Tamiya Intra-marque Races in the 80s

[Grastens 2802]

Greetings:

I recently registered on a related website, TamiyaBase. The resources are excellent, and the content is fascinating.

Reading over some of the old guide books gave me a few questions, though, mostly regarding Tamiya's early racing events. While we do have some insight on their SRBs and the early racing scene (such as their their eventual demise by the Associated RC-10 and company), I wanted to ask about some of the more unusual races featured in the guidebook photos. Many of the images I am referring to are in the 1984 edition, but some also appear in the 1985 book on different pages.

The most intriguing one for me is a picture of a race on what appears to be the Tamiya home circuit. In this one, a Sand Scorcher and a Sand Rover are seen leading two Audi Quattro Rally cars, and a front wheel of another SRB is seen on the far right. Right below that is another photo of the participants at a Tamiya event; models involved include the Sand Scorcher, Super Champ, Subaru Brat, Hornet, and what looks like a Lancia Rally, among others. This all appeared on page 7 of the book.

What I really want to ask is: does anybody remember any of those races? Were they exclusive to Japan, or were 'leisure' Tamiyas raced at other circuits around the world? If so, what kind of upgrades or tricks were to be found on the cars, if they were modified at all? I am especially intrigued by those racing the larger-tired cars, such as the Brat, Lancia Rally, Audi Quattro, and potentially the Opel Ascona, which were a little more common in the 1980s than today...

It may be an obscure topic, but I would like to know more if I can about these events. Tamiya's racing history in inter-marque events is known; however it seems its one-make events have less documentation.

In the same manual, on page 18, a Lamborghini Cheetah is seen on a track - and that potentially-famous image of the 3-speed truck race, with the two Hiluxes and a Blazing Blazer mixing it up mid-race. If anybody knows anything about the latter races, I would be interested to learn more about those as well...