On November 27th, the 5th Haruna Rotary Meeting 2021, one of the largest rotary engine vehicle meetings in Japan, was held at the Shibukawa Sky Park parking lot in Gunma Prefecture, attracting over 650 rotary vehicle owners from all over Japan.

 

On the day of the meeting, Gunma Prefecture was blessed with sunshine, but it was the coldest day of the season, and snow was observed in the mountainous areas. Even at Shibukawa Sky Park, the venue of the event, located at a high elevation, there was a strong, cold wind blowing. The road to the venue was lined with a long queue of rotary cars right after it opened at 8 am. One after another, they started to enter, and within an hour of the opening, the parking lot of the main venue was full.

 

At the opening ceremony, D’zgarage representative Makoto Okada, Shibukawa City Mayor Tsutomu Takagi, and special guests gave their greetings, and the event began. Demo cars from the stores were on display at the venue, and an RX-7 254 on the verge of completion of its restoration was displayed next to the main stage. After the opening ceremony, a demonstration was held to start the engine of the RX-7 254. The demonstration lasted for about 5 minutes, and the audience applauded the dry sound of the 13B engine’s peri-exhaust at close range.

 

Later, on the main stage, Mr. Yumi Amemiya, the representative of RE Amemiya, and Mr. Masato Ito, the owner of RX-7 254, held a special talk show on RX-7 254, where they talked about how the RX-7 254 was revived and how it was recreated by volunteers. All day long, there were many people around the RX-7 254 on display, taking pictures of every corner. As you would expect from a car that had to compete in the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was a truly authentic and awesome experience. There were many RE cars on display, from the original SA22C RX-7 to the third generation FD RX-7, Cosmo, Luce rotary and many more, all polished to a shine. There were also many rare examples of drift machines, store tuning cars and demo cars, and the Night Sports RX-8 race car that competed in the Macau Grand Prix, which delighted the discerning rotary fans.

 

In addition, with the cooperation of Tokyo Jidosha College, a mechanic college, a talk show was held to announce the completion of the RX-7 FD3S restoration by Sayaka Shimoda, a female drift driver who is aiming to enter D1.

 

In the afternoon, after the lunch break, a rock-paper-scissors tournament was held, which is one of the most popular events every year, and the audience was excited to see the gorgeous prizes such as engine oil and four sets of tires. After the rock-paper-scissors tournament, which lasted for about two hours, the awards and closing ceremony for the dress-up contest for all the cars in the venue were held, bringing the event to a successful conclusion. By the time the closing ceremony was over, the sky was covered with thick clouds, and although there was no snow, there was a blizzard at one point, making us feel the arrival of winter in earnest.

 

Makoto Okada, the organizer of the event, commented, “It was very cold, but everyone did a great job. I think there were more than 650 cars here today. The number of cars has been increasing every year, and although there were some issues to be addressed, we would like to continue this event in the future by trying to gain the understanding of the neighborhood residents. Thank you very much for your time today.”

 

“It seems that all the rotary car owners have been itching for a chance to get together since the Corona disaster. We made the venue larger than last time, but even so, there were cars that could not get in. I was reminded that even in this day and age, there are still many car enthusiasts. I would like to do my best to make this event even more exciting again.

 

Please click the link below to view the video report.

Video of the 5th Haruna Rotary Meeting 2021 (YouTube 2’17”)

 

Text & Photos by MZRacing