It has been an absolute rollercoaster of a week for Team Japspeed. When our Subaru Impreza drift car was stolen from Santa Pod on June 11th, we had no idea whether it would ever be seen again or how much would remain once retrieved. Despite being immobilised on the stand (and not being road legal) Japspeed’s £80,000 Impreza was driven away from Santa Pod at 6:30pm – naturally once the team were aware of what happened the search for any information or sightings began.
‘We have a very strong fanbase on Facebook’ explains Japspeed principal Paul McCallum. ‘With over 15,000 followers we decided to post the news on their in the hope it may get us any information, but we really weren’t expecting the response we actually got!’ Within minutes a ‘Stolen’ poster had been created and posted on the Japspeed fan page. This would soon become hundreds of fans profile pictures, with many more people tagged within to spread the news as fast as possible. Later that evening, a sighting was made through the town of Olney as well as a video uploaded showing the Impreza driving on the M25 westbound. The subsequent footage and information provided by fans (not to mention multiple Internet forums) even saw the story covered by BBC London, appearing to millions the following day. ‘The info and sightings narrowed down where the car could be’ explains Paul. ‘We had no idea where it went after Santa Pod, but now we had confirmed footage, and with the massive help from Thames Valley Police we were able to track down the car on the early hours of Monday morning in a surprisingly complete state’.
The Impreza was eventually found near Maidenhead, Berkshire after additional information and sightings had been posted. Four men were later arrested on the suspicion of the theft, and only the rear wings, bumper, spoiler and lights were taken from the Impreza – an amazing result for all those who helped who feared the worst (including Team Japspeed). ‘It was such a relief to find it’ adds Paul, ‘this is a serious car, with over 600bhp – it could have easily been crashed, sold for bits or set on fire. Had the news of its theft not been so widespread in such a short period of time I can guarantee we would be looking at a much different situation. Our dedicated Facebook fans made their friends aware who additionally made their friends aware – it truly was a monumental piece of impromptu teamwork from everyone, and it’s one we are eternally grateful for’.
Team Japspeed cannot express how overwhelmed they are with everyone’s support, not only through Facebook but additionally the car clubs and forums who additionally posted the information. ‘We are so glad to have the car back, and this will not put us off displaying the car to the 99% of fans who have respect and enjoy drifting. We will do everything we can to get the Impreza rebuilt as soon as possible, if we could take every fan out for a passenger ride we would – without their support its return simply would not have happened’.
Team Japspeed are aiming to have the Impreza ready for the British Drift Championship Round 3 taking place at Teeside Autodrome on July 2nd and 3rd. For any additional information on the car or if you have further information on the theft, please contact Team Japspeed on sales@japspeed.co.uk or phone us on 08450 212312.
