Last weekend the UK public flocked to Wiltshire in order to celebrate everything Japanese. It could only mean one thing – Japfest 2012!

With this year seeing the 10th anniversary of the biggest single-day Japanese car show in Europe, it was a completely sold out, crammed to capacity event.

Thousands of Japanese car enthusiasts headed to Castle Combe race circuit to see the best the UK had to offer in Japanese cars, with all the most important manufacturers being represented.

2 x Nissan GT-R:
2 x Nissan GT-R

Name the corners – Map of Castle Combe race circuit:
Map of Castle Combe race circuit with corner names

Various Mitsubishi Lancer Evo’s:
Various Mitsubishi Lancer Evo’s

Modified Nissan 300 ZX / Nissan Fairlady Z:
Modified Nissan 300 ZX / Nissan Fairlady Z

The drift cars were out in force with the British Drift Championship drivers showing us how it’s done on the track.

Large crowd watching the on track drift demonstration:
Large crowd watching the on track drift demonstration

Drift demonstration Nissan Skyline R34 4dr:
Drift demonstration Nissan Skyline R34 4dr

Drift demonstration Japspeed Subaru Impreza driven by Steve “Baggsy” Biagioni:
Drift demonstration Japspeed Subaru Impreza driven by Steve “Baggsy” Biagioni

Drift demonstration Mazda RX8:
Drift demonstration Mazda RX8

Drift demonstration Nissan 300 ZX / Nissan Fairlady Z:
Drift demonstration Nissan 300 ZX / Nissan Fairlady Z

Drift driver looking fed up after his car went off the track. A long wait and probably an expensive afternoon!
Drift driver looking fed up after his car went off the track. A long wait and probably an expensive afternoon!

The Drift Allstars series driver Brad Hacker also came along for the drift demonstration and fortunately, despite his crash on 100mph-plus Folly section, was fine. The RX7 also came out miraculously well with only minor damage.

Sarah Widdowson looking hot in the sunshine!
Sarah Widdowson looking hot in the sunshine!

It was also the first weekend of great weather since the start of this year’s show season and this combined with the shows 10 year anniversary brought even more people out to enjoy the day.

The sun came out and so did the crowds, These were the lucky ones that actually got in, probably unaware of the chaos going on outside:
The sun came out and so did the crowds, These were the lucky ones that actually got in, probably unaware of the chaos going on outside.

Over the last decade, Japfest has grown into one of the most popular shows in the UK. It has become so successful that it seems it might have outgrown its venue. Castle Combe might be a great track but Japfests popularity meant that there were such huge queues that many people struggled to get into the event or missed part of the day. With a sold out show this year it may be time to find a bigger circuit with a larger capacity in time for the next one.

If this year is anything to go by, it’s definitely a show not to be missed!

Photography by Simon Pow.

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