7's Day 2003 - Review & Super Battle

5 am in the morning I kicked the Fd into life. I pulled out of the driveway and noticed a slightly wet road. Punching the pedal to the floor, the rear stepped out and I controlled a nice slide around the first corner of the day. Within a couple of hours I would be watching Japanese drivers battling it out for the D1 Professional Drift Championship as well as drooling over the 500-1000 Rx-7s that would be on display and cruising around.

After picking upa friend, as soon as I got onto the Tomei expressway from Tokyo, the number of Rx7s in my field of vision increased. It was going to be another great day at Sevens Day. I finally arrived after the obligatory Japanese traffic jam near the circuit. (1 Hour for 2.5Km!)

Walking closer and closer to the enterance, I could hear the sound of exhaust and screeching of tires not to mention the smell of burning rubber, D1 practice was underway. But I was not phased by that. My first priority was the Rx-7 display area that was full of Fd history with TAS winners beside everday hacks.

These were the cars of the private owners, the ones that rule the streets, not the racetracks. An awesome display from mild to wild and every combination in between. Some owners show the true brand loyalty modifying their cars to within a inch of the workshop demo cars they emulate. Other owners chose the best of the best approach using a mix and match of parts to achieve their desired look and feel. No matter how you look at it, you have to look pretty hard to find a bad looking FD Rx-7. The shape still has the amazing ability to outclass almost everything else around. And when modified properly, looks absolutely perfect.

  

This year the Works cars had moved to a concrete area, away from the others somewhat distracting from the overall appearance. RE-Amemiya and Amasan had the GT300 car, the Time Attack race car, The Greddy Final 7, the Greddy 8 chop top (previously pink) resprayed in silver, A widebody road car, a few other cars fitted with gull wing doors, the boost up Greddy 9 and the Rx-8. An impressive display. A couple of FCs were also thrown in for good measure.

RMagic had the new 8 in black and their race spec FC, AutoExe had the FD-02 and the new kit for the 8 on display. Cwest showed their Super Taikyu race car and a nicely modified road car sporting their new FD bodykit. SanaiWorks had their New 8 kit.

Fujita Engineering had their circuit car and CC showed more Fujita gear. Border had the wonderful wide body but not really “on display”.

Kazama had their new wide body Rx7 and Vertex T&E had their fluro-green beast there as well. INGS+ showcased their FD in style with two young ladies showing it off. But maybe the most interesting was the SCOOT 4 Rotor custom FD. The sound of that car was quite nice, but nothing compared to this...

These cars were surrounded by a host of special vehicles including the AWESOME 787B LE MANS Racer. Some lotus formula 1 cars and other beasts that were truly amazing. Watching these cars on track was impressive. The noise and speed was something you have to see.

The RE-Amemiya Super GT was doing it's best to represent the 3 rotor NA in the noise department.

on the fuji straight! Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Remember, this track still has the long sweeper onto the main straight. FAST!

Super taikyu cars arent fast but their stright through exhaust are incredibly loud.

Drift was part of this event showcase and the FD fans were not disappointed. Imamura winning the event. Just! I think Taniguchi and at least some of the crowd were troubled by the decision. Other Notable mentions went to Murao in the FC who if not for a spin would have lined up a showdown with Imamura in the final. His second run was probably the most impressive of the day. The rear tires of the FC didn’t stop burning for the entire session.

Asamoto in the Orange FD really tried too hard and overcooked it when he really had a good advantage in his heat. I guess he was pumped up in front of the FD biased crowd. A great show and Ima certainly was the cleanest of all on the day. Great Driving! Check my D1 post. 

The Fuji Power Tour also included a 5 lap SUPER BATTLE which is held at various times of the year. Yamada was the fastest, Just! The autotech R32 running just 0.032 seconds faster than the Amemiya FD

1 AutoTech R32 Skyline 1'34.260

2 RE Amemiya FD3S Rx7 1'34.292  Not bad for a car with much less horsepower.
3 JUN Auto Imprezza 1'35.802

4 PanSpeed FD3S Rx7 1'36.972

5 Fujita Engineering FD3S Rx7 1'37.986
6 GTO Bee★R 1'38.484

At the end I was depressed that it ended and excited that my own car had a new direction. All I has was some sunburn and pictures to remember the day... and an RE-Amemiya GT AD kit for 30% off!

It makes feel a little better knowing that I was there to see this event in all its glory!

Until next year. Russ