At the weekend I found myself travelling to Castle Combe Circuit to check out what is described by its organisers as “Europe’s biggest Japanese car show” – Japfest. It would be my first time at this particular show and it promised non-stop high speed performance Japanese track action including spectacular drifting displays, a huge retail village and thousands of Europe’s best Japanese cars on display.
After a two hour drive in what can only be described as a glorious sunny day, I reached my destination. I was directed to a parking spot which I expected to pay through the teeth for (too often the case at car shows) , however to my surprise parking was free. The entrance fee at the gate was £25, which I thought was a bit steep if I’m being honest (I suppose the parking tax must have been included in the overall price).
Once I got into the show there were plenty of Japanese cars to feast my eyes on and the standard of cars on show was very high.
As well as the typical show and shine aspect, there was drifting to take in and some fantastic displays could be seen on the track, from names well known within the drift community.
Later, there was even track time dedicated to the car owners who had their cars on display at the show, which I have to say was great to watch as I sat on the grass in the warm sun, listening to the tyres screech as the cars whipped past with their respective owners trying vigorously to keep control of their personal pride and joy.
One criticism I did have of the show was that some of the ‘show and shine’ sections were packed in very tightly, which made it difficult to manoeuvre around with so many people there, especially when you are trying to take pictures at the same time.
In saying that I did have a great day out, the weather was fantastic, the venue was good overall and there were enough high quality cars to keep my interest throughout the day.
The full gallery of pics from Japfest 2015 can be found here….
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