martinmauger Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 Saw an ad for Guy Martin's 'Our Guy In Japan', C4 Sunday Nite 9:00PM, clip showed him having a bash at Japanese Speedway, or Autorace as I believe they call it. "It's speedway, Jim, but not as we know it"..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 I've been to a couple of Autorace meetings. The relationship to speedway is very tenuous. The best thing is the noise of the bikes. None of this silencer nonsense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 Back in the day, Briggo took an interest, and might have had a ride at Japanese speedway, and brought a guy called I think Jimmy Ogushi ? who had a try out in GB. Didn't come to anything as apart from a motor bike and a circuit, there was very little comparison. I have also seem, possible on Facebook, a meeting in Japan with some leading riders from this country giving it a try again a Jap team. Interesting race tactics as there is not just one way to ride their track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
False dawn Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 Seemed to remember when Briggo went over there that it was reported that betting was a huge part of the sport. Riders, back then, were locked away in isolation for several days before meetings to avoid the possibility of race rigging. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Tsunami said: Back in the day, Briggo took an interest, and might have had a ride at Japanese speedway, and brought a guy called I think Jimmy Ogushi ? who had a try out in GB. Didn't come to anything as apart from a motor bike and a circuit, there was very little comparison. I have also seem, possible on Facebook, a meeting in Japan with some leading riders from this country giving it a try again a Jap team. Interesting race tactics as there is not just one way to ride their track. Jimmy Ogisu I think his name was, who rode at Plough Lane in the Internationale Remember seeing a film on the sport at one of the Motorbike shows in the 70s at Olympia or Earls Court,probably at the MCN stand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, False dawn said: Seemed to remember when Briggo went over there that it was reported that betting was a huge part of the sport. Riders, back then, were locked away in isolation for several days before meetings to avoid the possibility of race rigging. I think it's in On any Sunday 2 that there is a segment about Japanese Speedway, obviously from several decades ago. The parts that stick in my mind are that the crowd was pretty much silent, in Japan they were for some unknown reason using Triumph engines and as you say the riders were kept isolated and taken out to their bikes in a covered trailer so they couldn't be in contact with anybody. Edited November 24, 2019 by Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 I found the following link on Youtube. Seems it is a challenge between flat track, roadracing and auto racing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEYEn_fpv-4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 The crowds look similar to Speedway 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) Loved the stampede of the crowd to get in and while Guy IS a talented motorcyclist he had to have practice before racing the local champ and Guy maybe should had taken him to the fence . I'm kidding, ok . Just imagine though: a Japanese SGP with Ole Olsen and his 'temporary track laying crew' laying a shale track and installing an air fence into that Japanese stadium.... Edited November 25, 2019 by martinmauger Added thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sotonian Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 On 11/24/2019 at 9:26 AM, Grachan said: The best thing is the noise of the bikes. None of this silencer nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 11 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: I found the following link on Youtube. Seems it is a challenge between flat track, roadracing and auto racing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEYEn_fpv-4 Interesting, although I have seen some before on 'On Any Sunday.' Prefer the Speedway style of riding so glad number 5 won. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryW Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 I had no idea Haru Aoki did AutoRace these days. He was a fantastic rider at 125cc level in the road racing GPs in the 90s, winning the World title twice. He never really delivered in the higher categories, but it's nice to know he's still out there racing bikes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 hours ago, HenryW said: I had no idea Haru Aoki did AutoRace these days. He was a fantastic rider at 125cc level in the road racing GPs in the 90s, winning the World title twice. He never really delivered in the higher categories, but it's nice to know he's still out there racing bikes! And when he's done with auto racing, he can move onto sumo wrestling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 On 11/24/2019 at 6:52 PM, False dawn said: Seemed to remember when Briggo went over there that it was reported that betting was a huge part of the sport. Riders, back then, were locked away in isolation for several days before meetings to avoid the possibility of race rigging. That is totally correct and betting is all that drives it on . It is very very difficult for races to be rigged, if not impossible. It IS very exciting becasue it is all about handicap racing and the stars do have to race through the pack, which is good to watch. The biggest downside is that there is a 20 /30 min gap between races for the placing of new bets and the collecting of winnings ( not even tractors to watch race ) and the meeting lasts 8 hours plus. The upside is that it costs 50p to get in and if you are not a betting person it's a very cheap "bike racing " day. I enjoyed it several times when I lived and worked in Japan. Vastly more passing than in UK speedway that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Interesting then in the discussion about the price of sport. This seems as you say an extremely cheap sport to watch, yet still doesn't have packed stadia!! You might expect some walk in,walk out custom over the length of a meeting, so people might come for a couple of hours. Even I was thinking of going to my local Horse + Trap race track because it is mainly a betting sport and very cheap to get in, but haven't made it so far...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 9 minutes ago, iris123 said: Interesting then in the discussion about the price of sport. This seems as you say an extremely cheap sport to watch, yet still doesn't have packed stadia!! You might expect some walk in,walk out custom over the length of a meeting, so people might come for a couple of hours. Even I was thinking of going to my local Horse + Trap race track because it is mainly a betting sport and very cheap to get in, but haven't made it so far...... That's exactly what happens. People just go in and out, and the stadium numbers peak at lunch time when workers come in for a bet. A meeting goes on for a long time, with long gaps between races - very much like a horse racing meeting in the UK. There's no real fan/rider association. Riders don't even use their real names, but use a nickname - again, like a horse in the UK. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 On 11/24/2019 at 8:21 PM, iris123 said: Jimmy Ogisu I think his name was, who rode at Plough Lane in the Internationale Remember seeing a film on the sport at one of the Motorbike shows in the 70s at Olympia or Earls Court,probably at the MCN stand It was, i saw him ride in the 1970 internationale. I seem to remember getting his autograph on the night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Is there any footage of the sport pre-tarmac days online? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spl77 Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 Am I right in thinking that speedway was banned in Japan because its to dangerous? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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