Track Ready - Part 1

So this is the event that I really thought wouldn’t happen - well, it’s going to happen: I will be back on track for the second and final Circuit Lesson day with Nismo Omori Factory at the end of the month! Like pretty much everything else in the world in 2020, things worked out a little bit differently this time. Following an announcement on their blog, as a safeguard against COVID-19, Nismo decided to make this an invitation-only event limited to 10 participants...and luckily I was in the list.

But before we hit the track there was a bit of maintenance that had to be carried on the Fairlady, namely engine oil and brake fluid change and a new air filter element. So I headed over Yokohama on Sunday and left the car in the capable hands of Uchida-san.

Simple routine jobs like this are carried out on the same day, so I found myself with a couple of hours to kill at the showroom while waiting for the guys to finish. After chatting with Ochiai-san for a while (they are as busy as ever with new parts and customer cars, currently fully booked until January), I decided to take a walk around. 

I really liked the brand new GT3 racecar they had on display; too bad that Kondo Racing couldn’t make it to the Nürburgring for the 24 Hours this year - hopefully in 2021!

With the showroom currently open to public only on weekends there was quite a bit of traffic in parking area, with a several customer and local cars stopping by. Believe me when I say that the majority of the good and really special GT-Rs still resides in Japan.

Everything was going seemingly well until Uchida-san broke us the news that my brake pads were worn beyond levels recommended for a track day. This didn’t really come as a surprise as they felt a bit weaker recently. Not a big deal - I thought - but a quick look at the inventory revealed that what we were looking for was currently out of stock, which means that...I will have to go back again to get the job finished.

Oh well, at least the engine is fresh and I can enjoy the Z on the expressway before taking it to Hakone to test the new pads and a bit of practice ahead of the track day.

And since I’ll have to be back to Omori Factory in the next couple of weeks, I think it’s time to start talking about CRS upgrades...

Until next time.