Attack of the RX7s @ Attack Tsukuba 2019

They’re coming, slowly but surely… I’m talking about the Attack 2019 coverage, which is pretty much well over a month old. I didn’t use to take so long in getting my photos posted up on the site, but with no events in the foreseeable future (for me), I guess I will milk these photos until another event is on the horizon. Anyways, as far as this post is concerned, it’s all about the FD3S. I started doing a RX7-specific Tsukuba Attack post last year because the FD3S seems to dominate the field (in numbers) every year. This is definitely a huge contrast in comparison to events in North America where you hardly see any RX7s at time attack events. That being said, in Japan, there’s no shortage of dedicated tuners catering specifically to Mazda’s rotary crowds, and from what I’ve observed over the years, a lot of the Japanese guys dedicate years sometimes even their whole lives into one make and model. Take Isami Amemiya for example, his life’s work pretty much revolves around one make and you can even go as far as saying he’s dedicated 90% of his time and efforts in only the FD3S. This type of specific dedication in tuning is hard to come by in the States let alone a RX7-specific tuner, and given the nature of the RX7, you’d want the most experienced AND reliable tuner you can find. So, I guess one can see why there’s not a lot of time attack RX7s Stateside which is a shame cause I personally think it’s the best platform for the sport. But…… enough comparisons and my personal opinions and let’s just dive right in to the photos!

Photos by MoMoHitsTheSpot!

Let’s start things off with the fastest RX7 of the day, the 465HP Advan/Endless FD3S. I think it’s safe to say that for FDs, 400-500HPs is the sweet spot for a well-rounded machine.

Exterior wise, the car is running a R-Magic wide body kit as well as a chassis mounted Voltex rear spoiler and Enkei RS05RR wrapped in Yokohama A050 rubbers of course.

End of the day with the hood closed ready to go home and you can see the G-Force Evo in the back looking “funny” ready to head out as well.

The R-Magic kit fits so nicely on this car.

One more shot of it heading out of pit lane behind the Autobahn R32. The car was able to lay down a personal best during the day with a quick 54.483 lap time.

Moving on… the Auto Rescue Izu FD was once again competing at Attack Tsukuba. It was able to do a 57.071 time, which was a bit off its best but still very respectable.

The custom RE Amemiya GT kit makes the car look so wide…

Do you look back at your car like this guy looks back at someone else’s car? If not, you’re building the wrong car.

Pit lane vibes with the Cement and Adhoc Works RX7 behind the Auto Rescue Izu FD. I’ll have more on those two later in the post.

Here’s another fast one, the TFR FD returns to another Attack Championship with sights set around the 53 second time range. Perhaps that was a little too ambitious as it finished off the day with only a 55.576 pass, still a bit shy from its personal best.

The car remained relatively unchanged since its comeback last year except for maybe the turbocharger as it no longer runs on the HKS T51R unit.

Even though it’s not a great looker as I’ve said in previous posts, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t at least post up one shot of the New Type FD. What it lacks in the aesthetics department is sort of made up for in the performance department as it’s consistently one of the fastest FDs out there. This year, it did a 56 second flat, further improving on its personal best and perhaps convincing the masses that a 2JZ swap was not a bad thing…

Since we’re sorta on the topic of aesthetics, the Dragon Racing FD with its mix of RE Amemiya and TCP Magic goodies is pretty much perfection in many peoples’ eyes including mine.

The Boost Up FD with those bright Enkei RS05RRs was able to put down a time of 58.518 for the day, again like many others, just shy of its personal best.

The Adhoc Works FD is pretty much a staple at Attack Tsukuba. This year it was able to break into the 59s for the first time!

One of the “simpler” looking RX7s…

Hood popped, trunk popped, everything popped! This TiRacing backed FD was able to lap Tsukuba in 1’02.160 on 370HPs this year.

Last year saw the introduction of the Womens Class during Attack Tsukuba with several female entries. This year was no different as the women of time attack made their mark in this male dominated sport. Within the Womens Class was two FDs with the first one being this K2 Racing supported FD, which did a 1’01.465. Not bad at all!

But this white TFR supported one was even faster breaking into the 59s… talk about hanging with the boys!

This was 1 of 3 Panspeed backed RX7.

2 of 3. Both of these Panspeed FDs finished the day with very close times, 1’01.252 and 1’01.349, respectively. BOTH personal bests as well.

RX7 traffic jam.

3 of 3. Looks like Keisuke Takahashi traded in Mt. Akina for Tsukuba Circuit!


Just kidding of course… this third Panspeed backed FD was the quickest among the three cars with a best time of almost a minute flat.

Man… even though the RE Amemiya AD-GT/AD Facer N1 kit has been around for quite some time now, it never gets old.

The 340HP Cement FD is one of my favorites at the event… mostly cause I love its color… but I suppose the RE x Mazdaspeed look is pretty dashing as well.

So good!

Technical Auto One’s meet Cement.

A closer look at the Technical One’s RX7. It was not able to break into the 59s this year and had to settle for a best of 1’00.256.

On the topic of Technical Auto One’s, the world of time attack has lost a beacon in the passing of Kazuyuki Takahashi, the owner of T-One’s late last year. As a result, his car was showcased prominently during Attack 2019 as a remembrance to him.

A work of art if you ask me…

Heading out to the track for some photo ops.

It was tremendous seeing the car out on the track with all the drivers getting in on the photos. Really a great moment and one of the highlights during the event.

So, this about wraps it up for now. This was a more lengthy post compared to others, but I hope you guys enjoyed it especially if you’re a fan of FDs! I’ve got a lot more photos to come, so be sure to check back for that! But for now, I’m gonna leave you guys with a few more shots of the T-Ones FD & friends…