Tsukuba circuit is a little more then an hour away from Tokyo by Mini. I arrived nice and early at 7am, which was great timing as I was able to see the cars being set up for racing later in the day, plus I could check out the auto jumble stalls that stretched around the circuit, where some real bargains could be had (I later discovered that it does not matter how big the suitcase is - it's the weight that counts!) There were three classes of Mini racing, all of which were close and exciting to watch, and not without the odd spill. Thankfully no one was hurt, but one or two cars were in for some major rebuilds! It was amazing to see the Hayashi brothers at the end of the day changing the wheels on their race-winning car, fitting a roof rack, loading all their gear and driving it home on the road! No less exciting were the British saloon cars (and a Fiat 500 Abarth) that included a number of Minis, Austin Broadspeed GT, Mini Marcos, GTMs, Imps, A35s, A40s, a Jaguar and a couple of big Healeys, among others. Together with the single seaters, which included a number of Coopers and Lotuses, it really gave the whole day a British Sixties and Seventies classic racing feel.
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