The motivation for this entry comes from Stephen of Alpinestars. A couple weeks back at Chinatown Showoff he asked what excites me. Surprisingly, I didn’t have much of an answer for him. It’s taken me since that moment to figure it out, but I think I have something now.
To the left is something that really gets me excited - uh, what’s behind the woman.. Although the woman’s exciting too… Isn’t that Keeley Hazell? Damn it, focus.
There. That’s better. Formula 1. I have to admit that I’ve just recently begun to have interest in F1 after watching the 2006 season review. Regardless, F1 has always been like the holy grail of all motorsports in my opinion. It’s the epitomy of racing technology at it’s best. The millions of dollars spent, the global reach of the series and the driving talent all make for quite possibly the most exciting racing series in motorsports. Engines that spend most their lives in tens of thousands of RPM and spit blue flames while doing it? C’mon..
Thankfully, both Endless and Enkei are Formula 1 suppliers and have been for several years now (Endless supplying RF-650 brake fluid to Honda, Toro Rosso and Super Aguri and Enkei supplying wheels to Mercedes). There’s a lot of pride that comes with being able to say that and it makes me believe wholeheartedly that I’m working for the right companies within the industry. Watching the series, knowing that I’m a part of that (however small), is a wonderous feeling.
Next we have WRC and other rally series, something I truly wish I could watch more of. Rally is something that doesn’t get nearly enough press or exposure. The talent of crews and drivers (and co-drivers) is awe inspiring.
If any of you got a chance to see rally as part of the X-Games for the first time back in 2006, you know what I mean. ESPN did a fantastic job of putting together coverage of the series up to the final at the Home Depot center. You can’t stage the excitement that unfolded that day as Mc Rae rolled his Impreza after the last jump giving Travis Pastrana the Gold. Endless supplies a lot of brake pads and fluid to rally as well. Rally is something that everyone should watch, at least once. It won’t dissapoint.
A few years back an event called GT Live made its debut at California Speedway. More than a dozen official GT machines made the trek across the Pacific to take part in the first event of it’s kind on US soil. THAT was the definitive GT Live event combining both GT racing as well as drift (GT Live events now are another story). There really isn’t anything like being there in person hearing those machines roar past you. And there’s no way to describe the feeling I felt as the Endless x Advan GT300 Z33 drove by.
I think the most down to earth form of racing that excites me is D1. For the hardcore race cats, I’m prolly letting you guys down, yet I can’t deny that I do enjoy watching D1. Option does a good job of putting the DVD’s togther, especially the 2006 season. D1 teams too face the high stress demands of racing. JUN’s Koyama demanded a differential change in less than 10 minutes for Team Orange’s Impreza driven by Kumakubo. I don’t care who you are, that’s impressive.
So what excites me given that I’ve fallen victim to becoming jaded? Recently Mr. Inamoto, Executive Director of Endless, visited and I once again had the opportunity to pick his brain. Usually I don’t know that we’re involved in a vehicle unless there’s a sticker on it. But he taught me all about the different ways we’re involved in F1, WRC, Super GT, Super Taikyu and countless others, which really gave me a sense of meaning. It was like he was telling me why I’m working for Endless; “because you’re a part of this.” That was like nothing other.
Car wise? Machines that manufacturers build really make me say ”Wow, that’s impressive.” They build these machines keeping so much in mind, leaving no element neglected, no detail too small. And then they get out there and drive these machines. JUN’s AWD Z33 comes to mind. Overdone show cars that merely go to shows and back really bug me.
So, is that to say that private individuals can’t build cars that excite me? No, it’s not impossible, just rare. There have been cars built by individuals such as Jay Bryan, Mike Sabounchi and Toshi Hayama that have definitely impressed me in one way or another. But to be honest, I haven’t seen anything too interesting in a while. Consider this a challenge to people out there reading this. My name at the top of this entry is a link to my E-mail. Send in cars that you think I’ve overlooked or go out and build something that makes people look twice. I’ve shown you what inspires me, so what inspires you?