Our Last Visit to Fuji Speedway

Two years ago, my husband took part for the first time in a track day at Fuji Speedway hosted by 911DAYS. The whole family came along to watch him out on track, but the day before, an out-of-season snowstorm dumped a surprising amount of snow on the area. It made for quite an adventure! w

I’m the sort of person who seems to bring rain and storms wherever I go, but I never imagined we’d get heavy snow with April just around the corner. Thankfully, the skies cleared on the morning of the event, and the organizers were able to wait for the snow to melt before getting things underway.

Seeing old and new Porsches gathered together was quite a sight.

My husband drove his Boxster GTS in the track day. For a first-timer, he put in a strong showing, holding his own among cars like the GT3 RS, GT3, 911 Turbo, and Cayman GT4. He clearly had a great time, and afterward he was already saying:

I’d love to do this again! I drove a manual last time, but next time I want to bring a PDK car. I think I could go even faster!

As a spectator, there were moments when I didn’t have much to do and got a little bored. The kids, on the other hand, had a great time eating mountains of snacks and playing on the grass.

This Year, We’re Taking a 911 to Fuji

This year, we were invited to join another 911DAYS track day around the same time, so the whole family is going again.

This time, my husband will be driving our 911 Cabriolet. Last year, he took it to a Porsche driving school and was blown away by its speed and performance. He’s been eager to bring it to a track day ever since.

As for me, I’ll be going along with the kids in our Cayenne. (I won’t be driving on the circuit.)

Between COVID and my pregnancy last year, it’s been a while since we took a long family road trip. This will also be my first long-distance drive in the Cayenne, so I’m already looking forward to finding out just how comfortable it is.

We’ve driven to and from Fuji in a Panamera and a manual BMW 320i before, and both trips were less tiring than I expected. I’m guessing the Cayenne will be even more comfortable.

Last time, we were new to the whole experience and weren’t prepared as spectators. We forgot to bring lunch, so our midday meal ended up being a pile of snacks from the shop, and we hadn’t brought anything to keep the kids occupied. This time, we’ll make sure we’re better prepared.

I’d also like to share tips on how to make a track day enjoyable for the whole family when they come along to support a Porsche owner.

We’re also hoping to go live from Fuji Speedway on Clubhouse that day. If I get the chance to ride along in the passenger seat, I might even report from inside the car. It should be a fun opportunity to chat about things we don’t usually get to share.

If you’d like to follow along, I’d be delighted if you followed us on Clubhouse. (I’ll post updates about the Clubhouse session on Twitter.)

＠mina-porsche (Mina, Welcome Home, PORSCHE)
＠boxster_gts (Hiro, Welcome Home, PORSCHE)