AOC - What do you think of the RCIv2?
Masami Hirosaka - I think visually, the track looks really really good both the off-road and on-road. There is more than enough pit space and the sizes of the tracks are a perfect without feeling too big or too small. There are also a big spectator area and special private room pit spaces with air conditioning and heater. The traction is very good, very stable. I think Rick did an impressive job with the track and I was happy to run here the first time I came.

AOC - Since your retirement from racing, you have become the event ambassador at Yatabe arena. What are your feelings on that?
MH - Not only Yatabe and Yokomo, I want to be ambassador to all aspects of the hobby like drifting and racing showing our hobby to the public and this makes me happy. I love my job and having 14 World Championships creates lots of talk, which creates interest in the hobby for the public. Being in an ambassador roll will allow me to stay in the industry a long time, which makes me happy.

AOC - What are your goals for this weekend?
MH- I decided to run 1/12 scale modified because I thought it would be an easier class for me to run versus touring car modified. 1/12 scale is very fast, but it's actually easier for me to driver versus TC Modified. I will try and win this weekend, but my Yokomo teammates that are here racing this weekend are the Japan's top three drivers, which makes them very hard to beat, but fun at the same time.

AOC - How does it feel after 10 years to race mod 1/12 again? How did you feel about it then and then now?
MH - The speed and punch is very different now versus 10 years ago. Also, the batteries now a days don't dump; it's amazing, big change. There is also faster corner speeds because the tires offer more traction, the chassis' offers more traction and there are higher top speeds, which makes it hard to see on the track [laughs]. A fast car is very fun to drive. My mindset then versus now? Any car in any category, if I'm fast I'm very happy. If I'm very slow, I will not have fun. This weekend if I have an easy car to drive, maybe I can be on pace with my teammates and maybe beat them as I adjust my driving every run if I'm happy with my car setup. Now a days, 1/12 scale is ran with a lot of braking while cornering. It must be an automatic reaction to brake, because if you think about it your braking will be too delayed in the corner. Because I drive with a stick radio, I'm having trouble because the stick thrown on the transmitter is a longer stroke versus braking with a trigger on a pistol grip radio. I have 5 more runs this weekend before the finals to adjust my driving style.

AOC - What made you want to race it again?
MH - I have no motivation to race 1/12 scale competitively again. I came to AOC Shanghai because Rick Wang asked me to, but after this weekend it's on to the next job and I won't race 1/12 scale again. After this weekend, I will probably go to a drift event. In the future, I will probably race 1/12 scale one or two times a year. If I go to a track and people are happy that I'm there racing, I'm happy and my race results don't matter, but if I win I'm happy also [laughs].