With the great success of Tuner Bash in 2020, organizers were working diligently to bring a new venue to the Edmonton area. This 2021 offering would bring with it a taste of a road course, vehicle limbo contest, and a show and shine in one place. Let’s set the stage.
It was a hot July summer day and after giving my car a rinse after the long drive from Cold Lake, I rolled out from Fort Saskatchewan and headed out of town towards the reopened Stratotech raceway. Road construction greeted me as I turned off of the main highway and from a distance you could hear the sounds of exhaust mixed with screeching tires and loud music courtesy of the DJ. I must say that I was not expecting the road transition into the raceway to be so abrupt and as I angled my NSX slowly over the what seemed to be certain bumper scraping doom, I actually made it with only a small sound of paint transitioning to gravel. (The dreaded departure was not as smooth). Of course, I was late to the party but there was still a steady flow of vehicles arriving to take their places at the designated parking spots.
Perhaps it was the location with the dirt parking area, the variety of modified vehicles rolling in, and the close proximity of the track that had me thinking of the classic film from 2001. “Racewars” was what came to mind when I originally saw the red 911 first driving in at the gate as the dust blew in the air . Walking around, you could see participant’s tents setup on the gravel with spare sets of tires propped up, lawn chairs, and even one crew brought out inflatables for their display. For such a large area, it was packed with rows upon rows of vehicles ranging from a new Porsche GT3rs, to a classic Volkswagen Scirocco.
It was great to see some of the Speedtech Racing crew out with their vehicles. This EF hatch will always be a piece of local automotive history and it still looks like it came off the show circuit from the early 2000s when EZ Motorsports had it as a shop car. You do not see them like this anymore with MOMO everything and not just the steering wheel. A time capsule.
Food trucks were also in attendance to provide sustenance for spectators and participants alike. Royal Treats covered the cold appetites with ice cream and Smokehouse BBQ and Bully Food Truck Inc. had the food department covered. Unfortunately, I always miss out on trying out the food at events due to being busy with photo coverage.
More participants were rolling in and this R34 was sporting some Work Rezax 2 that suited it well. The wheels still looked great from when I had them refinished for my 300zx.
SSR Professor Sp1rs now accented this Honda transplanted 911 courtesy of Speedtech Racing. I liked how this now had OEM front fenders vs the previous rendition. (This Porsche may see another version in the future and I look forward to the results)
Making my way to the corner of the track for a better vantage point of the racing, the DJ battled the heat with bringing his own fire with the mix of music he blasted through his speaker system. In part 2, some of the panning shots from this higher location will be shared.
Nissan + Work Equips completed the look of this 240sx. There were some heavy hitters in attendance that would be expected to be seen at a Drivenshow venue.
Of course there were some Euro cars parked amongst the Japanese vehicles including this bright orange Lotus, Porsche, and the vibrant green Mercedes from Mercari Auto.
Continuing to make my rounds, there were those that tried their luck with the head to head competition on the road course. Speedfreaks had helped to reignite track days earlier in the season at Stratotech and many who show up to their events also came out in droves to put on a show for everyone. Not only did seasoned track veterans come out but some stand alone drift cars livened up the audience as they did their part to keep the Sponsor’s tires well worn . The cheers from the crowd and smoke from the tires combined for a great afternoon.
The hot afternoon passed very quickly as I got my daily exercise in and my next goal was to capture some of the racing. The track cars continued to lineup in the staging lanes including an RB26 powered RX7 and a well known S2k. In part 2 of Touge Bash, the competition continues on the track, the limbo contest gets interesting and the event progresses into the warm July evening.
Ryoko Kings 