RtG Japan Daily Dispatch - day00 - Flipbook - Page 37
Day 18: Lake Hamana to Nara, 6 October 2025
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Shine over substance?
Jorge and Ezequiel Perez Companc, 1939 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe
Gerd Buehler and Janine Franssen, 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC
David and Jo Roberts, 1929 Chrysler 75 Roadster
in the 1990s. Having dug out the relevant historic pace
notes and maps he donated this piece of rallying history
to Mr Yasuhiro Sakakibara, the museum’s Director, so they
“could live with the car, where they belong”.
Away from the well-used Celica by the door, there were
plenty of other exhibits for the crews to discover, along
with some excellent written material and contemporary
artworks. Around 150 vehicles from all over the world were
displayed, dating from the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen,
right up to modern petrol and hybrid vehicles.
The cold buffet lunch, washed down with iced tea, proved
to be the ideal way to start what was to be a very hot
afternoon, with the mercury hitting 33°C on the expressway.
We shot across the top of Ise Bay on a succession of amazing
bridges and flyovers. Passing docks, warehouses and the
massive Nagashima Resort with its huge rollercoasters and
Ferris wheels dominating the skyline.
Our destination was the track at Motorland Suzuka for
a two-lap Test over a generously proportioned kart track
in the middle of a giant bamboo forest. The day ended in
the ancient city of Nara, where we encountered a herd of
the famous sika deer, which roam freely alongside the road
and live in the adjacent parkland. We found our bed for
the night in the well-appointed Hotel Nikko, ideally placed
for the crews to take a stroll in the historic centre before
dinner.
www.rallytheglobe.com
