Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
W. B. SWIM
EVERY JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE fan is cross-eyed this month, with one eye on the Oct. 27-Nov. 10 Tenth Tokyo Motor Show (reported elsewhere in this issue) and the other on the first Japan Grand Prix Nov. 10 (full report next month).
Entries have been closed, and 45 riders have sent in applications to contest the four events in the Japan G.P., with 21 of the 45 being foreigners from 10 overseas nations. There are 20 entries for the 50cc race, 25 for the 125cc event, 23 for the 250cc class and 12 for the 350cc, which is the largest event run in the Japan G.P., for a total of 80 machines. Three riders have signed up for all four events: Honda’s Tommy Robb of Ireland and Luigi Taveri of Switzerland, and Japanese private entry Kazuo (Johnny) Honda, who will ride a Tohatsu in the 125cc race and Hondas in the other three events. Entries are numbered up to 49, but there is no number 13 because of bad luck superstitions. Likewise, there is no number 4 because in Japanese “four” is pronounced “shi” and the pronunciation of “death” is exactly the same, “shi.”
This promises to be one of the most hotly contested and exciting races in the Classic Events this year. The Japan G.P. is the last race of the year which counts toward World Championship crowns — and both the winners of the 250cc and 50cc honors will be decided by this race. After the Argentine G.P., which was the next to last event this season, Honda’s Jim Redman (Southern Rhodesia) and Morini’s Tarquinio Provini (Italy) were tied for the lead in the 250cc class with 42 points each and in the 50cc class Suzuki’s Hugh Anderson (New Zealand) has 34 points for a bare 2 point lead over Kreidler’s Hans-Georg Anscheidt (West Germany), who has 32. All four riders will be competing in the Japan G.P. In addition to Honda, Suzuki, Morini and Kreidler factory teams, spectators will see works riders fielded by Yamaha and private entries riding Tohatsu, Greeves, Norton, A.J.S. and 500cc World Champion Mike Hailwood on his 350cc M.V. Honda’s Jim Redman has already won the 350cc title this year, but he’ll be in this race as well. Suzuki’s Hugh Anderson has already copped the 125cc championship.
Japanese factories rushed their riders to Japan from Argentina and they burned up Suzuka Circuit practicing day after day. Suzuki’s Bert Schneider and Frank Perris took spills and were injured, Schneider in the chest and Perris on the left shoulder. Perris was expected to be ready for the official practice on Nov. 8 and 9, but Schneider may be knocked out of the race. The Japan Grand Prix should see Suzuki’s new 250cc rotary valve Four twostroke and Honda’s new 125cc 4-cycle Four, both appearing for the first time, as is Yamaha’s 125cc rotary valve racer. All are not only out to win but also to test this new equipment with an eye on next year’s Classic Races schedule. An eye-popper from Europe out on the same mission is the 350cc Morini, which will be ridden by Provini. This is the first anyone has known of Morini having a 350cc racer.
Spectators who are expected to jam the 200,000-capacity circuit will be in for thrills such as Japan has never seen before as the world's top riders and machines compete. In addition to Japanese motorcycles (31 Hondas, 19 Suzukis, 13 Yamahas and 7 Tohatsus), 3 Nortons, 2 Kreidlers, 2 Morinis, and one each MV Agusta, AJS and Greeves are entered. Along with World Champions Mike Hailwood, Jim Redman and Hugh Anderson, spectators will watch top international riders such as Tarquinio Provini, Hans-Georg Anschcidt, John Hartle, Tommy Robb, Ernst Degncr, Luigi Taveri, Frank Perris, Albert Pagani, Bert Schneider, if he recovers from his injuries, Phil Read (riding for Yamaha in this race), and such as Tohatsu’s Dave Simmons from Britain and English amateur rider Tom Jackson making his first Grand Prix appearance. Five entries have been received from Indonesia and one from Nicaragua as well. Riders from these two nations and England, Italy, New Zealand, Ireland, West Germany, Southern Rhodesia, Switzerland and Austria, if Schneider makes it, will be riding in the first Japan Grand Prix.
