The 5^th round of the All Japan Rally Championships was held near Kanto, in Fukushima prefecture, around the Nakura area. There was a total 12SS, covering 64.27km, with nearly all of it made up of gravel stages. Ishida proved the high performance of the TEIN Type Gr.N shock absorber by setting the best & second best times one after another.

 

The rally turned out to be rigorous battle as Ishida's rivals were having trouble with blown tires, and Ishida himself suffering from a damaged lower arm. As the veteran made his presence felt, at the end of Leg 1 the top 2 cars built a strong 50second gap between 2^nd place and the following pack. Ishida's consistent effort in Leg 2 allowed him to take his 2^nd win of the season, and acquire enough points to put him in second overall position in the driver's standings. Expectations are high for another great performance in the next round, Rally Hokkaido.

In JN2 class, Sekine performed well to finish 3rd in his class.