Author Topic: 2019 Race Blog - Continuing to keep it Rad in Japan! (Read 44824 times)

Mikku · « **Reply #75 on:** October 24, 2019, 11:56 PM »

This Sunday's race is now looking iffy due to a wet weather spell caused by yet another typhoon. However, since I'm currently nursing a sore back after a morning's worth of wood-cutting, I won't be too disappointed if it's rained off but we'll see.

Mikku · « **Reply #76 on:** October 26, 2019, 02:16 PM »

As expected, tomorrow's race has been rained off and will now be held on Sunday 10th November. That means 2 consecutive race weekends, with Oizumi on the following Sunday. All subject to the vagaries of the weather, of course.

monkian · « **Reply #77 on:** November 01, 2019, 10:42 AM »

Mikku · « **Reply #78 on:** November 05, 2019, 11:58 AM »

Tell me about it! This Sunday's rescheduled race is also looking a bit iffy with rain forecast for a few days.

Mikku · « **Reply #79 on:** November 10, 2019, 11:21 PM »

As expected, yesterday's race was cancelled. The pics below show the track condition on Saturday and with more rain forecast on Saturday night, they decided to pull the plug. That was the final race of the Kanayasan season, so I'll have to wait until next spring to race there again.

Anyway, onwards and upwards, as this Sunday I should hopefully be racing back down at Oizumi Park in Osaka. Looking forward to it, though with one eye on the weather forecast, as always!

Mikku · « **Reply #80 on:** November 12, 2019, 01:57 PM »

According to the flyer for this weekend's race, it looks like the classes might be mixed up a bit! Should make it interesting!

Mikku · « **Reply #81 on:** November 18, 2019, 12:22 PM »

Finally got to go racing on Sunday! Race report and more pics to follow.

Mikku · « **Reply #82 on:** November 19, 2019, 09:52 AM »

After the disappointment of the recent Niigata cancellations, it was good to be back on track again after a two-month break. I’ve only raced there three times but Oizumi now feels like my local track, even though it’s 236km away from home! It’s definitely my favourite track - I just wish I could get to ride it more frequently. To that end, I may drive down the day before the next race (in a fortnight) to get some practice in.

So back to last Sunday, the over-30 mixed class had 23 riders, by far the most popular, so were split into 4 motos, with six riders in mine. I had a ding-dong battle with the same rider in all three races albeit at the back of the pack. I was slow out of the gate in the first moto and although I was close and at times level, I couldn’t quite slip past. Determined to do better in the the second moto and lining up together on the gate, I got my bars in front, moved across and went into the first berm in 5th. However, despite covering my line, I was picked off coming out of the second berm and it stayed that way to the end. I was gutted to have lost the place and was fired up for the 3rd moto. Once again, I made it into the first berm in 5th and this time kept the ol’ legs spinning to finish in that place. A victory of sorts, and a good way to end off the day even though I didn’t make the semi-finals, with only the top four from each moto going through. One benefit of not making the main is that I can watch the other races. Not just from a spectator point of view but it’s also good watching the lines that other riders take and how they tackle the various parts of the track. There were some good dices but the best was left to the last race of the day, which was the elite class. The large turnout for my class was not quite mirrored in the top class, but with six riders taking the gate, it was the largest turnout of elite riders I've seen in Japan. It was great watching them in practice, let alone the racing. Oizumi has two back straights, with a separate set of jumps for elite riders and they made small work of the big jumps there. Amazing to watch! Just wish I had those skills. Or for that matter, those balls!!

Back to reality, here’s a selection of pics including some gate shots!

In2bmx · « **Reply #83 on:** November 19, 2019, 11:35 AM »

So cool to see

Mikku · « **Reply #84 on:** November 19, 2019, 12:22 PM »

Thanks Carl! Wish I could get out there more often but such is life. Thoroughly recommend it though for anyone thinking of giving it a go. Or another go, in most of our cases!

monkian · « **Reply #85 on:** November 19, 2019, 07:19 PM »

Nice work representing Mick and for getting your elbows out fella. Hopefully you’ll get more track time now

Mikku · « **Reply #86 on:** November 20, 2019, 12:23 AM »

Thanks Paul - I'm trying!

Two more races to go this season - back to Oizumi on 1st Dec then the Final Race at Midoriyama on the 8th. As always, looking forward to it!

Mikku · « **Reply #87 on:** November 30, 2019, 11:49 AM »

Back down to Oizumi for their season finale tomorrow. The car's all packed up and ready for its 4.30am departure. Hopefully the driver will be too!

Mikku · « **Reply #88 on:** December 02, 2019, 10:38 AM »

Back to Osaka for the second time in 2 weeks, Oizumi is definitely feeling like my local track. This was the last race of their season and with a bbq organised for after the races, there was an end-of-term feeling about the day. As always, the over-30s class was a popular one, with 15 riders spread over 2 heats. I was in the 2nd, which had a full gate of eight. I got squeezed a little in the first moto and had to back off approaching the first jump, which meant I lost speed and that was it, with the 8 of us travelling round like a train with no overtaking. At least that was what I was told, not being close enough to see what was going on at the front of the pack. Or train! I got away slightly better in moto 2 and went into the first berm in 7th but was then picked off down the 2nd straight and finished 8th. Despite my best efforts, the 3rd moto ended the same way, as I just didn’t have the legs to keep up with, let alone get ahead of the 7th-placed guy. Disappointing but it is what it is. I still enjoyed the day though and will definitely sign up again for next year’s series. There’s also rumoured to be a 2-race “winter series” starting in January, so I'll try to make it down there for those too.

