{"id":907,"date":"2020-04-11T16:38:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T07:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slateblue-rat-985506.hostingersite.com\/?p=907"},"modified":"2020-04-12T13:05:57","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T04:05:57","slug":"nsx-fiesta-1998-special-report-no-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/2020\/04\/11\/nsx-fiesta-1998-special-report-no-1\/","title":{"rendered":"NSX Fiesta 1998 Special report No.1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NSX Fiesta, my perspective\u2026Finally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">(By Alexander A. Vizcarra, NSXCA &#8211; Southwest Region)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sensory overload. This is what I would describe the whole week I was in\nJapan. Or rather, this is what I ended up having. Too many new things and\nplaces to see, and numerous new faces to meet. It was one of the very best\nNSX related weekend I have ever had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and upon arriving at my brother-in-law&#8217;s\napartment where I will be staying while in Tokyo, we immediately began\nplanning the next few days. Website were checked out, and translated, as\nmost of the neat Japanese websites that directed us to places worth checking\nout were in, well, Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DAY ONE &#8211; Wednesday 14 Oct. 1998<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The first person I met up with was Skip, who had been in Tokyo since Friday the week before. He&#8217;s been going around, so he knew the subway system quite well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You see, in Japan, most people do not speak English comfortably. I say\nthis because I can tell that a lot of them understand some English, but\nare not comfortable enough to speak the language. But really, we didn&#8217;t\nmind, as most of them knew more English than we did Japanese. Anyway, my\nbrother in law proved very indispensable when it came to making contact\nwith these various NSX vendors. We got a hold of Mr. Mamoru Ogose, K&amp;N\ndistributor in Japan. Why him, you ask? What does he have to do with the\nNSX? Well, he also owns an outfit called &#8220;Gruppe M&#8221; that happens\nto be a manufacturer of NSX aftermarket parts. Among these parts is a supercharger\nkit, which I will tell you more about later. He also owns two NSXs, one\nsupercharged, and one that is a Type-R. He is also the official RUF Porsche\ndealer in Japan. The guy is loaded. And an extremely nice person as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He offers to take us around that afternoon. He picks us up at the subway\nstation near his office, and gives us a tour that has left both Skip and\nI breathless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, we go to an aftermarket shop that specializes in modifying NSXs,\na place called &#8220;PHASE.&#8221; We see our very first Type-R parked outside.\nInside their showroom, they have two NSXs, and the new Civic Type-R. One\nNSX appears stock, while the other was extremely modified. It had their\nversion of a body kit, which was very interesting to look at&#8230; quite nice\nactually. Wide fender flares, huge wing, huge duct on the front hood, exposed\nheadlamps, etc. The engine appeared modified as well, and an interesting\nthing to note was that on the driver&#8217;s compartment, there was a four way\nswitch that enabled the driver to choose from four different computer programs.\nIntriguing. There were lots of parts around, from brembo brakes to carbon\nfiber body parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we moved on to another place called &#8220;MAC&#8217;S&#8221; which was an\nNSX reseller. And this particular branch we went to was the biggest in\nJapan, according to our tour guide, Mr. Ogose. It seemed to be, as they\nhad in excess of 30 used NSXs on display. They were selling various NSX\nparts as well, but harder-to-get parts like NSX-R seats, gearshift knob,\nsteering wheel, etc., and an &#8220;Acura&#8221; trim kit (badges, taillights,\netc.). I don&#8217;t like this kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By now, my head was already spinning in delight. I am also running low\non film. But the best has yet to come. We now proceed to a place called\n&#8220;MUGEN.&#8221; Yes, THE Mugen. Awesome facility. They were pretty tight\non security as well. At first, we weren&#8217;t allowed to take pictures, but\nafter a conversation between Mr. Ogose and what seemed to be like a Mugen\nengineer, we were allowed to take photos inside their showroom. They had\na lot of cool stuff on display. They had an NSX as their centerpiece, which\nhad the whole Mugen NSX catalogue on it. It had their radical body kit,\ncomplete with wide fenders, lexan rear engine hatch, exposed headlamps,\nand a rear panel that looked really wild. They also had most of their racing\nengines on display, from Formula One engines, to Formula 3 to an NSX engine\napparently modified for the Japanese Touring Car Championship. They also\nhad the Honda IndyCar engines on display, of which I understand they also\nsupply a lot of parts for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We now move on to our final destination of our tour, Mr. Ogose&#8217;s office.