Attack: The Day Before

Continuing on my high from this petroleum-filled trip was probably what I was most excited for: Tsukuba Circuit.

I headed out to visit for the practice day that was held the Friday before Attack 2024, one of the main reasons for coming to Japan this time around. Part of my character is that I like to be prepared for things as much as possible, so I thought I’d use the day to explore the paddock and track with complete freedom prior to the main event. I’m glad I did in retrospect, because I had no idea what I was going to be in for the next day.

It started off with a (figurative) bang with the ASLAN EG Civic resetting the N/A TC2000 Course record, and if you know what that car looks like, I doubt that would come as a surprise. I’ve been casually following the progress on it for a number of years after it caught my eye on an Attack Tsukuba livestream a few years back, and it was exciting to see it hit a new high the morning I was there.

Taking stock of the rest of the paddock I came across the contenders you’d expect to see like ASM, Arvou and Friends Racing, and even Mitsuyoshi Nishio’s Nissan Onevia which was still sporting its banner from World Time Attack Challenge. Also mixing it up throughout the day was a fleet of MX-5 Cup cars who I can only assume were running a practice day of their own, as I spent the rest of the afternoon soaking up the atmosphere in anticipation for a full day on Saturday.