- 2020/10/02
Matsukura / Iwabuchi Demio Takes Class 3rd in All Japan Rally Rd 3
The third round of the All Japan Rally Championship (JRC) “Rally Hokkaido” was held from 12-13 September, and Takuro Matsukura and Akiko Iwabuchi’s Demio finished in 3rd in the JN5 class. A total of 34 vehicles entered this year’s rally, including 5 Demios and 1 RX-8. We have received a report from Koichi Okada of the MZRacing family, who has been entering the JN5 class in the Demio 15MB since 2018.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 series was reduced from 10 rounds to 4 rounds, and Rally Hokkaido was also held with no spectators and strict measures taken to prevent virus infection. The total SS distance was reduced by about 40% compared to last year, and the scale of the rally was reduced by the elimination of the rally show for fan interaction and the ceremonial start of each car passing through the start gate. The “RIKUBETSU Long” with its water splash, and the “NUPRIPAKE” and “PAWSE KAMUY” SS were still incorporated this year. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the organizers and everyone involved in organizing this rally and giving the 15MB Demio a chance to play an active role.
Saturday, September 12, Day 1 started at 6am. Rain was forecast for the entire rally week, and while parts of the service park and liaison (transfer section) were rained out as forecast for Day 1, the SS section was cloudy and conditions were mostly dry.
This was my first time to participate in a rally since the Shinshiro Rally 2020. I couldn’t adapt to the speed range of Hokkaido and I was outpaced by my rivals from the beginning. It was a tough race, but we managed to improve our times as the SS went on, and we finished Day 1 with his best time so far.
Sunday the 13th Day 2 schedule started even earlier than the day before, at 5am. The temperature gauge in the car was 12 degrees Celsius. The first SS9 OTOFUKE reverse was rained out, but the rest of the day was cloudy.
In SS10 PAWSE KAMUY, I hit a rock on the inside and damaged a wheel, but the tube-infused rally tire prevented it from bursting, and I managed to change to a spare tire to continue with the rally.
The team’s priority was to finish the race and to enjoy the rally, but we set personal best times just like Day 1, and finished this year’s Rally Hokkaido. Despite the tough dirt SS, the 15MB Demio was able to finish the rally without any problems. The final result was 6th in the JN5 class out of 12 cars.
We will be participating in the next and final round of the All Japan Rally Championships, the Tour de Kyushu in Karatsu in November. Unlike the previous round, this one will be a one-day rally held only on Saturday, but we will start setting up the 15MB Demio for pavement in order to win this sprint rally.
Mazda vehicle performance JN-5 Class 3rd: Takuro Matsukura and Akiko Iwabuchi, Demio JN-5 Class 6th: Koichi Okada and Ishida Kazuki’s Demio JN-5 Class 7th: Hisashi Matsubara and Yoshiaki Wada, Demio JN-5 Class 8th: Masao Nakanishi and Marika Takeo’s RX-8 JN-5 class 9th: Shunichi Washio and Sota Inoue Demio OPEN Class 2nd: Yuichi Arai andMazayuki Koizumi, Demio
Text by K. Okada Photos by I. Hiromoto & K. Okada&T. Matukura
Archive
2023
- 07/10
OHLINS Roadster NATS Lights-to-Flag in Round 3 SUGO Round 
04/21
JGC Rd.2 Yu Wins in a Daring Comeback in the 2nd Heat!- 04/21
JRC Rd.3 Karatsu Takuya Kawamoto/Naohiro Nagabuchi (MAZDA2) Finish 6th in JN-5 Class - 03/22
Newly-formed Car #88 Roadster Grabs Pole-to-Win in Opening Round of S-Tai Series! - 03/21
MAZDA SPIRIT RACING Finishes S-Tai Race at Suzuka! - 02/26
Super Taikyu First Official Test of 2023 Held at Fuji Speedway
2022
03/21
#72 takes its long-awaited first win with a lights-to-flag in S-Tai opening round- 02/19
Mazda Announces 2022 Super Taikyu Series Entry
2021
- 12/06
JEGT Rd.3 “EVANGELION e-RACING with Hiroshima Mazda” takes victory - 11/16
#456 Roadster Wins ST-5 Class in Final Round of S-Tai. #66 Takes Series Championship - 09/22
#66 Roadster Moves One Step Closer to ST5 Title With Victory at Suzuka 5-Hour - 08/13
Sakata takes 2nd consecutive All Japan Dirt Trial Championship win with Mazdaspeed Axela - 08/03
LOVE DRIVE Roadster takes its first victory at S-Tai Autopolis 5 Hours - 07/28
Mazda Jinba Ittai Academy’s Terakawa wins his first overall IPS race - 06/08
IPS win slips out of Terakawa’s grasp due to overzealousness - 05/25
OVER DRIVE finishes 1-2 in Fuji 24 Hour Race - 03/24
Mazda cars dominate podium in rainy opening round of S-Tai
2020
- 11/04
Lights-to-Flag for #456 odula Roadster at S-Tai Rd 3 at Okayama - 10/13
Murakami Roadster Finishes 2nd in Class at S-Tai Sugo Round 2 - 10/02
Matsukura / Iwabuchi Demio Takes Class 3rd in All Japan Rally Rd 3 - 09/08
Team NOPRO Demio SKY-D Grabs First Fuji 24 Hour Win - 07/31
Super Taikyu Heads Towards 24 Hours of Fuji - 07/27
Terakawa makes a comeback at rainy IPS Suzuka to finish 2nd - 07/07
Terakawa achieves amazing opening win streak in Interproto debut.
