The 6th round of the All Japan Rally Championships was held on the gravel roads in the heart of the Tokachi area in Hokkaido. From day 1, the rally was troubled with the heavy rain affecting the whole country, and resulted in the cancellation of SS3, SS7 and SS8.
There were high hopes for last rounds winner in JN-4 class, Ishida to continue with his success, but during SS6 on day 1, he lost valuable time due to a blown tire. On day 2, he bravely fought back in every SS to try and make up for the 7minutes he lost. At the end, he finished in a very respectable 8th overall.
In JN-2 class, the rigorous rally saw the retirements of many competitors, but it was Sekine, who drove hard to set the pace from start to finish. And as a result, he came home to finish in 1st overall position. |
