During my spring holiday, we decided to take the opportunity to do some testing in Japan at the Keitune Racing Speedway, this year’s Worlds track. But before we left Shanghai, we knew the weather may get rain, so I also packed my electric sedan in case, giving us the option to visit Yatabe Arena for the first time.
It rained everyday except Friday, where it was sunny skies and comfortable. The Keitune track was bigger than I had thought, the straights although not as long as homestead Miami, it was long and had a big sweeper at the end. The track surface itself was a little bumpy at couple corners, but overall, Friday’s traction was low. Shimo was there doing testing with another Kyosho driver and we met a Yuni-San, who was practicing his 1/5 scale gas car. The track layout does not seem difficult but it’s actually quite tricky.
Mugen Japan sent me new upgrades for the MRX5 to test, so the night before, AI put everything on. The new chassis felt and looked like the same material as the new chassis for the MTX5. The double side belt pulley and front anti-roll bar were all improvements to the car. Overall, got some good run time on the new parts. The main purpose of this trip was to select the fuel to use during worlds and get some track time.
Because it rained almost the entire week, we were able to visit Yatabe Arena and all I can say is WOW. Hayato took us there and we could not believe the place, it is definitely the greatest race track/club I have ever been to. We met some Japanese friends there, Masami also was there practicing for his trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Masami was kind enough to give us a ride back to our hotel as well as take us to a hobby shop to get fuel.
Overall, I enjoyed our trip to Japan and look forward to going back for the Pre-Worlds in May.
