True to my jinx of always bringing good weather, the day itself was clear!
Coppa di Himeji 2022 opened under a genuinely blue sky.
This time I entered as co-driver for the well-known television personality and motoring journalist Kei Takeoka.
We had already hit it off at the pre-event party the night before, on first-name terms — Kei-chan, Komo-chan 💓
The theme for this rally? “Enjoying it, of course!”
Kei-chan was in demand everywhere we went, mobbed for autographs and photos!
As for me, I kept my usual easy-going Facebook Live going. (Though, punchline: the footage never actually saved. In tears.)
We said we should have worn matching outfits, laughing about it right up to the start.
The camera mounted in the car overheated and gave out in temperatures over 30 degrees, so this is the only footage that survives. Oh dear.
Having fiddled with the camera setup, we were already last by lunchtime (laughs) — and even so, the car was never silent for a single minute; the girl-talk never stopped.
Even over the lunch break Kei-chan was flat out doing interviews for a rally report — always smiling, and the moment the camera rolled, out came a wonderful report, one after another.
I had so much fun this time that I never found a moment to film anything myself (laughs).
I only covered day one, but it was a precious experience, and Coppa di Himeji 2022 turned into a day of nothing but smiles and laughter from start to finish.
Coppa di Himeji only comes round once every two years — let’s drive it together again in two years’ time, we promised. An experience where rallying let me feel real human warmth.