The opening round of the 2008 All-Japan Dirt Trial Championships was held at the Maruwa Autoland Nasu, in Tochigi prefecture. The fine weather conditions were fine from the start and the surface conditions were very dry. The heated battle began with the presence of reining multiple champion Hara, who usually has a slow start, took off in the first heat to post the top time. In the second heat, last seasons 3rd place finisher, Okabayashi, also a TEIN user, drove hard to give Hara a run for his money, but it was Hara who turned up the notch even further. Hara dominated the race and TEIN finished in first and second positions.

In the SA1 class, last season’s 3rd place finisher, Kawashima finished the first heat in 4th place. But from the second heat, as the road conditions changed, the settings on his TYPE HG shock absorbers perfectly matched the conditions and was able to charge on to win his class.

Many drivers are expecting a free-for-all battle in the SC1 class this season, as the 2007 champion Ishii decided not to participate. Everyone was expecting Yamamoto, who took place last season as a double entry and finished in 4th place, to dominate the race. In the first heat, he finished in 3rd place, But from the second heat, with the TYPE HG shock absorbers set up matching the road conditions and his driving style perfectly, Yamamoto drove on hard and shortened the time difference. His efforts were hard enough for him to receive his first victory in the All Japan series.

We hope the good start for the TEIN user’s to continue into the next round.