5th time participating in Masami Meeting: With Porsche Girls

Participated in Masami Kageyama's driving lesson for the fifth time

On this day, I was again driving my beloved black Carrera as the sun rose.

When we stopped at a convenience store on the way, we happened to run into the two Porsche girls who we had invited out this time.

The cars of the Porsche girls we invited were the 981 Boxster Spyder and the 718 Boxster GTS 4.0.

After meeting at the convenience store, we headed together to our destination for the day, Tsukuba Circuit Gymkhana course, and the time there was 7:18.

I was so happy when I saw the 718 that I drove along alone in the car.

And so we arrived at the Tsukuba Circuit Gymkhana course.

This day was the "Masami Meeting" day, a driving lesson given by Masami Kageyama.

This will be my fifth time participating, but of the two Porsche ladies I invited, one was participating for the second time (the first time was not at a Masami Meeting but at a Porsche club event where she took part in a lesson with coach Masami Kageyama), and the other was participating for the first time.

I personally believe that the Masami Meetings are extremely good driving lessons (= something to learn from), and as the two ladies I invited this time will be competing in the Fuji 7 Hours Endurance Race in early 2025, I invited them in the hope that they will learn something from them in preparation for that race.

Well, I just thought it would be more fun to join with my female Porsche friends.

We start the morning with lectures that I learn something new every time, no matter how many times I listen to them.

Each time I listen to this lecture, my understanding improves a little (probably), and I find myself understanding a little more than the last time I listened.

I really want to tell you all about the contents of the lectures, but you won't understand unless you hear it directly from Masami-san, and even if I write it, it will probably come across as a wrong message, so if you're interested, please come and join us!

After the classroom session, the participants will begin practicing on the oval at the Gymkhana track.

This time, I saw the time, "9:11," and I thought, "Okay, I'll do my best today too." Simple as always. Hahaha.

Just like my understanding of the classroom lessons, I feel like I'm improving a little each time with these oval driving lessons (compared to my past self), but I still don't fully understand everything and can actually drive.

While riding, you can receive advice from Kageyama (or Takeuchi Hironori in the advanced class) via walkie-talkie.

この時の私はたぶん「だから～もう、全然わかってないじゃん！」って言われながら走っている時(笑)↓ ←嘘です、正美さんのアドバイスは的確ですが優しいですよ。ふふふ。

The Masami Meeting that I attended that day was the last one of 2024, but there were 29 participants, which seemed double the usual number (applications were for a maximum of 30, but one car was unable to attend).

Among the participants was a Ferrari 296 GTB...

There were also first-time participants with Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 RS cars. So cool.

After finishing the morning oval practice, it's time for the usual lunch break.

At first glance, this may seem like a bento that you could finish, but it's actually quite filling, and no matter how much side dish you eat, it just keeps coming out.

After lunch we moved from the Gymkhana course to the Tsukuba Circuit TC1000 for the afternoon session.

Three Porsche girls ~ ^^ ↓

There was a briefing before the afternoon TC1000 run, but because there were so many participants that day, there were an incredible number of chairs. Amazing.

The 29 participants will be divided into three groups (9, 10, and 10) with each group running for 15 minutes.

The last time I rode, the group had six bikes (sometimes there were five because some people took a break), so this was almost double the number this time.

And what's more...

The cars in the group that we will be running with this time are as follows:

• Ferrari 296 GTB
• 992.1 GT3 RS
• 992.1 GT3
• 718 Boxster GTS 4.0
• 981 Boxster Spider
• 991.2 Basic Carrera ←Me…!
• Audi RS4 Avant
• Nissan Fairlady Z RZ34
• Subaru WRX S4
• Toyota GR86

Nooooo. There are so many fast cars. It's scary (lol).

Before the run (I did this in the morning and again in the afternoon)Check for brake fluid leaksI'll do it properly. No problems this day either.

I also took a commemorative photo with my female Porsche friends during the TC1000 run.

I'm glad that I don't often get the chance to take a photo with him wearing a helmet.

However, the other two looked really cool in their racing suits.

I (far left) look like someone who has come to watch the circuit race and is only allowed to put on a helmet for a commemorative photo (lol).

The staff at Masami Meeting took photographs of the TC1000 run that day and gave them to us at a later date.

This makes me so happy!! Thank you very much ^^

I don't usually have many opportunities to have photos taken of me running, so I'm really happy that this has become such a wonderful memory for me.

There's also a picture of my black Carrera, a basic Carrera without the Sport Plus, being tailgated by a Ferrari (lol)

Actually, when someone faster came along I would have used my turn signal to let them pass me, but I like how the timing of this photo makes it look like I'm being tailgated (lol).

And did you notice?

This Ferrari 296 GTB actually had a beginner's mark on it. I'm sorry to say this, but the owner was a man who was obviously older than me, so I asked him, "Maybe he just got his license?" (lol), but it turned out that this 296 GTB had actually been delivered the week before, so it was marked "Beginner's mark for this car" ^^

Oh, and one thing I was reflecting on during the last Masami meeting was that I couldn't adjust the tire pressure myself.

This time, I adjusted it to some extent from the beginning, and the values were "front 2.0, rear 2.2". The standard values are "front 2.1, rear 2.5" when there is only one person on board.

After the first run, the figures had risen to 2.6 front and 2.7 rear.

Kageyama-san told me that "for Porsche, the numbers should be something like xxx," so I thought I'd just go with these numbers this time and drove with them until the second run, but...

