Nippon challenge

I dont know if anyone else saw channel 5 about 3am last night but it was like friggin gran tourismo, they were covering some racing series called the nippon challenge and the grid was like evo's, scooby's, tegs, civics, mx5's, mr2's, starlets etc, looked like loads of fun.

Did a bit of reasearch and apparently it was started to give people a cheap way to get into motorsport and be able to use there favouirite japanese model, i think iv found my call in life!!!

A msa class b licence is required too apparently, im seriously thinking about this, I NEED A JOB!!!!

Team T.O.A.

Let's do it

Nippon is a great series though, i know someone who races in it if you want any extra info. He has an orange EK.

yes please, what specification do the cars have to meet, i.e. what safety features and what is/isnt allowed mod wise?

Here's his build up thread mate:

http://civicsportsclub.org/ipb/index.php?showtopic=1916&st=0&start=0

I'll see if i can get you his msn

nice one

ohhhhhhhh

i think iv seen this guy on honda evolutions before, used to rally it didnt he.

im pretty sure he had a crash in it once, i remember reading the thread.

Yep.

There's also a k20'd teg on another Honda site that races Nippon.

ek9.org

or

itr-dc2.com

Not sure tbh

You wanna watch that kiddy with the Orange EK, he's a right dodgy character

Glad to hear you enjoyed the coverage of the Nippon the other night (Brands Hatch i'm guessing?) I recieved a DVD of my in-car footage from Brands this morning so about to sit down and watch how crap my driving really was

Best place for info is www.nipponchallenge.co.uk but i'm more than happy to answer any questions as the site is a bit hit and miss at the moment.

This season is going to be pretty exciting with several Hondas all running in the GT250 class with 4 of them being K20 swaps, and me and a few others upholding the B-series honours.......gonna be some close racing for sure

Anyway, nice to meet you all and feel free to bombard me with questions

i think everyone need to get into this and forget bout the street racing, is there anyroom for a H22 ek lol it revs just as high as your B's indeed.

Lol,

I thought you did quite well, what position did you finish?

Im going to finish my current project which is more of a show car then i deffinately want to get into this.

Iv downloaded the adobe reader file but it doesnt mention anything about what the specs of the car have to be.

What are the main (most expensive) things that need to be done to the car to pass safety regs and what are the limits in terms of swaps, boosting etc?

tia

Cheers mate

I finished 4th overall/2nd in class in Race 1, and 5th overall and 2nd in class in race 2 although my gearbox went on lap 3 so did the remaining 10 laps with no 4th gear, which wasd a nightmare as brands is mostly a 4th gear circuit for me

The most expensive things are your race licence (you must take an ARDS test first and have a medical) total cost is about £375, then Nippon registration and club membership £175, Helmet and race suit £300.

Then the car which needs to have a roll cage (doesnt have to FIA but needs to be at least 6 point with a single door bar) Plumbed in fire extinguisher system, cut off switches to the outside, Bucket seat and harness (3" belt with valid date label), Rain light fitted to the rear etc etc

Thats the basics that are needed and 2009 will see the introduciton of the new GT classes which are limited by power and weight. This should all be on the website, but basically am I going for GT250 which means I cant be anymore than 250bhp and at the end of the race the car can not weigh less than 1010kg with me and the remaining fuel left in it.

Providing the organsitional side of the Nippon improves this season the series should grow and grow

Ouch, i bet that was a ball ache, either pinning 3rd or struggling in 5th...

What was finishing infront of you in your class?

I didnt think it was cheap, but i suppose on the scale of things thats well cheap to get into motorsports.

I dont think i will be ready to enter until at earliest next year but im going to do everything i can to get in asap, think i will use an EG as i know them inside and out machanically and to drive, plus there cheap and relitavely light.

I definately think this will take off big time, hopefully they will hold more than one event per visit, they were saying on the TV there are full grids everytime and people backlisted.

Is the organisation not great at preasent?

What made you decide to enter btw, i remember reading some threads on hondaevs where you were rallying that car iirc, what made you decide to change?

That build thread is savage!! 250bhp from N/A

Ezz i so know where your coming from, to sum it up - Is there anything else in life that you want to do more!?!?!

There is a fair amount of wedge involved to start up by the looks but as you say in the world of motorsport it's not that expensive. It also sorts the men from the boys.

The cage wouldnt really be a problem, strip it, basic electrics for cut off switches etc. Most expensive part i would imagine is building the engine to that standard! Obviousley don't come cheap. Would also need a van to carry shizzle in as the back up, the Vm van couldnt be used unfortunatley M-N reg tranny's go for £500 - 2000k just try and get a cheap one

Safe jay

ezza wrote:

Ouch, i bet that was a ball ache, either pinning 3rd or struggling in 5th...

What was finishing infront of you in your class?

I didnt think it was cheap, but i suppose on the scale of things thats well cheap to get into motorsports.

I dont think i will be ready to enter until at earliest next year but im going to do everything i can to get in asap, think i will use an EG as i know them inside and out machanically and to drive, plus there cheap and relitavely light.

I definately think this will take off big time, hopefully they will hold more than one event per visit, they were saying on the TV there are full grids everytime and people backlisted.

Is the organisation not great at preasent?

What made you decide to enter btw, i remember reading some threads on hondaevs where you were rallying that car iirc, what made you decide to change?

Yeah it was a nightmare as I was pulling along side cars in 3rd, then bogging down in 5th, but no-one passed me for the entire race and still finished 5th overall. James Nicholls in his DC2 was infront of me for both races and we had some great racing through 2008.

The organisational side of things is still not up to scratch with regards the Nippon, neither is the website but i'm sure it will get there in time!

I decided to enter as I needed a change and there were too many things to hit in rallying Did a track day at Combe and thought yeah, this could be fun......plus I had Richy at Performance Autoworks offering to help get the car switched to Circuit spec so thought what the hell

The spec on the civic is pretty good, but will be even better next week

yeah it looks like fun on TV so i imagine actually racing is beyond fun.

keep us updated on teh civic, whats coming next week for it?