Rhino Car Hire attended Japfest 2010, Europe’s Biggest Japanese Performance Car Show on Saturday 15th May at Castle Coombe circuit in Wiltshire, just 15 miles east for Bristol.  The even attracts thousands of Japanese car enthusiasts from all over Europe and we followed in a contingent who had travelled all the way form the Netherlands! 

We arrived at 9am and managed to avoid most of the queues quickly taking our place on the Honda S2000 club stand where one of the stars of the show was also in attendance.  Bristol Honda had brought along the Honda UK Civic Type R Mugen to exhibit at the show, the only one its kind on the roads at present. With only 20 units being made and all sold, those lucky owners are awaiting delivery of what is regarded to be the best hot hatch available on sale today, but at a heady £40k (pre-options list) it should be!


We quickly made our way trackside to watch some of the action where the track sessions were well under way.  Watching the usual Mitsubishi Evo’s and Subaru Impreza’s making they way around the circuit reminded me of many a track day, but there were some other exotica that drew interest from the crowds, from the race prepared Honda NSX (passenger seat rides to be won with a raffle- sadly my £5 was not a winning ticket!) to the Radical SR3, the fastest production car (road legal) to lap the infamous Nurburgring!  


Driving on a track day of course carries its risks as some poor chap found out, when he underestimated his cars (and more likely his) abilities and ran out of tarmac only to plant his pride and joy into the tyre wall….a classic example of why motorsport can be some expensive!  Good luck explaining that one to the wife!

Having watched some track action, we took a wander around the circuit and had a nose at some other club stands including the Nissan GTR stand, widely regarded as the best performance car on sale today, the GTR certainly drew the crowds, although whilst its technical credentials are hard to criticise, its not the prettiest thing on 4 wheels!  Beyond the club stands we found hundreds of trade stands from Performance car parts and tuning companies to car care and cleaning suppliers and video game displays.

The star attraction however was the main event, the Extreme Team Drift battle, where 5 of Europe’s best drift teams competed in the UK for the first time. I’ve never been to a drift event before, but to see these guys flirting with the limits of the track in tandem was truly spectacular, while most of us consider wheel spinning and tyre smoke as an accident waiting to happen, these guys thrive on it! its simple, the best choreographed and implemented team drift takes the silverware, check out the video for a taste of the action!

Airports in the north of the United Kingdom are currently closed due to volcanic ash in the skies.

Glasgow airport, Glasgow Prestwick airport and Derry airport are all shut, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Belfast and Edinburgh international airports will also be closed in the afternoon of May 5, with Inverness airport shut during the morning. This is because there was a no fly ban in place, but it was lifted again at 1pm.

All three of the airports in Northern Ireland have faced disruption with the situation changing on an hourly basis. According to Brian Ambrose, the chief executive of Belfast City Airport, the airport was running at only 20 per cent of its normal capacity.

The CAA advises travellers to check on their flights by phoning airports before travelling. That way the large queues which formed at airports the last time this crisis happened can be avoided.
This is the second time in a month that the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland has caused flight chaos across the UK.

There is currently a warning on the Icelandic Meteorological Office website that activity from the volcano has increased resulting in an increase in ash over UK airspace.

On Wednesday morning an ash cloud descended across northern and western parts of the British Isles, including Northern Ireland and Scotland. Forecasts indicate that the ash cloud will continue to move further south, possibly affecting other western parts of the UK.

This further disruption follows a six day closure of UK and European airspace when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano first erupted. It is conservatively estimated that the UK economy lost some 500 million pounds due to grounded flights and missed business meetings. Those who were stuck in Europe scrambled across the continent, either using taxis or car hire, to get to the Eurostar in Paris.

There have been further warnings that the ash disruption chaos could last for a whole year.
Volcanologist and member of the Government's Cobra emergency committee, Bill McGuire, said: "[The problems caused by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano] haven't gone away. Previous eruptions have emerged over a year so it can carry on and on for a long time."

He added: "It is perfectly possible that there could be more bursts of ash and if the wind's blowing in the right direction it will affect the UK.

“But without a new vent in the volcano we won't see a repeat of the chaos that we saw last month. Certainly the prospects don't suggest that. However it is so long since the volcano last erupted that we cannot be totally sure."