I’m a motorsport fan through and through and it spans all discliplines from Super GT to WRC my cars of the year all mean something to me over the past year whether it be the engineering, the appearance or simply what they did to their respective sports and scenes.

My runner up in car of the year is the venerable Dome S102 in comparison to the big money entries of Audi and Peugeot, Dome already down on power with the Judd GV5.5 72º V10 took the car to Le Mans with very little development but managed to put in a credible showing.

Dome opted to make its debut at Le Mans to much surprise with a stable of Super GT drivers they qualified a respectable 8th.

Dome opting for the coupe bodystyle citing greater ero efficiency the car looking almost like Bentleys efforts of the previous years.

After some problems in the evening the team would eventually finished 33rd showing pace at points the car made it through the 24 hours, with some more development the car could be a flier.

So the Dakar rally is back and underway for anyone not familiar with the event its man and machine versus what ever nature can throw at you. 500 competitors - 217 bikes, 25 quads, 177 cars and 81 trucks set off from Buenos Aires for the 31st running of the event after last years cancellation.

Mitsubishi have replaced the venerable Pajero with a variant of the Lancer now with Diesel power replacing the traditional Petrol powerplant. My money is on Mitsubishi their record on the Dakar is undeniable.

Robby Gordon takes to the event in the Monster Energy sponsored Hummer one of few Americans taking the start, the machine has some Monster suspension travelling betraying its Baja upbringing. Turn in seems to be an issue though

VW have a series of TDI machines entered hoping to take the first event win for a Diesel

A special mention goes to Herve Diers & Francois Beguin in car number 400 who are competing the event with a portable kitchen cooking the traditional Pommes Frites or French Fries as they are usually known by! so far they’ve been feeding various competitors

I started this blog roughly a year ago give or take a few months really just as a platform to share my photography and just to enjoy myself I know what I like in the world of motoring and a I have my values.  Some of Jay’s (JDMEgo’s) points struck a cord I could rant all day about how imported Chinese parts are killing the industry in the UK or how Rota’s seem to be the de-facto choice for modifying or even some of the ego’s out there on the show scene but whats the point?

I really enjoy writing my blogs and i’m surprised anyone reads my shit but i’ve been able to connect with some really great car guys so thanks to Racer86, Tiger-Life, JDM-Ego, 7tune and Stopbuyingrota’s for blog rolling me. Special thanks to Jay from JDMEgo for sending me such a great package as well and to James Gilbert from Motor-addicts.

I’ll be bringing you more of the same in 2009 hopefully although i’ll be scaling back on some shows and exchanging them for others maybe working on the site look a little as well.

Happy 2009

Well I said i’d like to learn to snowboard this year so with some time off work I finally got the chance to give it a try, so I booked myself in for a 50 minute taster session at the Northwest largest indoor snowdome Chill Factore.

I didn’t end up on the big ass slope to the right frankly as i’d be fairly scared im sure even though its a modest 15 degree’s incline I managed a few runs down the nursery slope without falling over once so I was pretty happy with that. Had a fantastic time so I think i’ve found a new hobby for 2009, hopefully i’ll be able to get some more tuition in the new year.

So i’m nearing the end of my top ten cars of the year as I get closer to the top its increasingly difficult to make a choice but this car really doesn’t need much of an introduction. Securing the 2008 Time Attack championship this car has proven what WRC level engineering and the total package can do in the face of lairy aero and huge turbo’s.

Affectionetly nicknamed “The Gobstopper” this Impreza from Roger Clark motorsport represents two years worth of refinement using a WRC base shell each component compliments the others enabling the car to excel in Time Attack, Drag racing and even Gymnkhana style track action. And its all still road legal

Whilst most cars have canards this car makes do with a deep rear diffuser with the large diffuser and undertray at the front.

The car always attracts attention and has needed very little changes throughout the year surely favourite to take the 2009 title as well.

Spied this shot on a random Livedoor blog on a Rev Speed Time attack shoot I love how clean this looks with just a set of rims and the mirrors it’s kinda reminded me how little the car needs externally to look fantastic. And that the car doesn’t need lairy aero and canards, i’ve spent all day looking into brake pad options which are pretty limited, hopefully next year i’ll be able to get the suspension sitting a little lower.

I’d love to know more about this car, i’m still trying to find the Rev Speed Time Attack entry from this year if anyone has that, hit me up!

This one is a shared one in my top ten countdown, and this entry is more about what the car and team has done for the sport and less so about the car. Rallying in the USA has had its ups and downs with varying levels of manufacturer support its not taken so easy to the states as other forms of motorsport.

With the passing of Colin Mcrae the sport’s lacked similar characters guys who are really passionate about the sport on and off track Ken Block and Travis Pastrana have really impressed me this year both in their driving and their passion for the sport.

Usually corporate sponsorship stifles a sport most rally drivers are publicity shy but the guys from Subaru USA are really pushing the sport forward.

The new shape STI’s joined the series replacing the older versions part way through the season and I think they look really fantastic, this is what the STI was conceived to do.

I love the paintschemes on both cars especially on Ken’s makes such a change from the standard issue blue with yellow swooshes.

Both Ken and Travis have really pushed the sport in a new direction in the states tapping into the extreme sports market through Ken’s company DC Shoes. Both the guys spend more time in the air than on the ground though LOL

Travis went on to take gold at X Games 14 the monster jump in the stadium took no prisoners all the cars looked fairly battered by the finish.

You just wouldn’t bother if you had any sense, various UK Police forces and now starting to take delivery of the new Evo X FQ360. Why run?

So we reach car 5 in my top ten cars of 2008, ive always been an Evo guy much to the dismay of my Dad who’s always been into Subaru’s ! and I really love the X. The car looks hard stock yet Jun managed to refine what’s already a potent package with their legendary engineering. Jun managed to steal a march on the other tuners presenting their Jun Evo X at the Tokyo Auto Salon now nearly a year on Jun have developed a slew of engine upgrades to match the exterior’s aggressive lines.

The ground hugging front diffuser and Advan RG wheels give the car a mean stance, the diffuser in particular enhancing the aggressive lines of the nose. Painted in Jun’s trademark yellow

Jun quickly developed a full aero package with an integrated front and rear diffuser resulting in a 6 second improvement over the standard car round Tsukuba.

I’ve seen a lot of really nice X’s this year and the car is very much at the beginning of its lifecycle I think Mitsubishi really nailed the Evo Ten changing it very little from the initial concept car and i’m confident we’ve more to come from both the platform and the engine.

Well this one is particularly prominent i’d supported Suzuki in the WRC since late last year watching the car develop as a Suzuki owner myself I felt it was an important stepping stone in Suzuki’s emergence as a global brand, and not just a K-car manufacturer.

Developed in house by Suzukisport and Monster Sport under the guidance of Monster Tajima 2008 was the first full year for the car. After a steady start with a shaky period mid season by Rally Japan the Suzuki had started to pull in some solid results.

Both PG Andersson and Toni Gardemeister showed pace with the car, PG in particular having his first full year in the WRC stepping up from the JWRC. Toni Gardemeister has never had the best of luck having been with several manufacturers over the years but with a lack of works seats in 2009 this might be end of PG’s career for the moment.

I’m really a fan of the car the rear wing and muscular stance really transform whats ordinarily a fairly mundane soft roader its a real shame to see the cars out for 2009 hopefully some privateers can pick up the car for use at national level. The Skoda Octavia, Seat Leon, Skoda Fabia and even the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC have all found a place in Ireland.