90 Cresta), Takahashi (GRX130 Mark X), Tezuka (BNR34 GT-R), Nomura (ER34 Skyline), Kumakubo (C33 Laurel), and Hibino (AE86 Trueno).

Other D1GP drivers made an appearance in the exhibition as well, including Masayoshi Tokita in his GRS184 Zero Crown.

Hibino stuck with his trusty AE86 for the exhibition. Here it is getting a few final adjustments before the battles began.

While the new machine sat in wait on the sidelines.

Kawabata didn’t have much space to show off those infamous high-speed rear entries, but got plenty of slide in on his warm up.

Tezuka getting into the groove.

Nomuken’s ER34 lookin’ good.

^^ Page one in the handbook of ‘How to Roll’.

Kumakubo pushing the Laurel around the course.

I couldn’t stop shooting Tezuka’s new Bee-R R34. Just looks so clean!

Takahashi’s Mark X muscles around the final corner.

Hibino putting in work.

They also brought out the beast for a quick show n’ slide. The lines on the LFA Roadster are just amazing.

Given the choice (as if…), I’d take the current LFA over the new roadster version, but there’s nothing to complain about. Except perhaps the somewhat cheap-looking chrome wheels.

Yet another nice angle.

The tsuiso battles get into full swing in Part II. Stay tuned!

::Park Baker