Japfest is over for another year, and 2009 was an absolute corker. Despite a cloudy and damp start to the day, attendance was up again, making this the biggest Japfest ever. Thanks to the decent organising, the event ran faultlessly, and the Redline stand was packed all day with people keen to get their hands on goody bags and take a glimpse at the selection of cars in the Power Paddock.

Elsewhere, club stands were packed with quality, well-tuned cars and the variety of trade stands that attended underlined that the scene is as strong as ever. On top of that, all the available track time was sold out in advance, so the crowds were kept entertained throughout the day with some heroic (and some less heroic) driving antics. There never goes a year without incident, but fortunately this year the accidents weren't too bad. A few dented panels were about the worst we saw, which wasn't a surprise given the track was still damp in places for most of the day.

The JDM drift demos were one of the highlights, apart from Dan Chapman having a bit of a meeting with the tyre wall in his Driftworks PS13. Fortunately the car isn't written off and we hope to see him back in action soon! Alex Khateeb was also out on track in his orange S15, giving competition winners flat-out passenger rides. He still holds the lap record for the circuit in an F3 single seater, and his pure speed and knowledge of the track were clear to see!

Thanks to all those who attended, we'll see you at other shows and events soon.