Haven’t gotten your hachiroku fix quite yet? Good, as there’s a lot yet to see from the AE86 Matsuri in Tsukuba. There is hardly anything that can touch this gathering in AE86 circles, even the “86 Day” in August. Why you may wonder? Well it’s simple, not only do you get an impressive showing of street cars, rides we have seen before at Tsuzuki or Daikoku parking area meets…

…but you are also treated to the cream of the crop, the very best highly modified track racers like TRD’s very own N2 Levin which you may have seen Keiichi Tsuchiya wrestle around Tsukuba in countless Hot Version videos.

Seeing drivers thrown these lightweight beasts around the track is impressive and I still can’t believe they are all pretty much lapping around the 1-min flat around Tsukuba 2000. Anything under 1’05” is mighty fast!

Every time I see this Crystal Body Yokohama Levin I have to stop and admire it in all its simple, functional beauty. Everything you see on this car is there for one thing only, improving its performance on track. It’s just a coincidence that all the aero bits and pieces, wheels and overfenders make it look so damn badass!

But wait, it gets better. Check out the engine bay! The little 4AG sits so low, far lower than you can gauge from this picture.

Mounting the engine lower helps wonders in the whole feel of the car as you are effectively lowering the roll center of the vehicle. This can only be achieved by getting rid of the bulky wet sump and replacing it with a dry-sump lubrication system. Above you can see the pulley that runs the external oil pump.

N2 racers not wild enough for you? Enter Rikou Engineering with their absolutely crazy full carbon Levin.

This thing has easily become the wildest looking AE86 in Japan, that crazy rear GT wing making it the most recognizable at the event!

Towards the end of the day one of the team crew was taking a nap agaisnt it. People that attend events like these don’t really sleep more than a couple of hours the night before as there is usually lots of travelling and setting up to do.

The Wise Auto Trueno was entered in the Open Class and put down a solid 1’00″931 making it the third fastest car on the day.

It accomplished this thanks to a little help from Nissan!

Looked literally glued to the track even when powering out of the second gear in-field hairpin.

The event organizers, Mercury really does an incredible job of getting so many cars out for the day.

After a few outings the inevitable maintenance has to follow to keep the cars performing faultlessly.

Rays TE37Vs, lots of dish and slick rubber. So much win!!

D1 driver Hibino was at the event with his Up Garage hachi, there to entertain the crowds during the drift sessions.

Yet another CBY car. There were a total of three, the green Trueno we saw in Part 1 the fastest on the day with a 1’00″236

Grip sessions were all about setting the fast times…

…with the odd spot of on the limit overtaking.

When the cars eventually returned into the pits I headed over to the small grass area…

…next to the back straight where owners had lined up their Toyotas to form a rather impressive lineup. No matter which AE86 meeting you attend you can always be sure to find a panda Trueno sporting the Fujiwara Tofu Ten livery!

I couldn’t believe this guy had driven his Trueno all the way down from Hokkaido. In case you don’t know where that is, it’s that big and cold island on the northern part of the Japanese archipelago. He stuck his car on the ferry and spent the rest of the previous day driving the 400 or so miles south in order to make the meet. Now that’s dedication for you!

Hatchbacks are always the most popular.

I bumped into Aaron Mai from NZ Performance Car and Maiham Media. He was rocking an extreme photo stance while trying to get the perfect shot…of me!

That’s pretty much right on the bump stops!

The Run Free crew never fails to impress with wild third-gear slides all the way around the final corner.

Keep it tight!

That’s about it for the hachirokus. Next up are the Skylines…

AE86 Matsuri 2011 features on Speedhunters 

-Dino Dalle Carbonare