JDM Motorsports/Tuning Scene Rebounds From Big Quake - Intel

The tragic events in the Sendai area of Japan on March 11 will have ramifications for years to come. The people of Japan suffered through a 9.0 earthquake, a 10-meter (33-foot) Tsunami and a series of catastrophic nuclear incidents. The loss of life and devastating loss of entire communities is hard to fathom. To get the rundown on the effect the disaster had on the tuning scene we contacted Andy Gray owner of PowerVehicles.com, a car sales and tuning shop that operates within the Ebisu Circuit, building, prepping and selling mainly drift and tuned Japanese cars. Andy talked to Kumakubo, owner of the famous D1 drift team Team Orange and the Ebisu Circuit located in the hard-hit Fukushima prefecture. At Sportsland Sugo, the circuit is okay, but due to its location, being very close to many of the affected areas, it is being used as a helicopter supply base delivering relief to the local area. It should get back in action as a motorsport facility sometime in May. Sendai Highland suffered in a major way from the earthquake. It has critical damage to the dragstrip, main circuit and control tower and repairs are expected to take at least a year. Motegi’s oval track has been cracked and the main terrace has also suffered catastrophic failure. All of which is undergoing repairs and shouldn’t take long to fix. Tsukuba Circuit suffered minimal damage and is expected to reopen April 19th. The Ebisu Circuit had plenty of cracks and landslides. The racing surface in Driftland took a hit with the far turn losing some surface, the grandstands collapsing along with plenty of fissures. The garages suffered greatly with a few sliding downhill or left teetering on the brink, some with cars still inside. Kumakubo’s own shop, K Style, suffered no structural damage; it was just shaken around a lot. Local friends at Agent K’s tuning shop were also shaken badly, windows were smashed and cracks appeared in the concrete. Local GT-R tuning shop RGF escaped with no noteworthy damage. To provide added peace of mind for Ebisu staff and customers, a Geiger counter with real-time readings will be added to the facility’s live webcam.