One of the main attractions of the MSC Challenge are the triple drift runs, where teams field three cars each and have them drift in formation bumper to bumper to impress the judges. The above shot was taken yesterday at Honjyo circuit at Round 8 of the 2009 championship. As ever at MSC events the atmosphere is very chilled out, making it a pleasure to wonder through the paddock…

…checking out all the cool rides…

…or getting close to the action out on the track.

Like all grassroots drifting events of this nature the selection of cars is as vast as it is varied.

Just look at this line up!

I arrived at the track, situated about 2 hours from the center of Tokyo, nice and early just in time to listen in on the drivers meeting. This is where organizers and guest judges like Hibino tell participants what they are looking for from their drift runs, discussing best lines and clipping points on top of the usual formalities.

Drift events always have the most colorful selection of cars on show. I especially liked this lime green S14 with a dark green aero-hood.

This JZX161 was a real sleeper, looking rather stock except when blasting around the judged corner on the rev limiter at the top of second gear!

The main corner at Honjyo requires high levels of power in order to stay smoothly sideways all the way around it, with cars like AE86s struggling to keep the tail out all the way round. For the S14 above and…

…this T-Get Works FC this was no problem, as they just banged third gear in and lit up the tires!

I just loved this Laurel, with a style bordering on Bosozoku. Check out those massive fenders…

…and how far out the rear wheels sit!

Biggest surprise however was under the hood where the fully rebuilt and very shiny SR20DET sits. Helping spool up the big Trust turbine is a shot of nitrous oxide right before the throttle body.

As you can imagine it did pretty well out on track, the rear spoiler kicking up the tire smoke.

The Team Magician pink JZX110 seems to be at pretty much every grassroots event I cover and as ever it is quite a spectacle to see in action.

Here it is as it ignites the tires blasting past the foam barriers.

The level and commitment of some of the drivers has increased since I attended my last MSC event late last year. Check out the owner of the orange S14 above fitting Yokohama Neova tires to the back of his car.

If you recall I posted up a few pictures of this Sileighty back in May when it was participating in the D1 Divisional round at Mobara. It still has the “Kemu Kemu of Death” sticker on the rear window!

Ok you all know I have a soft spot for Skylines, but this R33 was simply awesome to look at. It was so spotless that is seemed to have just come out of the bodyshop…

…and check out that wild rear carbon wing with centrally mounted stays!

Now that is what I call low! Not sure if the dampers were shot but the top part of the wheels were a good 2-inches inside the arches.

At the end of the day the pro’s had to battle it out against each other to see who would grab the first spot at Round.8. Have a look at how the Run Free AE86 slammed its rear end into the soft barriers.

I was happy to hear Tomo was a fan of Speedhunters so I had to hook him up with a couple of stickers, which he immediately applied onto his rearview mirrors.

We will take a closer look at Tomo’s turbocharged AE86 in Part two!

This is why I love these kind of events, this ghetto front bumper supplies the same amount of air as an expensive aftermarket item. Well kind of! Make sure you stay tuned for Part 2 for more cool cars and action.

-Dino Dalle Carbonare