Written by Eric Lopez | Photos by Mario Cruz (Geisha Events) & Motormavens.com
86FEST is the largest Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ and AE86 gathering in North America! Organized by the people who run the popular MotorMavens website, the very first 86FEST took place at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana CA, drawing close to 2000 people to participate in road racing, autocross, and a massive car meet for Toyota, Scion, and Subaru owners.
The line to get into the event ran along the entire backside of the venue all the way to the speedway entrance, with tons of performance modded cars in attendance, with owners from several different age groups. Aside from autocross and running the speedway's high speed roval course, there was a huge vendor midway filled with manufacturer demo cars. Although most of the show was filled with variations of FR-S and BRZ, there were also a few Imprezas on hand - Subaru Motorsports even brought out Bucky Lasek's Subaru WRX STi Global Rallycross car and donated several sets of limited edition Subaru Motorsports x Puma driving shoes to the 86FEST raffle.
The 86FEST raffle might have been the most interactive and engaging part of the event. With support from sponsors like Falken Tire, OEM Audio Plus, Turn 14 Distribution, Whiteline Suspension, Motul, Spec Clutch, Mann Engineering, Flossy Shift Knobs, and M7 Japan, the 86FEST crew raffled off full exhaust systems, suspension components, sets of tires, a tuned audio system expressly made for the FR-S and BRZ, and even a brand new AE86 dashboard so that the old school Corolla guys wouldn't feel left out.
Pro Formula D drifters like Ken Gushi, Toshiki Yoshioka, Pat Mordaunt, Robbie Nishida and Walker Wilkerson were in attendance to meet fans and sign autographs, with a special guest appearance by road racer Davey Jordan, who drove a Toyota 2000GT for Carroll Shelby's legendary race team in the late 1960s.
All in all, 86FEST was a fun event for all attendees, and everyone left the event with some sort of prize or giveaway. The86FEST team is planning to hold more events in the coming year, and we're the next one will be even bigger and better as the popularity of these cars continues to grow! For more event info visit: www.86fest.com.