On the outskirts of Tokyo there are underground tuning shops that may have never been mentioned or heard of among the US import crowd. These are shops that have grown over the years strictly through word of mouth and no advertisements. One shop stands out and has gained respect in the streets and circuits for building fast rides with smooth response. Sounds simple but these two elements do not mix easily. Scorch Racing mixes the best of both worlds. Power and driveability. To most of you in the US, Scorch Racing is most likely a first time name. Here is a hint: the silver Blitz FD. Rings a bell? Read on… Scorch Racing is owned and operated by Masahiko Takemura. No wait a second. Masahiko Takemura is Scorch Racing. He is the one man army that welds, builds and tunes the cars. Here is a brief interview with Mr. Takemura. He doesn’t talk much when it comes to himself so I had to throw in some personal notes.
Ken (K): I know your story but for all out there that don’t, let me start with when you started.
Takemura (T): I opened up shop in 1997 and moved to this newer facility in 2000.
Ken (K): Why?
Takemura (T): It only seemed natural to start my own shop after all that I have done.*
Ken (K): What do you do here?
Takemura (T): Anything and everything. Turbo, NA, installs, set-ups, motor swaps, whatever. I tune in facility using my Sakura Dyno.
Ken (K): Sakura Dyno?
Takemura (T): Yeah.
Ken (K): What is your favorite car you have built here?
Takemura (T): All of them!
Ken (K): OK… What is/was your favorite personal ride?
Takemura (T): The SA.**
Ken (K): Definitely! What do you do when you aren’t working on cars here?
Takemura (T): I’m underground.
Ken (K): Okay whatever. Can I get a final message for those out there checking out tunerzine?
Takemura (T): If you are in Japan don’t try to find here and visit me. I don’t speak English.
Mr. Takemura used to work at a shop that raced in the notorious JSS Race that was held in various circuits like Tsukuba and Fuji. They ran a 3 rotor NA FC RX-7. The SA was “THE SA.” Takemura was part of a street drag team known as Street Power and still to this day people talk about this SA RX-7. I remember in the early ’90s watching this car beat some GT-Rs in the on-going GT-R vs. rotary grudge races that went on in the streets. The GT-Rs would disable the AWD and make it RWD for a fair match. Takemura’s SA RX-7 had a koki (non-flap airflow) 13BT swapped in with a TO4S.
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