2019
- 12/05
RE Amemiya RX-7 Matsui Grabs 4th at FIA Drift Tsukuba - 11/26
Jinba Ittai Academy Ends Season at 2nd place in IPS rankings - 11/14
Odula Roadster Grabs First S-Tai Win - 10/04
Masato Nakanishi’s RX-8 takes JN6 class 2nd at Rally Hokkaido - 09/12
Mazda “Jinba Ittai” Team Takes 4th Place in Tsukuba - 09/02
IPS “Jinba Ittai Driving Academy” grabs double podium - 07/23
Hiromatsu Demio Takes ST-5 Class Victory in Debut at S-Tai Rd 4 - 06/15
Koichi Okada’s Demio 15MB Takes First Season JN5 Victory at All Japan Rally Rd 5 - 06/06
Murakami Motors Roadster achieves successive victories at Fuji 24 hours - 05/24
Okada Demio 15MB wins 2nd place in JRC Round 4 - 05/02
Hiromatsu Demio, NOPRO Axela take class 2nd place in S-Tai SUGO - 03/29
Team NOPRO takes ST-5 class victory and ST-2 3rd place podium
2018
- 11/07
Mazda Cars Dominate ST-5 class Podium at S-Tai Final Round at Okayama - 10/23
Okada Demio 15MB Grabs Class 3rd at JRC Takayama - 10/23
Mad Mike Grabs Formula Drift Japan Title - 09/13
Okada Demio 15MB Makes Return to JRC and Takes Class 2nd - 07/31
Mad Mike Ends in Retirement at Formula Drift Japan Rd. 3 Fuji - 07/28
Team RE Amemiya K & N’s Matsui Grabs D1 Tsukuba Victory - 07/24
Team 221 Roadster Takes Second Season Victory at S-Tai 5-Hours of Autopolis - 07/24
Unstoppable! Mad Mike Grabs Second Consecutive Victory! - 06/11
Mad Mike Dominates FDJ Suzuka with Phenomenal Performance - 06/05
Murakami Motors Roadster takes ST-5 class victory in S-Tai 24-Hours of Fuji - 05/25
Okada Demio Misses 3rd Place Podium by milliseconds - 05/01
NOPRO Axela SKY-D Grabs ST-2 Class 2nd at S-Tai SUGO - 04/10
Okada Demio 15MB Grabs JN3 Class 3rd in Debut Rally - 04/03
Three Roadsters Reach the Podium at S-Tai Opening Round at Suzuka
2017
- 10/31
Team Jinba Ittai’s Masahiro Sato Takes 2nd Place - 10/20
#37 NOPRO Demio SKY-D Rounds off Season with Consecutive ST-5 Class Victories - 10/02
Mad Mike Overwhelms the Competition to Take Victory at FD Okuibuki - 09/21
Team “Jinba Ittai’s” Kenta Yamashita Takes Dramatic Victory in IPS Pro Class - 09/08
NOPRO Demio Grabs Season First Victory - 08/24
Matsui’s RE Amemiya RX-7 Takes D1 Rd. 6 Tanso Victory - 07/27
Matsui’s RE Amemiya RX-7 Grabs 2nd Place at D1 Maishima - 07/18
Mazda Teams Dominate ST-5 Podium (S-Tai Autopolis) - 06/29
Sayaka Kato Takes Overall Victory in Fiercely Fought All-Female Fuji L1 - 06/28
Matsui’s RE Amemiya RX-7 Takes 10th Place at D1 Tsukuba - 06/13
Second Consecutive Lights-to-Flag Victory for Murakami Roadster - 05/02
Murakami Motors Roadster Grabs Season First Win at S-Tai SUGO - 04/04
Murakami Roadster Takes ST-5 class 3rd in S-Tai Opening Round - 03/09
NOPRO To Take On Super Taikyu with Axela SKY-D - 02/07
Karakama Demio Takes JN-3 Class 2nd at JRC Tsumagoi Opening Round
2016
11/25
