About 500 cars gathered! Japan’s largest popular event “R’s Meeting 2022” where “GT-R” from Hakosuka to R35 gather (Auto Messe Web)

Japan’s largest festival where GT-Rs gather from all over the country

On October 30, 2022, the 15th R’s Meeting was held at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture. On the day of the event, many GT-Rs from the past gathered early in the morning. From the first generation Hakosuka to the latest R35 T-spec, about 500 GT-Rs gathered together and the Fuji Speedway was filled with GT-Rs. I will report on the state of the GT-R all-out venue.

[Image]See the GT-R festival “R’s Meeting” where 500 cars gathered (11 photos)

An attractive event where you can fully enjoy the charm of GT-R

The R’s Meeting sponsored by the specialized magazine “GT-R Magazine” has been held for 13 consecutive years since 2010. Every year, GT-R enthusiasts gather from all over the country, including not only GT-Rs and their owners, but also prospective GT-R owners who want a GT-R and former GT-R owners. There will be photo sessions by professional photographers, booth exhibitions by manufacturers and shops, and a talk show on the stage.

Parade run is back for the first time in 3 years! GT-R fills the racing course

One of the highlights of the 2022 R’s Meeting will be a parade run of 150 GT-Rs, which will be back for the first time in three years. The racing course at Fuji Speedway was filled with only GT-Rs. The parade run was led by Keiichi Tsuchiya, a racing specification Hakosuka (a replica of the machine driven by Kunimitsu Takahashi). Admiring Mr. Kunimitsu Takahashi, also known as Kuni, Tsuchiya, who jumped into the world of motor sports and built a racing career, put on Kuni’s helmet in the GT-R of Mr. Kuni, who he admired, and led the way. Before the parade run, there was a scene that brought tears to my eyes thinking of the late Kuni-san.

A talk show that excited the venue

A talk show was held under the MC of Naoko Ogiwara, a racing driver and freelance announcer. The first event was a talk show with the R32-R35 development team. Osamu Ito (R32 product manager), Hiroshi Taguchi (R33 product manager), Kozo Watanabe (R33/R34 product manager), and Hiroshi Tamura (R35 brand ambassador) took the stage. This year, 2022, is the 20th anniversary of the end of production of the R34GT-R, so the center of attention is the R34GT-R. Even though it was 20 years ago, the development team remembered it as if it was yesterday, and the GT-R fans who listened to the talk show were deeply impressed. Next is the talk show of the racing drivers. Katsumasa Chiyo and Kohei Hirate, who fought in SUPERGT with GT-R until last year, and Keiichi Tsuchiya, who fought in Group A with R32 GT-R, talked about their love for GT-R. Having become a Nissan driver, Hirate, who enjoys driving the GT-R even in the private sector, spoke passionately about being a long-time GT-R fan. Chiyo also excited the audience by announcing that she had recently purchased a GT-R. And Mr. Tsuchiya longed for the appearance of fighting in the Hakosuka GT-R, and passionately talked about his memories with Mr. Kuni, who fought Group A with the R32 GT-R together. At the 3rd R35 development team talk show, Mr. Tamura of Nissan Motor, who was on stage at the 1st time, and Mr. Takashi Kawaguchi, the current R35 development manager, talked about the future of GT-R that GT-R fans are concerned about. was told. The final talk show was a combination of Nissan’s development drivers, Mr. Hiroyoshi Kato and Mr. Takao Matsumoto of the vehicle testing department, and Mr. Shinichi Katsura and Mr. Takayuki Kinoshita, racing drivers and motor journalists. There was a GT-R talk that could be said to be due to the four people who are familiar with driving and are passionate about driving.