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The 1985 WEC in JAPAN.
At that time, the WEC (WEC : The World Endurance
Championship, later to become the World Sports Prototypecar Championship) was the only World Championship Race to be held in Japan.
It was the premium
Group C series, and "Hoshino" was mesmerizing in this race.
The weather at Fuji Speedway was rain.
It rained often at Fuji, but I recall
it was an especially rainy season that year.
The "NISSAN MID 4" pace car was
leading the rolling start in heavy rain conditions.
The "NISSAN Silvia Turbo
C Nichi-ra" driven by Kazuyoshi Hoshino was one of the machines among the
great machines such as the Porsche 956, the Jaguar (which was in British
racing green livery that year), as well as the TOMS 85C.
The race started
when the MID 4 came around the last corner and jumped into the pitlane!
The teams from overseas were serious as this was a round of the World Championship, and a great battle took place.
Cars were crashing and going off the course everywhere due to the heavy rain and aggressive driving. I recall seeing the MID 4 several times that race.
The winner of that race in the extreme rain, was our Kazuyoshi Hoshino.
He devastated the works teams from around the world and was the first to pass beneath the checkered flag.
I celebrated awesome drive from behind the
viewfinder,
and following this race, and was starting to become captivated
this character called "Kazuyoshi Hoshino".
Le Mans, 1997. I wonder what kind of driving Hoshino will show this year. The Le Mans week has begun, and the whole world is watching. |
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