【Event Reports】La Festa Primavera 2019 / The World of Classic Car Rallies Vol. 4

Vol. 4: The Beautiful End of a Journey, a Touching Goal

This is the fourth installment in CIGARRO's event collaboration series, which supports active adults who enjoy both their work and personal lives to the fullest. This is the fourth report from our on-site coverage of "La Festa Primavera," a classic car rally that has finally come to an end.

The final day started in Kobe, passed through the P.C. competition at Central Circuit, then Toyooka City and Miyazu City, with the goal being Okazaki Park, right next to Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto. As vehicles gathered one after another at the finish line, they waited for all to arrive before each passed through the gate. Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko, the honorary president of the event, watched over them, creating a solemn atmosphere tinged with the relief of having safely reached the goal.

Everyone's smiles, filled with the sense of accomplishment from completing the race and the accumulated stories of their four days, were even more captivating. Everyone left comments at the finish line, and one comment from a father-daughter pair, "He was the coolest dad," left a strong impression. What a wonderful memory.

After all the entrants had reached the finish line, it was time for dinner and the awards ceremony. Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko, the honorary president of the event, first gave us a gracious speech, followed by greetings from Kyoto Mayor Kadokawa and talent Masaaki Sakai. It was a wonderful time for everyone to congratulate and rejoice with each other on having successfully completed the race, as they reminisced about their journey. After some conversation, the awards ceremony finally began.

Various prizes were prepared by sponsors for the awards ceremony, including a pure gold model car (worth 2.5 million yen!). Among them, we at CIGARRO also provided a prize and had the important role of presenting our brand's most popular mouthwash set on stage. Although we would have liked to have them try it during the race, we didn't want to interfere with the race, so we gave it out as a participation souvenir and a prize at the awards ceremony.

The glorious victory went to the father-son pair, Mr. Manabu Yamazaki & Mr. Masayoshi Yamazaki, driving the No. 8 MG C-TYPE. We were surprised by the anecdote that they had changed classic cars multiple times with the aim of winning La Festa. What further excited the venue was the father, who had served as co-driver for seven years, in contrast to his emotionally moved son, calmly stating that he had initially had little interest in classic car rallies, saying, "My son handed me a stopwatch..." This brought forth great laughter and applause from the audience. Congratulations on your long-awaited first victory!

We sincerely hope that the wonderful people we met at this event will choose CIGARRO as their daily partner. We look forward to seeing you all again.