Umeda in ND, Tsuji in NC Take Perfect 4 Race Victories. Okazawa Grabs V2 in NB- 11/25
NOPRO Demio SKY-D Finishes 2nd, Ends S-Tai Series at ST-5 Class 3rd - 11/11
Shimada Demio Takes JN-3 Class 2nd in JRC Shinshiro Rally - 11/10
48 Mazda Machines Converge for the “Fuji-Chan” Final Round - 10/24
TCR Roadster Achieves Hard Fought First ST4 Win - 09/07
MX-5 & Mazda 2 Fight Hard in S-Tai Longest Round, 9 Hours of Fuji - 08/11
RE Amemiya’s Matsui Battles it Out in Tsuiso & Tanso in D1GP Ebisu Round - 08/10
ND Roadster Takes Second All Japan Gymkhana Championship Victory! - 07/12
Terakawa Demio Grabs JN3 Class 2nd at JRC Rally Toya - 06/28
Iwai Takes First Tanso Victory in RE Roadster - 06/18
Karakama and Okada Demios Take 2nd and 3rd at All Japan JRC Fukushima Rally - 06/16
NOPRO Demio SKY-D Grabs First Victory at S-Tai Suzuka - 06/14
Okada Demio Takes JN3 Class 2nd in All Japan Wakasa Rally - 05/19
Murakami Motors ND Roadster Achieves Superb Lights-to-Flag Victory - 05/10
Nakanishi RX-8 Takes 2nd in JRC Rd. 2 Kumakogen Rally, Okada Demio Retires - 04/26
RE Amemiya’s Matsui Advances to First D1 Tsuiso Since Move - 04/14
Champion Okada Demio Finishes 2nd at JRC Karatsu Rally - 04/12
RD Roadster Makes Fuji Champion Race Debut! - 04/05
NOPRO Demio SKY-D Takes Class 2nd in S-Tai Opener - 03/28
RE Roadster Tears Through First Qualification
2015
- 11/28
20-year old Tsutsumi Becomes Party Race II’s Last Champion - 11/25
Tadashi Kawakita Grabs Class Championship in RX-7 – 2015 All Japan Gymkhana Review - 11/10
Joining the Okada Demio, the Mazda RX-8 also Grabs JRC Class Championship - 11/06
Champion Demio SKY-D Driver, Aya Machida, Tells Us About “Fuji-Chan” - 11/05
Aya Machida Comes Out on Top of Decisive Three Way Fuji Demio Battle - 10/31
NOPRO Demio SKY-D Takes 3rd Step on Podium at S-Tai Suzuka - 10/27
RE Amemiya GruppeM-RX7 Enthralls Crowd in Tsuiso - 10/22
Demio Monopolizes Podium at JRC Round 8 Highland Masters! - 09/25
Okada Demio Takes JN3 Class Victory at JRC Rd. 7 to Secure the Title! - 09/09
Murakami Motors NC Roadster Grabs First S-Tai Points at Rain Soaked Okayama - 09/09
Kawashima Demio SKY-D Grabs 3rd in All Japan Dirt Trial Rd 7 - 09/08
Okada Demio Takes Third Class Victory in JRC Rd 6, “Montre in Tsumagoi” - 09/08
RE Amemiya GruppeM-RX7 is Superb in Tsuisō - 09/08
Mazda WIM Selection Team Complete Roadster 4-Hour in 14th - 09/02
Aya Machida Takes FCR Rd 4 Victory in Demio SKY-D - 08/07
NOPRO Demio SKY-D Grabs 4th and TCR Roadster Takes 5th in Scorching S-Tai Kyushu. - 08/05
R MAGIC RX-7 Takes 4th in D1 Ebisu - 07/31
Terakawa Demio Grabs Consecutive JN3 Victories in JRC Fukushima - 07/11
Terakawa Demio Takes JN3 Class Victory in All Japan Rally Toyako - 07/06
Two MWIM Drivers Successfully Complete S-Tai 8 Hours - 07/04
Suenaga’s Team RE Amemiya GruppeM RX-7 Grabs 3rd - 07/01
