COVERAGE> Insider’s Look at FD Long Beach
It's hard to believe that it has already been a week since Formula Drift took over the Streets of Long Beach. This weekend, the famous street course is still home to many a race fan. However this time, Long Beach has been taken over with open wheel racing fans that have been going to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for years and years. Since we don't really cover open wheel racing on Motor Mavens, I thought it would be good to post up some more photos from our experiences at Long Beach last weekend. (I know, some of you are thinking, it's about damn time!)
The first photo in our series is from one of the practice sessions. I think the practice sessions were actually a lot cooler and funner to watch at times than some of the tandem bouts, because it felt like freestyle drifting chaos within the confines of the white cement barriers and tire stacks that lined the streets of the LBC. Read more...
The first photo in our series is from one of the practice sessions. I think the practice sessions were actually a lot cooler and funner to watch at times than some of the tandem bouts, because it felt like freestyle drifting chaos within the confines of the white cement barriers and tire stacks that lined the streets of the LBC. Read more...
COVERAGE> Top Speed At The Texas Mile
What's up, MotorMavens readers! Before I proceed with the coverage, I'll go ahead and introduce myself. My name is James Evins, and I'm a photographer from Houston, Texas. Like many of you, I've always been a big fan of MotorMavens. When Antonio first approached me about contributing to the site, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm definitely excited to give you guys an inside look at whats going on here in Texas!
This past weekend, I found myself waking up to my alarm at 4:00 AM. After hitting the snooze button about ten times, I finally woke up and dressed and packed my car. I departed before sunrise, making my way out to I-59 and heading South.
Three hours later, I found the "exit" I was looking for - a small, country road with a sign nearby reading, "Goliad Airport." I had arrived at The Texas Mile. As I entered the airport and made my way around the small, rundown control tower I saw the venue sprawled out before me – hundreds of trailers, campers, cars, and bikes spread out across a mile long strip of runway! Read more...
This past weekend, I found myself waking up to my alarm at 4:00 AM. After hitting the snooze button about ten times, I finally woke up and dressed and packed my car. I departed before sunrise, making my way out to I-59 and heading South.
Three hours later, I found the "exit" I was looking for - a small, country road with a sign nearby reading, "Goliad Airport." I had arrived at The Texas Mile. As I entered the airport and made my way around the small, rundown control tower I saw the venue sprawled out before me – hundreds of trailers, campers, cars, and bikes spread out across a mile long strip of runway! Read more...
COVERAGE> Supras Swarm SP Engineering
This past weekend, something like 70+ Toyota Supras came out to the Supra Appreciation Event at SP Engineering in Industry, California. I was pleasantly surprised; I couldn't believe how many Supra owners braved the rain and the bad drivers on the freeway with their high horsepower monsters. All the parking lots surrounding SP Engineering were packed to the hilt with Supras and other cars that had variants of M and JZ engines under their hoods. Most of the cars in attendance were JZA80s, but there were also quite a few MA70/JZA70 Supras that caught my eye... I even spotted an MA60 in the lineup!
The JZA80 Supra Turbo is normally regarded as Toyota's "top of the food chain," but at the SP Supra event this weekend, I was honestly jocking the MA70/JZA70s more. Now THAT is a big statement. Let me explain... I've been a big fan of JZA80 Supras since the very first time I laid my eyes on one... and I never really gave the JZA70 much thought (that is, until I started hanging out with the late Mike Urbano [RIP homie] and his always late brother Brian). However, this past weekend, at least in my eyes, the MA70/JZA70 Supras took the win in terms of sheer style.
You might be thinking, "What?! Are you crazy? We're talking about JZA80s here," so I should explain my opinion. I think MA70 owners need to do a lot more in terms of restoration and "clean up" than the JZA80 guys do. The JZA80 Supra is such a good looking car that all you really need to do to accentuate the already gorgeous body is lower it, get proper fitting wheels and tires, a good looking exhaust and a front lip spoiler. That's not much at all. Meanwhile, MA70 owners have to think about getting a clean body (or fixing dents and whatever), painting the car, cleaning up the engine bay, piecing together a clean interior, making sure everything works, making the car run right... and only then can they turn their attention into making the car look good. Read more...
The JZA80 Supra Turbo is normally regarded as Toyota's "top of the food chain," but at the SP Supra event this weekend, I was honestly jocking the MA70/JZA70s more. Now THAT is a big statement. Let me explain... I've been a big fan of JZA80 Supras since the very first time I laid my eyes on one... and I never really gave the JZA70 much thought (that is, until I started hanging out with the late Mike Urbano [RIP homie] and his always late brother Brian). However, this past weekend, at least in my eyes, the MA70/JZA70 Supras took the win in terms of sheer style.
You might be thinking, "What?! Are you crazy? We're talking about JZA80s here," so I should explain my opinion. I think MA70 owners need to do a lot more in terms of restoration and "clean up" than the JZA80 guys do. The JZA80 Supra is such a good looking car that all you really need to do to accentuate the already gorgeous body is lower it, get proper fitting wheels and tires, a good looking exhaust and a front lip spoiler. That's not much at all. Meanwhile, MA70 owners have to think about getting a clean body (or fixing dents and whatever), painting the car, cleaning up the engine bay, piecing together a clean interior, making sure everything works, making the car run right... and only then can they turn their attention into making the car look good. Read more...