So this coming weekend I’m planning to head down to Kanagawa for the “Final Race” at Midoriyama. The weather's looking ok at the time of writing, so hopefully that lasts through to Sunday. Membership renewals are due for Midoriyama, so I’ll need to have a think about whether it’s worth paying the £33 membership fee for 2020, given how little I race there now. I probably will but may wait to see if I can off-load some of the stuff that I'm taking there to sell!

Mikku · « **Reply #89 on:** December 07, 2019, 08:42 AM »

Am now in Tokyo, but it’s been raining here most of the day, so am not sure if tomorrow’s race will go ahead. Sunday’s forecast looks ok but it’ll depend on the track condition which in turn will depend on whether the organisers were able to cover the track in time. Fingers crossed!

Mikku · « **Reply #90 on:** December 11, 2019, 12:48 PM »

Thankfully the JOSF’s “Final Race” of their year (and mine too) went ahead as scheduled. The club normally gives out t-shirts to commemorate the occasion but this time we got a mug! You can’t have too many mugs, plus I managed to pick up a freebie t-shirt from 2008, so all’s good! What wasn’t so good was the track condition, with the surface really damp and slippery from the previous day’s rain, and I nearly went off a couple of times during free practice. However, the early morning sunshine soon started to dry things out, and it was much better by the time of the official practice session, though I was still a bit wary going into the berms.

The good weather had also attracted a decent amount of riders and there were 9 of us in the over-30s, split into 2 heats of 5 and 4 respectively, with me in the first. Moto 1 saw me in lane 1, and I got out well, slotting into 3rd place, which I held to the end - a good start to the day. Starting from lane 6, I got away in third again in moto 2 and held on to that place despite not being able to see well after forgetting to pull my goggles down! I finished third in the third moto too, though had to fight off the attentions of the 4th-placed guy as my legs started to give up the ghost! With 3 thirds, I qualified for the main and lined up on the gate in lane 6. I got away ok and lining up three abreast as we neared the first berm, I held both my nerve and line and just about managed to nudge in front of the riders either side of me. Now in 5th and with the first four too far ahead, the ol’ legs just about hauled me round to finish in that spot. A great confidence-booster, particularly the dice on the first straight. Actually, that was one of the best things I took from the day - being more aggressive out of the gate and holding my line, especially going into that all-important first berm. Finally, I’m starting to listen to my own advice!!

Buoyed by the good result and a few sales from my parts box, I decided to bite the bullet and renew my JOSF membership for next year. I’ll probably only make a few of the races but always enjoy catching up with everyone, plus Midoriyama is still the track I know best.

Mikku · « **Reply #91 on:** December 11, 2019, 12:58 PM »

A few "action" shots from Midoriyama:-

Mikku · « **Reply #92 on:** December 26, 2019, 11:33 PM »

So with Christmas out of the way and driving rain outside, it's time to wrap up this thread! 2019 was my 3rd year of racing in Japan and comprised 11 races on 4 tracks, with 4,641 miles of driving. No trophies but no injuries, so am happy with that. My 2018 move across the country meant 3 of those 4 tracks were new to me, with new lines to learn, new rivals to race with and new friends to make. All challenging but good fun. I’m also racing more now than I ever did as a kid and although I’m not as fast as I was then, I now don’t mind losing as much, which makes life a lot easier given my mid-to-back-of-the-pack antics! More importantly, I’m still really enjoying the race scene. Packing up the car for the long, early-morning drive, the butterflies lining up on the gate, the camaraderie among riders, chatting with the Japanese kids who’ve plucked up the courage to speak to the gaijin (foreigner), the ongoing tinkering with my bike set-up (next on my list is a possible brake change), nerding out over the other race bikes and even the sore muscles the next day. For various reasons, I only get to race an average of once a month but would quite happily increase that given the chance. Though would I then enjoy it as much??

Next year I plan to continue racing at Osaka and Niigata, with the occasional visit to Midoriyama. If I could take in another new track some when along the way that would be good too. Whatever happens, I’ll continue to share my efforts on the home of British BMX. Keep it RAD!

HUTCHMAN · « **Reply #93 on:** December 26, 2019, 11:50 PM »

all the best bud... looking forward to 2020 version

hotdog · « **Reply #94 on:** December 27, 2019, 06:08 AM »

Yeah,thanks for making the effort and posting up your great diary.

oldtired · « **Reply #95 on:** December 29, 2019, 12:03 AM »

top stuff Mick , as said looking forward to the 2020 season reports

Author Topic: 2019 Race Blog - Continuing to keep it Rad in Japan! (Read 44824 times)

monkian

In2bmx

monkian