Round 5 of the All-Japan Rally Championship, "Rally Monterey 2013" was held in the Shibukawa area of Gunma prefecture on July 27 (Sunday) and 28 (Monday), with ups and downs as torrential rain hit the event. In their Mazda Demio (Mazda2) Koichi Okada and Ayumi Urushido finished third in the JN2 class. In addition, Takumi Nanba and Mitsuo Ishigetani in their RX-8, participating in the JN1 class, took their first victory.

Although unable to keep up with the class-winning Vitz of veteran local Masayuki Ishida, Koichi Okada, who came third, described the result as “Perfect, despite noise emanating from the differential under cornering from SS2, preventing us from moving up. It was, therefore, frustrating not to be able to drive competitively to the end, but using various tricks and a burning desire to finish, we made it to the goal. With the cause of the problem not yet fully determined, we may want to test further prior to the next round in the series, the Tango Peninsula Rally, taking place from August 23 - 25 in Kyoto. We apologise to all the MZ Racing Mazda Motorsprots fans! Even so, attacking on dry tires on section 3 of this rally meant absolutely no grip with water standing up to several centimeters deep after the heavy downpours. Last year's event produced nothing like the trouble experienced by crews this time around. However, suspension settings have evolved considerably since and I look forward to the next race.”

Takumi Namba, at the wheel of the large RX-8 contesting the compact hatch division of the mainstream JN1 class, commented, “The RX-8 is heavy and large when I'm in it! (laughs). But the power of the rotary engine is not only attractive; it also serves as a potent weapon. I can feel its potential.”