On Sunday, December 3, 2006, Nissan held its 10th annual Nismo Festival at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka. Having heard good things about this event (and curious to check out the recent renovations in time for the 2007 F1 Japanese Grand Prix), we checked out the track the night before. At least 50 cars were parked at the gate. These were the hardcore Nismo fans that didn't mind spending the night in their cars despite rain and temperatures hovering just above freezing.
To make sure this event trumped the previous nine, Nissan not only emptied out its museum and called in favors from almost all its race teams, it also invited owners of hundreds of pristine Skylines, Fairladys (US Z Cars), Sunnys (aka 1200s), Roadsters and Bluebirds (aka 510s) to join in. Come festival day, three separate parts of the Speedway were alive with activities. But despite attractive special events like 'Driver's Talk Show', the exciting Race Queen Stage in the paddock area, and the new Skyline display and aftermarket parts garage sale around the grandstand, most attention was focused on the constant action at the track, which all kicked off at 9am with an introductory ceremony and a car parade.
Ten minutes later, the green flag dropped on the first race: the Nissan March Cup. Powered by 160bhp, HR16DE four-cylinder engines, these 2200-pound minicars were amazingly quick in the rain. Fending off a field that included one woman driver and two Chinese entries making their Japanese debut, Asian Super GT GT500 class driver Masami Kageyama took the win.
The Z-Car Challenge was next. This special race was limited to performance tuned, but street legal versions of the current model Fairlady Z (Z33). Z-Car Challengers weigh no less than 3300 pounds and must be powered by VQ35DE engines (though turbo- and supercharging is allowed). They must also run catalytic converters, radial tires and exhausts no louder than 90 decibels.
You might think such restrictions would dampen the excitement. But Japan's top tuners took them as a challenge, and while the cars were limited, the GT and DI series drivers clearly were not. With no cash or championship points at stake, this was a battle of pride. And through the cold, driving rain, Yakayuki Aoki and his Endless Z came out on top.
The Z cars pulled off the track to the rumble of dual carburetors, meaning only one thing: the day's first exhibition race featuring 22 classic Nissans, 18 of them Sunnys, with two S30 Zs and two old-school Skylines rounding out the field.
A brief walk through the paddock verified that all these cars were powered by naturally aspirated, single overhead cam engines, with either multiple carburetors or mechanical fuel injection. Chassis set-ups were similar to SCCA GT class road racecars, complete with full roll cages, fuel cells, bucket seats and racing harnesses. Some also had their rear-view mirrors in the original front fender location and historically correct racing logos-just the sort of nice touch expected from vintage road racers.
But these weren't the kind who dress up in period gear only to drive Sunday-morning slow. After a tow truck came out to pull a couple of them apart, it was obvious these Japanese classic car racers take the 'rubbing is racing' adage to another level. After all the bumping and grinding, Haruhito Yanagida, one of the two Z car pilots, edged out the many Sunnys for the win.
The next guys on the track were closer to traditional classic car owners. The only difference is that all of them drove their cars here, some from as far away as Osaka (verified by the license plate), which is at least a four-hour drive. How o we know? Because when we pulled into our hotel parking lot, it was full of the same restored Skylines and 240Zs. Not a trailer in sight either, because owning and storing, let alone towing one in the tight confines of Japan is far too impractical. Plus, cars need to run well to participate in the next event: the ultimate moving car show.