Rina Ito Grabs First Podium at JRC Wakasa Rally - 06/25
Rain Causes High Drama in Fuji Championship Race Round 3 - 05/26
NOPRO Demio SKY-D Grabs 4th in Chaotic S-Tai Round 2 - 05/21
Matsui Advances to D1 “tsuiso” Tournament But Retires With Machine Trouble - 05/17
Two New Stars Again Dominate Roadster Party Race Ⅱ Round 2 at Tsukuba - 05/12
Okada Demio Grabs JN3 Class Winning Streak at All Japan Rally Kumakogen - 04/25
Demio SKYACTIV-D makes its Fuji Champion Race Debut. - 04/25
RX-7s Eliminated Early Despite Strong Performance - 04/19
After Fierce Battle Between 2 New Stars Tsutsumi Comes Out on Top - 04/14
Mazda Demio Takes JN3 Class Victory in All Japan Rally Karatsu - 03/30
DJ Demio SKYACTIV-D Completes S-Tai Opening Round - 03/26
SKYACTIV-D Demio’s Potential on Display at Dirt Trial - 03/18
Team TERRAMOS’s Umeda Takes A Lights-to-Flag Victory in Race Debut - 01/17
Huge crowd intoxicated by double performance of RX-8 and RX-7 D1GP Kickoff Drift
2014
- 12/02
Kawakita RX-7 Places 2nd In All Japan Gymkhana SA2 Class With 2 Season Wins. 2014 All Japan Gymkhana Review - 11/17
NOPRO Demio finishes 4th in close battle to take series 3rd - 11/08
Demio and RX-8 take double win at final round of All Japan Rally, Shinshiro Rally 2014 (Aichi Prefecture) - 10/30
Resurrected NOPRO Demio grabs 4th in ST-5 class, Super Taikyu Round 5 Suzuka - 10/23
Suenaga’s RE Amemiya RX-7 wins to become “tanso” champion D1 GP Round 7 Odaiba - 10/21
Mazda machines take 2 class victories at All Japan Rally’s MCSC Highland Masters - 09/11
NC Roadsters have solid finish. Misfortune causes NOPRO Demio to miss 3rd. Super Taikyu Series Round 4 - 09/10
A grandiose commemorative 25th Media Four Hours Endurance Race - 09/03
Nakamura RX-8 takes 3rd JN1 win at All Japan “Tango Hanto Rally” - 08/30
Matsui grabs first win in R Magic RX-7, Matsunaga rises to series 2nd D1GP Ebisu Round - 07/31
S-Tai series highlights, NOPRO Demio grabs 2nd at 7 Hours of Fuji - 07/30
Nakamura RX-8 takes 2nd JN1 win in All Japan Rally 
07/29
Matsui grabs P3 in D1GP in 2nd year as R Magic RX-7 driver- 07/10
Uda’s JN1 Demio takes second win of the season. Okada’s JN3 Demio grabs 3rd. - 06/13
Karakama Demio just misses 2nd place at the All Japan Rally, Fukushima - 05/30
NOPRO Demio takes 2nd step on the podium in the ST5 Class of the Super Taikyu Series Round 2 at SUGO - 05/27
RE Amemiya 3 Rotor RX-7 shows phenomenal competitiveness at D1GP Round 2 - 05/11
Consecutive wins for the Uda Demio at Round 2 of the All Japan Rally, the Kumakogen Rally - 04/17
Signs point at success for Mazda this season in the All Japan Rally Championship - 03/30
RX-8, advance into the D1 Best 16 thwarted by bad weather - 03/30
NOPRO DEMIO finishes 4th in ST5 class, TCR Roadster takes class 6th in it’s debut race at the S-Tai opening round (Twin Ring Motegi)
