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Europe’s biggest Japanese car show just got even bigger

Future’s 2010 Adrian Flux Auto Series kicked off in style with Japfest delivering a record breaking start to the season; the 15,051 Japanese car enthusiasts packing out Wiltshire’s Castle Combe Circuit were almost a quarter up on the attendance delivered in 2009, with a 22% rise.

Japfest is the first event of seven shows that comprise the Adrian Flux Auto Series. Organised by Future’s performance automotive portfolio; the Auto Series is part of a portfolio that includes market leading magazines such as Fast Car, Redline, Fast Ford and Total Vauxhall.

With a thrilling mix of high octane track action, the largest gathering of high performance Japanese cars in Europe, unique displays of the rarest and most powerful, a vibrant retail village and buzzing club zones packed into the fantastic setting of Castle Combe Racing Circuit; it’s an event that just gets better every year.

New for 2010 was the Extreme Team Drift Battle; with specially invited drivers competing for a cash prize and with some big names on track, there were reputations at stake, too. After three hard-fought rounds, which produced some of the closest and most exciting drifting ever seen at the Combe, Phil Morrison and Dan Chapman from Team Driftworks took top spot, with a stunning display of high speed, sideways car control.

With public track sessions sold out well in advance, the circuit was busy all day and, in typical Japfest style, the range and variety of cars on track was one of the highlights for the hardcore enthusiast. There was everything from Evos, Imprezas and Skylines, to rare beasts such as a Subaru Brat pickup and a Mitsubishi RVR MPV.

Another new feature for 2010 was the Platinum Retail Village, which brought together some of the UK’s premier aftermarket parts companies; including Milltek Sport, Pioneer, KW Automotive, Maxxis Tyres, TSW, Meguiar’s and STP.

Gez Jones, Associate Publisher for Future’s automotive portfolio said:

“Having seen such fantastic results in ‘09 from our increased investment in planning, feature delivery and marketing, and seeing a year-on-year uplift in advance sales, we knew 2010 would deliver some exciting attendance figures.

It has to be said, though, that the 22% uplift delivered by Japfest was beyond our expectation. The success is a fantastic sign of how vibrant the aftermarket tuning scene is right now, and how well our products excite and satisfy the active consumers within this sector.”

This year sees the launch of Japfest 2: The Evolution, which comes to Rockingham – Europe’s fastest racing circuit – in Northamptonshire, on 15th August. Japfest 2 will build on the success of Japfest’s winning formula to create the world’s most extreme Japanese tuning show. See www.japfest2.co.uk for more.

About the Adrian Flux Auto Events Series 2010:

Japfest – Europe’s biggest Japanese performance car show, Castle Combe, 15th May, www.japfest.co.uk

Classic Ford Show – The UK’s premier classic Ford event, Santa Pod, 6th June, www.classicfordshow.co.uk

The Performance Vauxhall Show – The no. 1 performance Vauxhall festival, Santa Pod,
12th & 13th June, www.pvshow.co.uk

Ford Fair – Europe’s biggest Ford Festival, Silverstone, 8th August, www.fordfair.co.uk

Total Vauxhall Live – The high-octane performance Vauxhall circuit event, 7th August, Castle Combe, www.totalvauxhall.co.uk/live

Japfest 2: The Evolution – The world’s most extreme Japanese tuning show, 15th August, Rockingham Motor Speedway, www.japfest2.co.uk

TRAX – The ultimate performance car event, Silverstone, 5th September, www.traxshows.co.uk

About Future
Future plc is an international special-interest media group that is listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR).  Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today we have operations in the UK, US and Australia creating over 180 special-interest publications, websites and events for people who are passionate about their interests.  We hold strong multi-media market positions in games, technology, film, music, cycling, automotive and crafts.  Our biggest-selling magazines include Total Film, T3, Classic Rock, Digital Camera, Guitar World, Official Xbox Magazine, Official Playstation Magazine, Nintendo Power, Maximum PC and MacLife.  Our websites include gamesradar.com, bikeradar.com, techradar.com, musicradar.com, dailyradar.com and photoradar.com.  Future produces nearly 4 million magazines each month; we attract more than 27 million unique visitors to our websites; and we host 27 annual live events that attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts.  In addition, Future exports, syndicates or licenses its publications to 90 countries internationally, making us the UK’s number one exporter and licensor of monthly magazines.

For more information please contact Jen Campbell – jen.campbell@futurenet.com or 01225 732269

  • 27 annual events attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors
  • No. 3 global games information website: GamesRadar
  • 6m customer magazines produced every month
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  • 90 magazines exported or licensed to 90 countries
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  • 23m unique monthly visitors to our websites
  • 21 International editions of T3
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