Event: Mazda Fest 2016 – Tsukuba Circuit

Once every year, on July 7th, tuners and enthusiasts from around the country celebrate Mazda’s shining triumph of engineering.  The RX-7, to many, is so much more than a car; it’s an engineering marvel. The unique rotary motor a triangular pariah in a sea of ordinary, piston driven combustion.  The chassis of the FD so perfectly geared towards time attack, has become a symbol of the sport in Japan.  On this date, thousands will come together in honor of this car worldwide, with the epicenter being Tsukuba Circuit.

I know, believe me…I know.  I’m late to the game with this one.  Matt was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to head over to TC2000 and shoot the event for me last month, but I’ve yet to find time to edit and get them on site.  I’ve honestly just been busy – which seems to be a reoccurring theme with me over the Summer.  Time Attack season takes a serious vacation over the warm months and it just so happens that that’s when my day job gets pretty hectic as well. It’s a recipe for minimal site updates.

Anyway, the great thing about this event is the amount of variety within a single chassis.  Albeit there are a number of different generations, but still, each one has it’s own personal twist to make it something different.

IMG_2994

The factory-backed, Knight Sports RX-8 was on hand putting down some hot laps.  This car was built for the Thailand Super Series, so it’s no stranger to the race track.

IMG_2948

Advan TCIII’s looked right at home tucked under the vented fenders.  Check out those tires.

IMG_2941

IMG_2940

Pretty minimal interior; cut and dry race car.

IMG_3177

It looks really good when it’s all buttoned up – sans the billboard-esque decal arrangement.

IMG_2223

It’s not just full blown race cars the event attracts however, and even those who look the most out of place at a race track come to join the festivities as well.  They hold a parade lap during lunch where anyone can go out on track to experience the well-known curves of TC2000.

IMG_3341

A little strange to see these FD’s with one-off body kits on track.  I think the FD is one of the most widely used chassis to experiment on with body design.

IMG_2627

Take for example this, rather striking, looking bright blue one.

IMG_2644

IMG_2631

Some pretty beautiful work going on here.

IMG_3306

IMG_2422

Whatever type you prefer, it was on hand.

IMG_3109

Most commonly though were the time attack builds.  The drivers wasted no track time and the majority were out all sessions available.  They even held a ‘showdown’ where 8 of the cars went head to head at the same time; very Best Motoring style!

IMG_2283

You can’t think of RX-7’s withouth Pan Speed coming to mind, and they were in attendance with their ongoing RX-8 attack build, as well as their street RX-7.  The RX-8 was sitting at a very appropriate ride height and looked amazing coming around the last corner of Tsukuba – never underestimate the impact ride height has on looks…

IMG_2368

IMG_2362

IMG_3121

IMG_3138

IMG_2091

Yasuhiro and the Auto Rescue Izu FD fought the heat on track for the morning to lay down some good laps.  Peep those Hawaiian shorts.

IMG_3146

Car looked good on track as usual.

IMG_2931

IMG_2870

IMG_3085

As per the norm, the spectacular looking privateer builds dominated the day, providing entertainment for the track-goers.

IMG_2409

IMG_2353

IMG_2680

IMG_2079

IMG_2488

RE kitted FD running just a bit rich.

IMG_2340

The Active FC3S – top tier example of a well built RX-7.

IMG_2193

They even put on a small drift exhibition during the afternoon.

IMG_2156

IMG_2154

I got a kick out of this M7 Mutiara Motors GT300 replica FD.  Look closely at that side exit exhaust….

IMG_2320

No words for this one…

IMG_3314

IMG_2454

Yuki and his Scoot tuned 26B Quad Rotor were there.  This car has changed tremendously since I last saw it at the last Winter Cafe.  He was running mid-59’s.  I’m not sure how much time he has behind the wheel, but definitely will become a force to be reckoned with if he keeps at it for a few seasons.

IMG_2059

IMG_2073

IMG_2077

IMG_2037

Shimaya and his Endless-backed FD were there as well.

IMG_2047

IMG_1981

Beautiful car – looking forward to WTAC.

IMG_1983

IMG_2031

IMG_2068

IMG_2008

All in all another fantastic event.  Thanks again to Matt for the shots!

 

Leave a Reply