\nIt was the K&amp;N headquarters, actually, as I think his Gruppe M business\noffice was quite far away. Anyway, this was where he had most of his parts\nin stock. He entertained us with some tea, and showed us pictures of his\nNSXs, and the parts he installs, as well as the Porsches he modifies and\nsells at his dealership. He brings us downstairs to his store room, and\nshowed us various NSX goodies. What struck me the most was how he enjoys\ntweaking the NSX, and as a result, he has produced a few really trick parts\nfor the car. Among which is a really neat boost gauge, which replaces the\nbattery meter in our instrument panel. It is designed to match the rest\nof the instrumentation perfectly, so it looks completely factory. So those\nof you who have forced induction on their NSXs, THIS is the boost gauge\nto get. He also has a 300 KPH speedometer conversion kit, as in Japan,\nthe speedos are limited to about 120 KPH. There is also a speed limiter\nin Japanese NSXs, so he has software that eliminates this. He also had\na used NSX-R engine cover he wanted to get rid of, so he sold it to one\nof us for a song&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, we had to head back, as we were to meet Doug, Dagmar, and\nmy brother-in-law, Kervin, and his date, for dinner that evening. But Mr.\nOgose insists that he give us a ride in his supercharged NSX, which he\nwill have to pick up sometime after 7 PM. So he insists to meet us after\ndinner. We agreed, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Towards the end of a very pleasant Japanese dinner somewhere in Tokyo,\nMr. Ogose calls me on my cell phone. He says he is a couple of blocks from\nthe restaurant, waiting for us. So, Doug, Skip and myself scooted over\nthere, finding a black beast of an NSX, parked on a no-parking zone with\nthe flashers on. I&#8217;ve seen this car before, in one of those Japanese magazines,\nbut is even more impressive in person. It had yet another version of a\nbody kit, of his own design, which actually looked quite good. It was laden\nwith stickers, so it LOOKED fast. Racing seats, 17-18&#8243; wheels, and\nbrakes that looked like those of Motor Mail&#8217;s, but had a different logo\non it. He says that he gets the brake calipers from a certain supplier\nin Italy, but not Motor Mail. (This really leaves some unanswered questions\nin my mind.) And yes, that supercharger sitting atop the engine. It is\ndesigned around an Eaton unit, with fittings that were mostly casted and\nwas professionally finished, so the whole set up looks factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He takes me out first. He does a burnout as we left. Awesome sounding exhaust,\nand as he revved the sound of his car reverberated against the highrises,\nthe exhaust note sounded like a Grand Prix motorcycle. And yes, the power\nis definitely there, and felt like a hundred more horses. He claims an\n&#8220;honest&#8221; 370 bhp at the flywheel. (Apparently, he&#8217;s on the NSX\nlist as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We were careening through the very narrow streets of Tokyo in excess of\n90 MPH, and I swear he had something going with the Police Department,\nas we passed at least a couple of cops, and both looked the other way.\nI was hanging on for dear life, not so much afraid of his driving, but\nam fearful for any pedestrian that might step on the road at the wrong\ntime. Awesome ride, definitely worth the price of admission. Definitely\nworth staying up late for. But not really recommended especially right\nafter dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This car, along with other modified NSXs, is featured in the latest issue\nof the &#8220;HOT VERSION,&#8221; a well known Japanese automobile video\nmagazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DAY TWO &#8211; Thursday 15 Oct. 1998<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Phew! And that was just Wednesday. Thursday proved to be quite sedate, however, when compared to the previous day. Nothing much happened NSX-related during the day, as I spent most of the day roaming around Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll be overwhelmed with electronics as soon as you step out of the subway\nstation at Akihabara. If you like gadgets, you&#8217;ll feel like you&#8217;re in heaven.\nBut soon that feeling goes away as soon as you look deeper into the stuff\navailable, as you will find that most of the equipment are for the Japanese\nmarket, and is not practical for use here in the States, though not impossible.\nThe Yen had also strengthened significantly, so bargain hunting was more\ndifficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Met up with Skip again later that afternoon, and we took the &#8220;Shinkansen&#8221;\nor the Bullet Train to Utsunomiya, our first stop of the weekend for the\nFiesta. We first checked into our hotel, then we had a nice extended dinner\nat one of the better Japanese restaurants in the area. As we were walking\nback to the hotel, we see a couple of NSXs parked in the hotel lot. A yellow\nType-R and a red coupe. We check out the R, and soon afterwards, we see\nthe rest of the American stragglers walking toward us. They had all just\nflown in that afternoon, so they all looked quite tired (if I may say so\n\ud83d\ude09 With them were Mr. Nakamura of Honda, Mr. Tomiyoshi of the NSX Club\nof Japan, and Mr. Kase, the Type-R owner. Spirited conversation ensued,\neach trying out (sitting in, that is) Mr. Kase&#8217;s NSX-R. We broke up around\nmidnight, to get barely enough sleep for the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DAY THREE &#8211; Friday 16 Oct. 1998<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Ah, yes. The first day of the real NSX festivities, though not yet an official part of the NSX Fiesta. We get picked up by a bus chartered by Honda, and brings us to our first destination, the Honda facilities at Takanezawa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, we were given a tour of the Honda R&amp;D facility, which apparently\nwas a high security area. They requested for us to leave our cameras in\nthe bus, and they did not really give us a real tour of the facility. Instead,\nthey presented us with a nice video about the development of the NSX, and\nabout Honda&#8217;s philosophy in building cars. They also introduced Mr. Shigeru\nUehara, Honda Executive Chief Engineer, and the &#8220;Father of the NSX.