“Hiro”s for the day

The introduction.

If your an enthusiast of golden era Japanese hatchbacks like myself I'm sure the name "Hiro Racing" has blessed your phone or laptop screen at some point since launching in 2015. I have been a fan of the lads for a number of years now. Back in 2018 I had my own "shed" build on the go and was heavily influenced by everything Hiro Racing stood for, although my car wasn't a golden era legend it still had purpose to me. I had purchased an EP2 Honda civic with full type R kit and a type R five stud conversion off a friend of mine. A solid base so i thought..

As you can see above heavily influenced by the outlaw style of Kanjo racing in Japan a style shared in the eyes of Hiro Racing. As much as I treasured the little 1.6 it had to go as I needed a reliable car for work but the itch of building my own kanjo racer has remained with me. The potential of these little lightweight hatchbacks always surprises me when seeing some examples at mondello or even on the street.

From start to finish

Following on from the previous Gun Run track day Hiro Racing had held in May I had been told they're was plans in the pipeline for a One Nation Race track day planned for September 1st. The day came and I was ready for what was certain to be an aggressive day of screaming k series and b series engines. After charging my camera's and doing quick maintenance check on the car ( bmw owners know) I set off for the big tarmac.

20 minutes into my 1hr & 30min journey I thought I'd stop in to a petrol station for the breakfast of champions, the mighty breakfast wrap. If you think the breakfast roll is the only one true way to appreciate a breakfast on the go I can assure you I was the same. After a friend had opened my eyes to the wrap alternative my mornings have not been the same.

Arriving at Mondello just in time to cross into the paddock I took a minute to myself to get my gear ready and my objectives in order. I began my search for Stephen, Ciarain and John the pit lane would be the likely hunting ground.

I managed to catch a gimpse of Stephen and Ciarain preparing cars for the busy day ahead with they're infamous "Hiro Racing" windscreen banners. I have seen these banners far and wide spread throughout this little island and it is a testament of how much respect they're is for the work these guys put in to make a like minded community for Honda enthusiasts.

After a quick walk and scan up and down the pit lane I began my endeavour's for the day. First spotting Ciarain's wonderfully executed EG with a fitting nickname "The White Noise". The vibrant red lucky strike cigarette brand livery really brings alive an image of something like this racing along the Osaka loop in Japan at questionable speeds weaving like a fish in water.

After having a nose around the pit lane I had to head out to track and see what I came for, lightweight Hondas being pushed to every limit they had. I was not disappointed!

When I say limits were pushed i may have under sold it. This is one of many shots I have of cars refusing to use all 4 wheels for grip going through corners. I had my eyes on this dc2 all morning I felt good things would come from watching it. What a treat it was to watch. I'm pretty sure this car races in the ITCC so I think it could have been a preparation day for a round ahead.

What a beauty, simple but aggressive and the driving to match compliments to the driver!

I continue on walking that sketchy bank around to the back of the track like many times before, I managed to make it to turn 4 completely unscathed from the tricky mixture of thorns and fox holes. That is where you really get to see cars under pressure. Coming into turn 4 under heavy braking and high enough revs to push back up the hill.

One of my favourite corners to shoot not only is it a tricky corner but it lets you know where you stand for improvement. I've seen plenty of hairy situations at this corner and I would like to say all participants came out without any damage but unfortunately it is one of those corners that demands respect.

Then you have people like jackie, who likes to test the limits of grip in his track built EG civic. Notice the back wheel lifting under heavy braking.

Heavy on the throttle to climb the steep incline of turn 4. It really is a treat to see a machine so tediously engineered for racing in its home of purpose.

At the break I hit the pit lane to have a few catch ups with people I havnt seen since the GunRun in may and to snap some of the chaos and repairs resulting from excessive abuse on track.

First casualty of the day was this EP3 along side an EK coupe. Contact between the two resulted in the rear of the coupe catching the front wing and wheel of the EP3.

With the suspension ripped out it looked like it was game over for this hatch, but with some precision hammering, new tyre and a lending hand they managed to get it back out for more laps.

The mid way break is always a good time to chat with people or give a few rubs to the pups of the pit lane. It's always suprises me just how immune some dogs get to the constant revs and bangs from cars on the grid and pit lane, it's almost as if they came of they're own free will to spectate.

Some lovely builds flocked around the pit lane some less assuming than others.

After break I decided to go out with Tony the owner of this immaculate EK9. Most people who were lucky enough to acquire such a holy grail from the late 90's era the usual protocol is to purchase a car port bubble and watch the price run like a petrol pump dial. Some people would be shocked to see the abuse this car goes through, personally I think it's fulfilling its purpose as it was intentionally built to do. Tony has had this car over a decade and to ask if he loves it or hates it is still a grey area waiting to be defined.

The importance of these trackdays is getting in on all of the action on and off the track. It's often misunderstood how much fun these cars are, they may not be running +500bhp but it's how you drive it that spikes the adrenaline not the dyno numbers.

After some aggressive and intense laps I got back trackside to watch on from the banks and some equally matched cars battle out they're own races.

From start to finish the days racing was great to watch, plenty of good manoeuvres and fast paced laps and some sketchy cornering but all is well that ends well.

In the midst of the chaos on track some show cars were also on display at the bottom of the tower.

The stand out car for me was this Spoon inspired EG6. Ever wonder what throwing your credit card at the Spoon catalogue for EG parts would look like? Let me show you..

An absolute credit to the owner for the persistence to put this artwork together I think I may need to get my hands on this for a feature of its own.

As cars started to mount trailers and pits started to get cleaned up of tools and fuel I decided to take stephens EF9 out to the back of the paddock for a few shots before leaving for the road home.

One of my favourite hatchbacks in the country for sure! It may not be a show stopper with pristine paint and interior. What this car does have is much more important to people who also have a soft spot for this car and that's character.

Stephen has done a great job of embodying the Hiro Racing spirit in his EF9, from the livery, mixed matched wheels and to the stripped out aesthetic in the interior.

The noble hockey mask as a homage symbol to the Kanjozuko Japanese youths of the 80's and 90's racing the Osaka loop in a thrilling fast lane life of evading capture by police involving covering theyre faces with various masks.

After thanking Stephen for his time with his pride and joy I decided to pack up the camera and other essentials and get the car ready to go.

It was time to hit the road as I had a 4 hour drive down to Tralee at 3:30am the next morning for round 4 of the Irish Drift Championship. Some had said I was crazy being there that day with such a trip ahead of me, I came to the conclusion that day that I would of been crazy to miss it.

Thank you for your time.

Finishing gallery