The annual “motorsports fan appreciation days” held on March 1st (Sat) and 2nd (Sun) at the Suzuka Circuit saw the participation of the Mazda Roadster and Mazda Demio which will be engaging in full-fledged entry into this year's Super Taikyu Endurance Series.

These two cars are the long awaited #88 Murakami Motors NC Roadster (ST-4 class) from Ehime and #17 NOPRO Demio which took home its first Super Taikyu win in Round 4 of last year's 7 hour Fuji race as the Mazda reciprocating powered race car. The NOPRO Demio's livery has been completely changed this season to reflect the latest Mazda motorsports color, Soul Red. While the sponsor logos and so on are still provisional, this event became the debut unveiling of the new colors.

Starting from Super Taikyu, a total of 20 cars from each class participated in this year's Fan Appreciation Day. In the morning's exclusive test runs, both cars recorded times which put the heat on rival teams and paved the way for the opening round to be held in the last week of March at Twin Ring Motegi. In the first day's finale, marked by the Super Taikyu exhibition race, as well as in the following day's demo race, these two Mazda vehicles bolted around the Suzuka Circuit as if they were in full blown competition. Their exhaust notes reverberated around the track causing flowers to bloom throughout the sky above Suzuka. Both days saw a grid walk in which these teams, currently gearing up for the start of the season, were surrounded by numerous fans who undoubtedly spurred their motivation to even greater heights.

When reading the driver names written on the NOPRO Demio, along with the names of regular drivers, father and son duo Toshihiko and Tatsuya Nogami, and Kenichi Obara, we also see the name of the driving force behind last year's first victory, Tatsuya Tanigawa. Tanigawa who was absent on these days said that “Although full participation in the series would be difficult due to scheduling reasons, even if just once, [he] would like to participate in a number of rounds and contribute to the team.”