&#8221;\nNeedless to say, we were awed by his presence. Two other engineers were\nalso present, one of which is the NSX engine designer. Their names escape\nme at the moment, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A question and answer session follows, so the most obvious and pressing\nquestions were asked, of course. What will the next NSX be like? Will we\nbe getting a V-10? Etc., etc. And true to Honda tradition, they answered\nin the most non-committal way, promising us with positive changes and definite\nimprovements in the future. Like I didn&#8217;t know that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, we were given a bus tour of the Honda Testing and Proving Grounds.\nVery impressive facility, which is very similar to the Transportation Research\nCenter in Ohio, including a large (very) high speed oval. We were particularly\nimpressed when they took us on the big oval, not in a slow, Sunday type\nof a drive, but in a fast, spirited fashion. I could have sworn our bus\ndriver had a part time job driving for the Honda JTCC team. But impressed\nas we were, we were completely blown away when we saw three NSXs, approaching\nus at full speed from behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Picture this. Three NSXs with their headlights on, on a high banked oval\napproaching you at full speed. As they come off the banks, they sequentially\nstraighten out and swooshes by you. Then they do this three or four times,\ncatching us at different parts of the track. Truly an experience that will\ngive you the goosebumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, they bring us to the birthplace of the NSX, the Tochigi Factory.\nUpon arrival, we find about three dozen or so NSXs parked in formation\noutside the facility. Apparently, these are all privately owned NSXs, whose\nowners are also taking the factory tour as we were. Of course, we check\nout their cars, and we find an interesting collection of stock and modified\nNSXs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We were first brought into something like a conference room, but had various\ndisplays on the walls that allowed the NSX buyer to choose his options,\nfrom body color, to wheel color, to upholstery, and stitching colors, to\nthe various woodgrain finishes available. A feature that we definitely\nmiss in the US. A welcome speech was made by one of the engineers, and\nsoon after, we were brought to the manufacturing facility itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The factory was pretty amazing. It was in stark contrast to the Honda factories\nin Ohio, in that it had much less automation. Aluminum bodies were indeed\npushed around on dollies, vs. robots and conveyor belts in the Marysville,\nOhio plant. The aluminum bodies were also handfiled to get the smoothest\nfinish, a painstaking process as we had discovered. We also caught our\nfirst glimpse of the new S2000, which was apparently being built on the\nsame production line as the NSX. They also had a near completed body of\nthe S2000. Hmmm&#8230; very nice, and if the performance figures are what Honda\nsays them to be, they might have a future buyer in their hands. (Just don&#8217;t\nlet my wife read this \ud83d\ude09 There was a mint green Type-S on the floor, as\nwell as a US-spec right hand drive Acura NSX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We then head out to Motegi, which was a good hour away from the factory.\nIt was a single lane road leading in and out of the track, a nightmare\nas I would imagine, when traffic has to get to and from the track on major\nrace weekends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you get there though, I am sure you will forget about the traffic.\nThe track looks awesome. The Hotel Twin Ring was equally awesome; a brand\nnew facility owned by Honda, with lots of high tech touches. The view from\nour hotel room was awesome. It had a GREAT view of the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We invade the gift shop soon after checking in, as it was FULL of Honda\ngoodies. It was a good thing I didn&#8217;t buy anything at Akihabara, as I ended\nup with an extra luggage full of Honda and NSX collectibles. I think our\ngroup had just accounted for most the yearly sales of that little gift\nshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The day ended with a very nice dinner with all our Japanese hosts. More\nand more NSX owners trickled into the hotel. And a bit of excitement ensued\nwhen we spotted Mr. Kurosawa, of &#8220;Best Motoring&#8221; video fame,\nand a very well respected motorsports figure in Japan. He joined us for\na brief candid conversation. A few other famous Japanese drivers arrived\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DAY FOUR &#8211; Saturday 17 Oct. 1998<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"> This is the first official day of the Fiesta. It was pouring rain, along with gusty winds. A typhoon had just struck Japan. The bus picks us up at the hotel, and heads toward the &#8220;Multi Course&#8221;, where we will be getting our &#8220;Side by Side&#8221; experience. At first, nobody knew what that was all about. We had thought that we had paid 100 bucks to have a professional driver take us around the track. But to our delight, the &#8220;Side by Side&#8221; was actually an open wheel formula car that derives its name from the manner in which the engine is positioned to the driver&#8217;s right side. It is a purposely built race car, with all the right parts. It is powered by a 750cc motorcycle engine, with chain driven rear wheels and a 5 speed sequential gearbox. It is built for the purpose of conducting driving schools, and only at the Twin Ring Motegi. It is said to be a 50,000 dollar machine. And we get to drive it (in pouring rain, though).