A GT86, AE86 & The Drift King – A Shoot for CAR
We all have dreams and goals in our lives. Some are big, some are small but with enough work and dedication everyone of them is achievable. You just need to want it bad enough. Throughout my photography career, I have and continue to work towards two goals. 1) Shoot a full season of Formula One and 2) Shoot for CAR. I can now scratch the latter of the list. A couple of weeks back, I received an e-mail from Ben Barry, the deputy editor of CAR in the UK. He asked me if I was free at the end of June for a shoot that I’d have particular interest in, but couldn’t elaborate until closer to the date. Intrigued, I ensured my calendar was free and agreed to meet CAR writer Ben Pulman at a secret test track outside of London. A couple of days before the shoot, I received a brief with three important words: GT86, AE86 & Tsuchyia. Those of you with an interest in drifting will surely recognize the name Keiichi Tsuchyia, also known as the ‘Drift King’. Tsuchyia-san is the godfather of drifting, and without doubt one of the most important people in the history of the sport. CAR wanted to celebrate his history whilst also exploring his involvement with Toyota’s new GT86. The brief I received illustrated clearly what CAR wanted from the shoot, and allowed me to plan in advance what equipment I would be relying on. Unfortunately, on the day of the shoot my appendix decided it no longer wanted to be a part of me. Shooting in much discomfort and pain, I was limited in my movement and abilities. It was pretty upsetting, as this was something I wanted to deliver 110% but I just couldn’t. I pushed on as much as […]
Team Need for Speed D-Mac ’86
You may remember late last year that I published a feature both here and on Speedhunters of Darren McNamara’s wild rotary powered AE86 build. I never got around to posting these images of the car during it’s first test day and first two events. Considering it was a completely fresh build, the success it has enjoyed at its first two events is astounding. Rarely do cars work so well out of the box. It’s a credit to Darren and the team at MCN Sport.
