Let's rewind things for a bit. I was digging through my massive photo archive for these pics… since it's Mazda month, I definitely had to show this blast from the past. The car in the photos is a FC3S D1 car, owned by my good friend Hirotaka Hoshino. Hoshino is a D1GP driver, and the charismatic leader of Geki Kassou Dan, a group of really cool image-having drifters from the Gunma prefecture of Japan. The FC pictured above has got to be one of my favorite FCs of all time. It just looked so cool when I watched it drift the banking of Irwindale Speedway… this was quite a while ago. I shot this photo in 2005. Wow, it's just about 3.5 years ago, but it already seems like it's so far away…
BTW: See that Meister R sticker on the lower panel of the door? Do you recognize that decal? If not, then search back through the Speedhunters archives to look through our stories related to MSC at Honjyo Circuit.
I love the bright, multicolored paint job Hoshino's FC has! I also think the M-Sports aero kit, drop vent hood and the aero mirrors do wonders for the car. They make it looks bad ass.
Here's another photo of the car, as it was sitting in the warehouse of a shady ricy parts company who was previously affiliated with some of the top drifting teams.
Here's the back of Hoshino's FC, as it sits in a warehouse temporarily converted to Team Orange's garage area. I remember this day well… these are my good friends in the photo! On the right, leaning on the cool OS Giken crate, is my friend Ohki san (the owner of Tex Modify). The guy in the orange jumpsuit behind him is Hide, who is the official D1 "starter." At D1 events, Hide waves the flags at the start line to signal the drivers to GO… but for his every day job, he works at Ebisu Circuit, and is one of Kumakubo's oldest childhood friends. The guy with the ripped pants underneath Kumakubo's S15 is none other than Mitsuteru Igusa, Team Orange's hilarious crew chief, who is a D1 level drifter himself. The guy on the leftmost with the bright orange pants is Kenta Ogawara from Tokyo Drive Productions. Those are some pretty bright pants, man.
The last thing I'll say about this photo is RIP… because the super cool FC3S in the photos we see here is now sitting somewhere in a junkyard in Japan, all rusted out. A few years back, Hoshino got into a crash with this car, and it just sat outside his shop as a parts car, until it finally rusted away and he had it sent to the crusher. So sad. Awesome car.
-Antonio Alvendia
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
DAMN Antonio! Taking it wayyyyy back. Nice find. I miss those days.
Ah cool feature, Anotnio.
Getting in and out of that car was one of the harrdest things I've ever done.
The big THRASH seat was so close to the wheel and the cage door bars were nuts.
It took quite a bit of maneuvering to do!
Super super super nice guy too. All the Geki guys actually.
I drove "junior" around Los Angeles in my S14. It was rad. In fact, I had him and Hoshino autograph the inside roof. So, if the current owner of my car happens to take out the headliner, he'll see them there.
Wallie of the second and last shot PLEASE!
l love her style....
A wallpaper of the garage view should may be good, I think...
Ricy Company? Shady? APC? Ooops, did I say that outloud?
i looooove fc's~!!!
they were the best iteration of the rx-7 in my opinion.
can we get some walls of these shots?
the livery kinda reminds me of the 787B No.55
I'm really diggin' on the FC. Just bought me a 1/25 scale model to drop hard, put spacers on, etc.
Too bad this car was wrecked/junked. Got any more aggressive street FC's?
Pretty sure Mr. Hoshino got the paint scheme from the JACCS civics and accords.
i'd love to see the first picture in the Desktops section!
more aggressive FC pics on the way!
??????!!!
? ?? ??????!
? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ?????! ?????? ? ????? ???? ????? fc.
? ?????? ?? ????? ?????.
this is the inspiration for me building my car, well back in the day... i took a different route, kinda track oriented. but this is the initial thought i had. i later went this route...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/lexleo510/caNon%20cam%20pics/IMG_1585.jpg
now thats a D1 car i can dig. DAMN!
Killer paintjob ! Is one of the best looking D1 cars i ahve ever seen ! I have not seen it in a dvd tho .....