Everyone in Japan has his own personal closely calculated prediction, well educated guess or just plain wild hunch as to who will win the races, and trading estimates is the most popular pastime at motorcycle shops throughout the nation just now. Your correspondent, noted for years for his foolishness, hereby sticks his neck out and calls it thus: 35()cc, Honda’s Jim Redman in a tight race with Mike Hailwood (MV) and perhaps with Provini (Morini) if the new racer doesn’t give trouble, because Redman has more practice on the Suzuka Circuit and the on-thescene backing of the vast Honda firm; 250cc (and here the neck goes way, way out), Yamaha’s Fumio Ito riding on home ground for a firm which is out to give a first class try in the G.P. series next season. in a close one with Honda’s Redman and Morini’s Provini, who are fighting for the World Championship, and just may end up in a tie for it; 125cc, Suzuki’s Hugh Anderson, the champ in this class who should be able to overcome any threat from Honda’s new Four, and; 50cc, Hugh Anderson again, with more Suzuka Circuit practice than Kreidler’s Anscheidt and because he’s a sentimental favorite since he rides for a Japanese maker who this year showed the world that Honda isn't the only Japanese name in motorcycles.
Kawasaki-Meguro have joined the growing popularity of the 90cc class ranks as they will put a 90cc Kawasaki brand twostroke on the market late this year or early in 1964. Development was begun in early 1963 but the new model was delayed by the necessity to turn out the Kawasaki 125cc twin and Meguro 250cc and 500cc 4-cycle motorcycles first. Design of the 90cc engine is complete and a final prototype is under production.
Work has begun on a new head office for Suzuki Motor, next door to the present headquarters building at the factory near Hamamatsu. The company has also organized a firm to market its products (see; “Around the Industry”), in the United States instead of working through a distributor and begun shipments to A.M.C. in England under a new distribution set-up.
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There have been from one to as many as seven motorcycle clubs made up primarily of American servicemen stationed in Japan ever since the All Japan Motorcycle Club was organized in Tokyo way hack in 1949. For the first time, however, one of these clubs has been the sponsor at a national championship race. The honor went to the 120-member Misawa Dusters Motorcycle Club, which was host at the 6th All Japan Motorcycle Clubman Race on Oct. 12 and 13. Popular competition rider Bill Taylor, who is president of the Dusters and vice-president of the Tohoku area of the Clubman Federation was the spark plug in back of the well organized and smoothly run event, which was held on a newly built 4 km course laid out in the Dusters’ private riding area on an unused part of Misawa Air Base. About 100 riders from all over Japan entered the six events run over the road race circuit which turned out to be about one half fast dirt and one half scramble course. Three of the American Misawa Dusters managed to walk away with one, two, three in the 350cc event, but top Japanese riders dominated the rest of the races, holding the Americans down to a 3rd, a 4th and a 5th in the other five events. In the 13 lap 350cc race, Jimmy Perkins was first, Louie Johnson 2nd and Richard Danis 3rd. All three rode Hondas. Richard Gannon took 3rd in the 125cc on a Suzuki, E. S. Craddock nabbed 4th on a Honda and in the 250cc race Buddy Sims took 4th place.
The day was marred 'in the 50cc race when 10 or 12 of the 19 entries fell and piled into one another on the first turn which narrows coming out of the fast straightaway. Most of the machines were knocked out of the race, and one rider suffered a cracked leg bone. As a club race, the Johoku Riders, who race Suzuki machines, were well in front with 21 points to the runner-up Tokyo Crazy Riders’ 8. Johoku boys took 1st through 4th in the 90cc event, won the 50cc race and placed well in other races. Winners of the events were: 351cc and over, B.S.A.;
35()cc, Honda; 250cc, Yamaha; 125cc, Honda; 90cc, Suzuki; 50cc, Suzuki.
