A new week of Speedhunting is about to kick off, but before we get into it, it’s time to take a look at some of the videos we’ve been checking out over the past 7 days.
Let’s get things started with a new clip from Blackbird…
In the 27 years he’s being trackside shooting Formula 1, Darren Heath has seen a lot. For this interview though, the British photographer was asked to recall one press of the shutter that really stands out to him. Can you guess who was the subject?
Next up, we’ve got some in-car footage from this weekend’s Rally Otago in New Zealand. The opening round of the NZ Rally Championship runs on some of the country’s finest gravel roads, and when you put Hyundai WRC driver Hayden Paddon (a Kiwi who learnt his craft in this part of the world) in an AP4-spec Hyundai i20 built in NZ by Force Motorsport, driving magic happens. What’s remarkable though, is that prior to the event Paddon and his co-driver John Kennard had only completed 60km of testing in the brand new car, and that their run through the final special stage resulted in a new stage record. Hit play and you’ll see why though!
Sad news from Japan has revealed that Mazda rotary legend Yoshimi Katayama passed away late last month. Katayama, who was 75, competed as a works driver for Mazda for a long time – first in 1969 in a Mazda R100 where he placed fifth in the 24 Hours of Spa, through until 1990 when he drove 767B and 787 Group C cars around Japan and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He returned to racing with privateer teams in the late ’90s, and then back in 2011 got behind the wheel of a 787B for a demo drive at Okayama International circuit, which you can watch above. Gomeifuku wo inorimasu, Katayama-san.
Finally this week is footage of yet another record-setting GT-R drag pass in the USA. Extreme Turbo Systems (ETS) have held the top spot before, but with AMS and T1 Race Development also having enjoyed the glory and still gunning for honours, this three-way duel is getting crazy.
As always, if you’ve watched a cool clip online this week, don’t forget to share it in the comments section below!
The Speedhunters