Igusa is always doing something ! He is never standing ... ripped jeans tru oldschool and Very Nice drifter indeed !!! This are dope pictures Antonio, better fun of a classic photoshoot of a car ! Because of the company and friends you have all together .....
i demand a desktop size picture of this car.
If I get a penny everytime Antonio says: "from my GOOD friend.......XXX" (insert a celebrity name in the blank)....at this time I would be richer than Bill Gates !
Jesus Antonio, you either live "large" or your ego is larger than the Mechelin's logo.
Is that a must to mention over and over who you know in the industry, who is your friend, and where you've been?
I don't see other peeps in the industry do that....maybe I'm missing something.
yah the second time i was in japan it sat in the shop side and then later at the local car dealer outside, engine dead. came back 6 mos later and only saw the door hahaha
its been gone for years
a sweet ride no doubt!
Everything else is fine, just the constant reminders that bug me, you never say it in person!!
First off I am so glad that I saved a few official Goodyear pics of this FC. Secondy wallpapers of the last two images. And lastly I'd like to owna replica street legal version of Hoshino's FC.
Are there any pics of it drifting with Drift Samurai's FC?
Antonio,
I think what Alex is saying is that we don't need to be constantly need to be reminded of all your friends.
We get it man your the import socialite!
Funny thing is we were having this same exact discussion last week. We were talking about how awesome Speedhunters is but the bloggers just toot their horn just a bit too much.
Maybe tone down the self praise just a bit. Your starting to sound like a girl that talks about herself too much.
Alex, Id agree, Im afraid Antonio is reminding me too much of Joyce Jameson's character in Death Race 2000. I know plenty of people that Antonio knows yet I dont ram it down others throats that I know them.
Alex, haven't heard you chime in for a while. I think it's unfortunate that you get offended or put off by that. I just have a lot of friends because my personality and line of work lead me to meet and keep in touch with a lot of people - car industry or not. I don't care if these people are famous - to me, friends are friends. Honestly, I don't even think about it. It's not like I try to brag about the people I know... that totally isn't my style... and if you really knew me in real life, you'd understand that. Unfortunately, a lot of people just read my stories and THINK they know me personally, but they don't. The truth is, I make friends easily because I'm just normally outgoing and friendly. And it's not as if I sit there and carefully plan out "okay, I'm gonna let them know THIS guy is my friend, etc" LOL
Lighten up dude. It sucks that so many of my posts seem to piss you off! I write about my personal experiences on Speedhunters, because it IS a blog, and should include some personal aspects. Since Rod, John B and I travel a bit more than the others, our stories many times include personal stories of people we know or have experiences with many times.
Haha, I'm sorry you get to angry after reading my posts, man. I hope you get over it one day, I know I will. At least we know you're constantly reading Speedhunters! That's a good thing! =)
Wow, thanks for the support Ed. I wouldn't say I rammed anything down your throat, people might get the wrong idea!
Nice to know that other motorsport photographers got my back.
Man, you complainers need to stop being such a bunch of little batches. You remind me of "Stan" in that one song by Eminem. If you don't like it, you can choose not to read Speedhunters. But you're obviously SH fans, so stop complaining already.
I haven't "chime" in because of your comments......I kinda got bored of reading the same stuff over and over and over again; like many others....... "I was chillin at my bro's crib....yada yada yada."
When I open your thread I just look at the pics and that's it. Your pics are good, but your writeup.....(let a journalist handle that).
It doesn't piss me off that you act like that......if you want to be perceived like a tough-ghetto "gangsta", be my guess, but don't pretend that people take you seriously.
And when you say things like: "Honestly, I don't even think about it."......suuuuure, you don't think about it BUT make sure to write it down. (and put yourself in the spot-light). How is that for not thinking about it?
You know a lot of people in the industries.....but again, I don't see why you ALWAYS have mention how good of a friends they are.
You are by far the blogger that writes the most.....and honestly.....it's not about the length of the write up, it's about the content, about the quality.....your quality is mediocre at best.
