2009 AE86 Festival – 10th Anniversary
September 7, 2009 by Adam Zillin
Filed under Circuit Racing, Events, Latest Articles
Better late than never! The 2009 AE86 Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary at Okayama International Circuit on the 30th of August and we were there to cover the event. We hope that the jumbo sized gallery makes up for the lack of posts last week.
We covered this event in 2007 and 2008 and each time was a memorable experience, not just because of the masses of AE86s present in their natural surroundings, but because of the excellent vibes and friendly atmosphere that permeated every inch of the venue. If you even have a tiny bit of interest in Toyota’s legendary RWD small car you’ll enjoy what has to be one of the more enjoyable events on the calendar at Okayama International Circuit (OIC). People came from as far away as Kyushu and Tokyo to be there and my hosts for the day, Takahashi Body, were up at 1am to make the trek to the festival from Nagoya! Unfortunately my usual hosts Power Sports couldn’t make it this year but they’ll be back in 2010.
There's always something interesting to find at the various trade stalls.
After an almost disastrous journey to OIC last year, this year was the complete opposite with no mechanical problems which resulted in a 7:30am arrival time. It was overcast for much of the day meaning some of the photos are quite dark but the rain held off thankfully. After a quick scan of the pit area and behind the main grandstand it was apparent that there would be no “Show and Shine” event this year which was to be expected considering the poor turn out last year. Nevertheless there were plenty of other trade stalls, demonstrations (including an incomplete ground up restoration of an AE86 Corolla Levin), radio controlled drifting and activities for kids to enjoy. Behind the main grandstand there was the usual huge line up of AE86 all in formation, along with some incredibly detailed and restored examples featuring some unique modifications. Like previous years there were numerous support races including rounds of the Porsche Trophy, Nissan March One Make Series, FJ1600 and NSC Challenge Cup (AE86 N1 category).
Pretty much what a brand new AE86 would look like coming down the production line.
Over in the pit area the regular tuning garages were all present, such as Uchibori Jidousha, Works Michidou, Tec-Arts, Body Factory Dropps and Techno Pro Spirit. This year Nagisa Auto aka “NAMS” also made an appearance running two cars in the AE86 Champions Cup events. Talking to some of the guys at various teams it seemed that this year the racing rivalry had stepped up a notch, with a combined total of 71 AE86s entered into two classes, T Class and S Class. The big workshop teams and the more well to do privateers contested the T Class category which allows free modification to engines (engine type and forced induction included), slick tires with no restriction to width and free body modifications, although engine capacity must be under 2000cc and the original dashboard must be kept. For the smaller workshops and privateers on a budget, the S Class category allows any modifications to the body but the engine must be a naturally aspirated 4A-GE and the tyres must be DOT approved radials. Both classes must have a 6-point roll cage and 4-point harness installed, as well as oil catch tanks and remote mounted battery boxes.
As with previous visits to the AE86 Festival it was a real eye opener walking through and checking out all the different modified Levins and Truenos. The most common engine conversion was still the 20-valve 4A-GE but the original 16-valve version was still kicking around in many of the cars. The 4A-GE in all its incarnations commands utmost respect from the AE86 community so this year it was a little surprising to see the rising popularity of other engine conversion options like Toyota Beams 3S-GEs, Honda F20Cs and even that most unlikely of engines, the 13B rotary! The immaculate World Planning “RE86” rotary powered Levin 3-door was an absolute work of art and even without its 13B turbo conversion would’ve scored highly in anyone’s books. The paint was so fresh that the fumes inside the car were almost noxious as owner Hiromichi Ihara joked around telling me it’d cost one million yen to open the door and have a look inside!
World Planning AE86 Corolla Levin 2-door. Love or hate the paint, it was probably the most well presented car there... the paint was still drying apparently!
It was great to see such a huge turn out for the “Time Attack” event which is basically another name for qualifying. Thirty eight competitors were in T Class and thirty three were in the S Class category which were contested separately in runs lasting 20 minutes. The fastest S Class (naturally aspirated 4A-GE engines) car was the #33 Koizumi Shoukai RS Corolla Levin driven by “Champ” Ikeda with a 1:47.376 lap time, some two seconds faster than its nearest rival. To put that time into perspective, the fastest T Class (unlimited engine modifications up to 2000cc) car was Tetsuya Kanamori’s #29 Racing House Sakai Corolla Levin with a 1:41.404.
After the Porsche Trophy, Nissan March, FJ1600 and NSC Challenge Cup races concluded it was time for the main event, the AE86 Champions Cup races consisting of 8 laps each. Practically everyone took to the main grandstand to see the start and it was an unforgettable sight seeing all 38 T Class AE86s lined up on the grid. The race began with a rolling start and as expected Tetsuya Kanamori in the #29 Racing House Sakai Levin led the pack into the first corner and pulled away to a comfortable lead by the end of the first lap. A total of nine cars dropped out by the final lap with assorted problems but otherwise it was a very procession-like race free from any dramas. So the Racing House Sakai Levin took first place followed by Toshiro Oda in the #2 Crystal Body Yokohama Sprinter Trueno and crowd favourite and long time AE86 Festival competitor Hideyuki Nakahori in the #8 Uchibori Jidousha Trueno taking third.
The Banking AE86 Levin looked even better in the metal.
The final event of the day was the AE86 Champions Cup S Class race which was run immediately after the T Class winner and runners up had received their trophies. Again it was a rolling start and it was no surprise that the #33 Koizumi Shoukai RS Levin driven by Champ Ikeda stormed ahead to lead the race after such a convincing Time Attack result. There was lots of action midfield with some of the private entries putting on a great show trying to out maneuver and out brake their rivals. The competitiveness came at a price though with at least 7 cars failing to make it to the end of the race with mechanical problems. There was a big upset during the second last lap when the Champ Ikeda was penalised three places and relegated to fourth due to a violation under yellow flags. It wasn’t a total loss because another Koizumi Shoukai car, the #24 Corolla Levin driven by Kazuya Shimizu took the win with Norihiro Tanaka in the #100 Nagisa Auto Levin in second place and yet another Koizumi Shoukai entry, the #53 Corolla Levin with Hideki Wada at the helm taking third. In total there were four Koizumi Shoukai cars entered in S Class with 3 of them in the top four. Well done Koizumi!
The T Class podium after the race with winner Tetsuya Kanamori, 2nd place Toshiro Oda and 3rd place Hideyuki Nakahori.
After the race schedule was complete, anyone who owned an AE86 was invited to do a parade lap of the circuit. As is usual for this part of the proceedings, that meant practically everybody. It was a great end to a great day of racing and taking in the atmosphere of an event which would be hard to replicate anywhere else. If I could recommend any event on the Japanese racing calendar to a Toyota enthusiast, or even someone just wanting to see some automotive action in Japan, this event would be near the top of the list for all round enjoyment. Needless to say we’ll be there next year with bells on!
Words/Images: Justin Karow
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