Bullets of sweat pour down my face as the turbine spool changes with every shift of the sequential transmission. I tightly grip the steering wheel to power slide through Turn 17, preparing for the toughest portion of the course. It's the second leg of a grueling 450-mile battle at the Tokyo Rally where we have fallen three minutes behind leader Petter Solberg in the Subaru WRX. My Japanese co-pilot (and co-founder of TEIN), Yoshio Fujimoto, quickly rattles off a sequence of numbers, describing the course though his pace notes. Six left long, camber, tighten five, 80, five left. And 80, six right long, tighten, three, tighten, five, three right ... We slowly catch up to the leader when disaster strikes: The lower control arm snaps and sends us surging toward the cliff.
2NR: You know, I had the weirdest dream about you last night.Yoshio Fujimoto:
2NR: Never mind. Let's begin. How did you get started in motorsports?FY: I joined a motoring club while I was studying at the technical university in Kanagawa. We did everything: rallying, mechanics, autocrossing.
2NR: Why did you choose rallying over some of the more dominant sanctions such as road racing or F1?FY: I didn't have a lot of money. The only thing I had was a Datsun 120 (Sunny), which was my daily driver. Even though it wasn't a true rally car, it was still possible to rally with it, and I often drove it to the local mountains, or what the Japanese call touge.
2NR: What were the modifications?FY: The Sunny had rally tires and suspension, sump guard and a roll cage.
2NR: Were accidents a common occurrence?FY: Yes. But at the time you could buy cheap replacement fenders and doors. And the automotive club I was a part of had a lot of equipment. I could do all of the repairs in the university garage.
2NR: So you were also a skilled mechanic?FY: Yes, I could rebuild the car when I crashed it. I could do it all: swap and modify motors, and work on the differentials, transmission or suspension.
2NR: Who taught you to drive?FY: I learned by myself. It was a lot of trial and error, but practicing helped improve my driving skills.
2NR: Which driver did you look to for inspiration?FY: Mr. Ayabe-a very famous rally driver in my area at the time. He drove a TE 27 (a late-'70s to early-'80s Corolla with a 2TG engine).
2NR: How did you meet your then soon-to-be partner Hakaru Ichino?FY: After I graduated I began working for NSK, which specializes in bearings. I basically saved every paycheck to buy a Mitsubishi Lancer 8175A, which was a 1.6-liter turbocharged rear-wheel drive. I campaigned this as a privateer at numerous rally events, even winning a few. At the time Mr. Ichino was working for the Isuzu factory team and invited me to work with him. Then I began driving as a sponsored rally racer.
2NR: What were you using for your suspension components?FY: We always used KYB, Tokico-sometimes Bilstein. But the capability and performance wasn't enough. At the time we didn't have good shock absorbers.