Be a little more "kenson"......you that are so JDM-hell bend.....Japanese people don't like jishinkajou.....that's all I have to say.
Wow, you are always sound so vicious and nasty Alex. I've met Antonio before, and he's actually a pretty nice guy. No wonder he has a lot of friends. It's too bad you always need to put others down. I think your comments degrade this site. I personally like hearing the inside scoop commentary, I think it's interesting. You don't normally get that level of info from magazines, but I guess we all have our own preferences.
Anyway, you should try to be less of a finger pointer and complainer Alex. I enjoy reading Speedhunters. (Keep up the good work guys! One of my favorite websites!)
Wow !!! i envy and jealous of Antonio's line of work-lifestyle and friendships but i want be offended by reading it ! Worst off all i want try to downgrade his job ........ Grow up or don't read the blog ...... Just see the pictures like 5 year olds !
Antonio is my good friend.
>:]
I think Alex makes a valid point.
If I have a friend named Jon Doe, I don't say "And that is my friend Jon Doe."
I say "That's Jon Doe."
The only time you say "My friend," is when you want someone to think they're you're friend because they'd normally assume otherwise.
With all that said, it doesn't bother me at all. I still like reading and looking at the pics - keep it up.
I feel exactly what Jared said.
I have no more comment in regard.
LOL. H8Rs.
Well in light of things, my "REALLY GOOD FRIEND" Hoshino who live 5 mins down the road from my house here in Isesaki / Gunma, still has the full body kit for the FC RC7 with that paint scheme on it all stickered up sitting down in his workshop. Also he has another FC done up just like this located in Gunma, which he has not touched in years.
I also dont refer to my friends when i speak to them as friend i call them by their names, i think sometimes your out look on things is different to others Antonio, but your in the spotlight so be prepared to get shit from haters. I dont agree with everything you write because your still another person looking into the drift scene not actually in it, your not spending your cash or hours working on cars and getting them ready for events.
Not everyone can rock this baller offset you talk about all the time or a perfect styled car, we drift our cars and spend money in the right places, you have all these friends in high places you should know style means shit, its what you bring to the table and results at the end of the day.
Dig you photos and most of your write ups, keep going and when you next coming down Gunma to see the Geki boys. Remember you cant please everyone so f*ck em.
Geki: Hey man, you're absolutely right about spending money in the right places. You know, Speedhunters is more of a chronicle of automotive style and car culture, which is why I always bring those things to light. I WISH i had more time and money to drive more. However, as you can probably see, I spend most of my money on camera gear and traveling right now - work related stuff. I totally know what you mean though, and I have complete respect those who use their hard earned money on buying tires and maintaining their cars... God knows I need to spend some time doing that when I get back to Japan. My 86 there doesn't have nice wheels (14x6, embarrassing!) and it doesn't even run that well right now. However, I do know what it's like spending my own time and money working on cars and getting them ready for events. It's funny, I thought I was going to get into this line of work so I could do car stuff all the time... but the sad truth is, I'm so busy nowadays that I can't even find time to work on my cars or drive them! Always stuck behind the lens or behind a computer, writing the blog posts that you guys read several times a day!
One of these days we'll have to meet up. I do need to visit the homies in Gunma! Stay Geki!
Hey mate i always got room, may not be the best but i can spot ya no issues.
I drift now when i have the money, money is becoming hard to find now days so yeah....
I agree with the others, I enjoy most of your content antonio, but you do come across as a 'name dropper' who always has to mention 'im friends with this top D1 guy etc' in your posts. It makes it seem like your a little full of your self and a bit desperate to be cool and show how much you're in the 'scene'.
Not hate, just constructive criticism of how you can come across on the internet to those of us who don't know you.
Other than that, keep posting up nice '86's
thanks for the constructive criticism chris. things like that don't occur to me, and i realize that people judge me based on what they read on the internet or in magazines, and THINK they know what i'm about.
if you knew me in real life, i don't think you would think that at all.
anyways, Toyota month is coming up, so you can be damn sure you'll see alot of nice 86s.