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017oval2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017oval2.jpg 400w, https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017oval2-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So I watch the first couple of groups driving around the tight slalom course,\nputtering around in the rain in first gear. This is no fun, I say, so when\nmy turn came, I wanted to really get a feel of the car and so I went for\nit. I went through the gears, and tried staying just under the maximum\nlevel of available grip but with the torrential downpour, it was too slow\nto have any fun. So I practiced my rally driving skills and got it sideways,\nand around a few times. I knew there was nothing to hit, and that it was\nTino who was with me in the same session, so I know he won&#8217;t run into me.\nBut I&#8217;m sure it got the Japanese a little nervous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all then headed back to the paddock for the opening ceremonies, after\nwhich there was the biggest parade of NSXs I have ever seen! 200 plus NSXs\nall lined up in four rows on the front straight of the oval, then proceeded\nto make it&#8217;s way in the rain around the oval. What a sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017oval3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1015\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017oval3-1.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/slateblue-rat-985506.hostingersite.com\/2020\/04\/11\/nsx-fiesta-1998\/1017oval3-1\/\" class=\"wp-image-1015\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, I am particularly impressed by the enthusiasm of the Japanese\nfor the NSX, and the Fiesta itself. In spite of the rain and very gloomy\nforecast, the numbers was still phenomenal. They had at least the same\nnumber, if not more, NSXs this year as they had last year. I was actually\nprepared to see a lot fewer NSXs for the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017ffl-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017ffl-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017ffl-1-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A delicious lunch was served at the Press Booths overlooking the front\nstraightaway, which had a great view of practically the whole track. After\nthat, we visited the Honda Museum. This was really an amazing place. It\nis a huge, three story building filled with almost every type of Honda\nproduct there is, from production cars, to Formula One cars, to mopeds,\nto Grand Prix motorcycles, to lawn mowers and generators. Honda is truly\nproud of all its products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we move on to the Honda Fan Fun Lab, which is more of a hands on type\nof museum. They had various interactive displays, which included a motorcycle\nsimulation. They also had the JGTC(All Japan Grand Touring car Championship)\navex NSX on display, as well as a little structure where they were showing\na video about the development on the NSX. An impressive presentation, which\nincluded a full, unpainted NSX body shell in all its shiny aluminum glory\nsuspended in mid-air in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our bus is nowhere to be found, so we were given a bunch of electrically\nassisted bicycles, called the &#8220;Racoon,&#8221; so we can pedal our way\nback to the main track. It is an interesting device, and it gives a rather\nweird feeling when you pedal. It almost feels like power steering; the\nharder you pedal, the lighter it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"430\" height=\"322\" src=\"http:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017nm.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017nm.jpg 430w, https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1017nm-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Dinner that evening was a huge gala event, which started with a picture\ntaking session of all the NSX attendees. There was a live band, and lots\nof food. It was interesting to note that we were standing up all night,\nand that no chairs were provided. Interesting concept, and it did help\nto promote more interaction amongst the members. We met a few more Japanese\ndignitaries, including Japanese F1 driver Shinji Nakano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We then a bunch of us, including some Japanese owners, decided to go to\nthe hotel bar, where we can sit down. Soon afterwards, most of us left\non the 9:00 bus that will take us to the Green Hill hotel, where we will\nbe staying for that night. Twin Ring Hotel was fully booked with local\nNSX Fiesta attendees for Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DAY FIVE &#8211; Sunday 17 Oct. 1998<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">We look out our bedroom window, and we still see dark clouds up above, but at the same time, we see more of the blue sky. Perhaps the weather will improve today, we hope. And it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our bus takes us today into the paddock area, where we got ready to ride\nwith professional drivers who will take us around the oval at speed. Or\nas fast as the conditions will allow. The track was still damp, so the\nfirst few cars out did not seem to go very fast. But as the track dried\nout, so did the speeds, and by the time we got done with our rides, the\ntrack was completely dry. The race driver I rode with races with the Japan\nTouring Car Championship (JTCC) and drives the factory-supported AVEX NSX.