No, but I had been practicing adjusting the tire pressure in preparation for this day, so I thought I might as well let out a little bit of pressure, and so I let out a little bit of pressure just in the front tires before the third run.

Here is the result after adjustment: "Front 2.4, rear 2.7".

Many people may still think this is too high, but I set this figure based on what Hikageyama-san told me about the Porsche and my own impressions after driving it twice.

I had never actually taken a driving lesson myself and was just watching my husband take part in one. I was impressed when I saw a woman adjusting the air pressure in her tires in the pit while driving on a circuit.

I still remember saying to her, "That's amazing, you can do that by yourself!" By the way, she is now one of my Porsche friends.

Although it took some time, it was a very moving day for me to realize that I was finally able to pay attention to and adjust the tire pressure myself while driving on a circuit.

Well, at this point I haven't had the experience of "putting back the air I had deflated and then going home," but I was able to "just deflate it (according to the numbers)" for now.

I'm sure there are some people who think that's not an easy thing to do, but as a complete novice who has never worked on a car before, I find anything scary the first time I do it.

During the TC1000 run that day, I had actually set a target of a time of "42 seconds" in the bare Carrera, but as expected with 9-10 cars racing on a course of about 1 kilometer, it was difficult to get a clear lap, so unfortunately I did not achieve my goal.

Even so, the time for this day was good, surrounded by extremely high performance cars and it was difficult to get a clear lap.43.982Although it was a close call, I managed to keep it in the 43 second range, so I'm very happy.

For nowMy best time in the TC1000 was43.498』.

Driving on a circuit makes me excited and nervous every time, and it's a mixture of fun and fear, but in the end, fun wins out.

For me, hearing my beloved black Carrera running with its best sound is the most blissful moment.

On this day, Kageyama-san accompanied me for the ride (driving), and I was reminded of a feeling I had forgotten since the last time: "Wow, it was so amazing!" It was a very good experience and learning experience.

When I checked the tires and underneath the car after the drive, I found a pretty big tree branch stuck in the body. Wow. When did it get stuck?

I'm glad I managed to get it out of the way for now.

At the end, we took a commemorative photo with the two instructors and the Porsche girls.

This pose is the signature pose of Ken Yokoyama of Crazy Ken Band when he says "Iine!" Eh? But why did he suddenly do this pose at the Masami Meeting?

Yes, that's because Yokoyama-san has been participating in this Masami Meeting since the last time.

At the closing ceremony, as this was the last Masami Meeting of the year, a raffle was held with the chance to win a Yokohama tire.

What's great about the Masami Meeting is that if you attend a set number of the meetings (held three or four times a year), you can win two to four Yokohama tires in a raffle at the last meeting of the year.

I won it last year too and received two rear tires.The rear tires I used that day were also ones I won in that lottery.

Unfortunately I didn't win this year, but I'll try my best to win again next year (that?)!

Well, the raffle was over and the Masami Meeting had come to a close, but I still had one thing left to do.

Yes, that's what it means to "refill a deflated tire with air to put it back in place."

Actually, the staff at Masami Meeting had said to me, "If you leave your car here, we'll let you in," but I really wanted to practice putting it in by myself, so I asked, "Can I do it myself later?"

However, after the closing ceremony, it was already pitch black.

When I returned, the staff member who kindly taught me step by step, saying, "Well, let's try using the gauge (that you have)," kindly walked me through it, and I was so moved by their kindness that I am truly grateful.

I think it's not surprising that a normal person would think, "They said they'd let them in (during the closing ceremony), so that's fine. It would be a pain to have to tell them to let them in when it's so dark and late."

But there was absolutely no sign of that, and he was really kind and explained everything to me carefully, even telling me about the different types of gauges and their characteristics, so for me, even that final moment was just one more thing I learned at the Masami Meeting.

Although I wasn't used to it, I was shown how to use my own gauge and the air pressure I was able to put in was perfect.

まだまだ最初からすべて1人でやりなさいと言われたら不安が残ることもありますが(サーキットにあるエアコンプレッサー？に自分で接続する等々)、それでもこうしてまずは教えて頂きながら自分で出来たことは自信にもつながりました。

In addition to the teachings and advice of Masami Meetings instructors Masami Kageyama and Hironori Takeuchi, I believe one of the charms of Masami Meetings is the friendly personalities of the organizers and staff.

Everyone is really nice and I always have fun talking with the staff. Thank you so much.

I would like to participate again next year as long as my schedule allows.

It was fun to chat with the participants I met here and it was great to see the circle of people who love driving expand.

Thank you for the most fun, happy and fulfilling time this year.

Next year I'll be aiming for a time in the 42 second range with a bare Carrera TC1000!!!

Masami Meeting Official Website:Masami Kageyama Driving School: Masami Meeting

Masami Kageyama's Instagram account:https://www.instagram.com/masami_meeting/

Hironori Takeuchi's Instagram account:https://www.instagram.com/racers_fsw/

Related article:
◆Participating in the Masami Meeting for the fourth time: Target time of 43 seconds on the Tsukuba Circuit TC1000
◆Third time participating in the Masami Meeting: Tsukuba Circuit TC1000
◆Driving school: Second Tsukuba TC1000 run by participating in Masami Meeting
◆Participated in Masami Meeting, a driving school hosted by Masami Kageyama

◆How to change tires on a Porsche (for the fifth time) and discover the time bomb that was planted in the tires