“I got to know Komochan at an event once, and I always look forward to reading her Facebook posts — I’ve genuinely been cheering her on from Himeji. Won’t you come to Coppa di Himeji 2022?”

“I explained to the office that I wanted to invite Komochan, and got the executive chair’s approval. We’ll work out the details from here.”

That lovely message arrived in early April.

Being reached out to like that, when I am nobody famous at all, became a memory I will never forget for the rest of my life.

When the message arrived I was away on business in Hokkaido, but I was so happy I flew straight back to meet the person who had invited me.

It genuinely moved me — meeting them face to face for the first time and yet the happy tears came anyway (laughs). We talked and talked, about rallying, about life.
Grateful for a connection that started from friendship!

Two months went by in a flash, and I headed for the pre-event party at the Torino Museum.

Exploring the Torino Museum, the venue for the party.

I love rallying with everything I have, and yet, as always, I know almost nothing about cars (laughs).

And that is where I met Kei Takeoka, the television personality and motoring journalist who would drive with me as this rally’s driver.


I had run into “Ken-san” of Crazy Ken Band on rallies a few times before, and when I asked “do you remember me?” he said “of course — the funny one who hitchhiked in!” (laughs).

That hitchhiking story is here ↓

The record of a motorsport woman driving a life: the challenge to 14,000 km, Peking to Paris
10.05.2022
Vecchio Bambino 2017 — the first one, and it changed my life
/vecchio-bambino2017
The rally that changed my life — the first one! Vecchio Bambino 2017, held in Okayama. My first appearance there began cheerfully thanks to a large piece of chaos the day before 💓 I wanted to go to the party. I had met the driver a few years before this event; he liked old cars (and we have driven as a pair ever since). We did not often drive together — I was given the occasional lift — and nothing had given me any reason to be interested in classic cars. One day: “There’s a car event on …”

As you would expect from a motoring journalist, Kei Takeoka’s explanations were wonderfully clear, and I got a special VIP tour of the museum with her. This, apparently, is a Lamborghini tractor.

And then — the pre-event party opened.

Rally friends who gathered as adults over a shared passion are a treasure that goes beyond motorsport itself.

“Sign this for me too, Komochan!” “Huh — my autograph?” (laughs)

As a complete amateur I have no autograph to speak of, but here it is — my first ever signature (laughs). See if you can spot it.

This time I had the wonderfully lucky role of co-driving for the television personality Kei Takeoka, which had me nervous — but she was so easy to talk to, and we found so much common ground at the museum, that between eating and drinking and talking, the night wore on until I had all but forgotten there was a rally to drive the next day.

Continued in part 3!