\nI forget his name. But it was his first time on an oval, as is the case\nfor most of the Japanese professional drivers out there. Motegi is really\nJapan&#8217;s first large Speedway, and aside from CART and NASCAR, I don&#8217;t think\nthere is any large racing organization in Japan that holds races on this\noval. Not yet anyway. (JMO, ICBW)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We head back to the Press Rooms, and at this point, there was nothing much\nelse planned for us, and it pretty much depended on what we wanted to do.\nA few of us decide that they were ready to head back to Tokyo. Mr. Nakamura\nsuggested to the rest of us that we can go to the go-kart track and drive\neither the Side-by-Sides, or the go-karts. So we decide that that&#8217;s what\nwe want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the way to the kart track, Mr. Kase offered to let me drive his Type-R.\nOf course, I was delighted to do so. It took me just a short while to get\nused to the right hand driving configuration, and shifting with my left\nhand wasn&#8217;t too bad. What I didn&#8217;t realize was that the control pod behind\nthe steering wheel was also reversed. So when I tried to flash my headlights,\nthe windshield washer and wipers came on instead. Quite embarrassing. But\ndid you know the ignition switch was still on the right hand side? Hmmm&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1018final.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1018final.jpg 400w, https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1018final-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It actually took a bit more getting used to driving on the left hand side\nof the road. I always felt I was going into a head on collision with the\napproaching cars. Anyway, Mr. Kase&#8217;s Type-R felt very solid, and it was\napparent that this is his baby and takes good care of it. The suspension\nis quite a bit firmer than US spec NSXs, and all in all, the car felt lighter\nand more agile. Nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway, we get to the track, and we find out that they only have two Side-by-Sides\navailable, and it will take some time bringing over more. But they had\nabout 9 go-karts lined up and ready to go. These are single speed racing\nkarts, with what looks like a custom motor built just for this kart and\nits purpose, and it is equipped with its own starter motor (traditional\nracing karts either have an outboard starter, or as in the case of the\ndirect drives and the shifters, these will have to be push started). I\ntell this group that the karts are not a bad way to go, and that they will\nall be pleasantly surprised. And sure enough, most everyone had a blast.\nThe track also had its timing system with each kart having a transponder,\nso you get timed automatically and your time gets posted on a large electronic\nscoreboard. I get second fastest in the first heat, only second to Kye,\nan Englishman who lives in Tokyo. But on the second heat, I get the best\ntime, bettering Kye&#8217;s fast time by about a second. Ha-ha! Lots of fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We then got shuttled back to the Press Room, where we decided to grab lunch.\nThe other NSXs are preparing to get on the road course for a final parade\nlap, but I has too exhausted to make the long walk back to the other side\nto join them. But those who did got quite lucky as they were not only able\nto snag a ride, but was able to drive themselves!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fiesta was finally over, and after we all bade Sayonaras to our great\nhosts and our newfound friends, we took cabs back to the train station\nwhere we took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>CONCLUSION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>What a great time it was. I took tons of pictures and videos, as usual, and hope to get them posted on a website soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was truly a fantastic event. It is definitely something I would never\nforget, and hope to do again sometime in the future. I hope more of you\nwould take this chance as well, the next time around. Thank you very much\nto all our Japanese hosts: Mr. Nakamura, Mr. Nakanishi, Mr. Tomiyoshi,\nand Mr. Kase. Many, many thanks to Honda of Japan, for putting together\na fantastic event, and a great program for us visitors. Thanks to all the\nwonderful NSX owners who accommodated us and forgave us for not speaking\nmore Japanese. And thanks to Kendall Pond for making this all happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;Till next time,<br>\nAlex<br>\nD R A L E X A N D E R A V I Z C A R R A<br>\n_____________________________________________<br>\nFamily, Cosmetic, and Implant Dentistry<br>\nLa Mirada, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>(C)Copyright NSX CLUB of JAPAN. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NSX Fiesta, my perspective\u2026Finally (By Alexander A. Vizcarra, NSXCA &#8211; Southwest Region) Sensory overload [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiesta","tag-fiesta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1024,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions\/1024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nsxcj.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}