8:12 PM
Despite the havoc wreaked by the earthquake in Japan just months ago MotoGP at Motegi put on a fine show. Our man behind the scenes gives us the paddock scoops and funny asides you won't have heard about.
A triumph in the face of adversity
Just a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Tokyo the Japanese MotoGP has taken place at Motegi for seven years. The last two however have not been without their challenges. In 2010 the event was delayed due to the dust clouds from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull stopping all the Europe-based teams from getting to the circuit in time for the original date. This year the earthquake tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident all led to the postponement of the event from April to October. The decision to go ahead with the race situated as it is just 120km from the stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima was not without controversy and some team and press personnel decided they did not want to take any risks. All the important people did attend however and we saw some brilliant racing!
Yamaha's half-century
Yamaha celebrated 50 years of world championship racing by bringing along some of their more important bikes. Above you see Norick Abe's YZR500 Kenny Roberts TZ750 and Giacomo Agostini's monoshock 500. All in superb running condition they were paraded around the circuit just before the race.
No beef with the beef
Yakitori beef skewers - beef marinated in soy sauce onions garlic sesame seeds and lemon juice then grilled in front of you - are a popular snack in Japan and this guy always has his mobile stand in the paddock... unsurprisingly as he had his usual regular stream of addicts getting their annual fix.
Get your kit off (the bus)
Japan is the home of a lot of cool motorcycling gear and the big players all had their own shops in the paddock. Arai even brought their bus and at one time or another all their GP riders were in the shop picking up the latest kit.
Motegi: a circuit with character
Motegi has a theme park feel to it and indeed it's owned by Mobilityland a company that also own Suzuka circuit and it exists to show how people vehicles and nature interact. There's everything from a racing school to a nature park called 'Hello Woods'. There are even Mobility Land characters for you to be pictured alongside like the above. How cute.
The next generation of rider?
There are many young fans of motorcycle racing but not everyone has their own made-to-measure Dani Pedrosa Repsol leathers complete with used knee sliders when they are less than a metre tall. This young man was staking out the rear of the Repsol garage looking for someone to go eye to eye with! (The diminutive Dani P is nevertheless somewhat taller than this.)
On the road to recovery
Much of the earthquake damage has been repaired but the aftershocks are still occurring regularly and there is evidence everywhere of damage and ongoing work to rebuild shattered homes and communities. The above house has suffered some damage to its ridge tiles and was awaiting repair while many of the hotels used by the teams had damaged wallpaper showing where the big aftershocks of four months ago had moved the walls underneath.
Monkey business
It might be a reference to the three famous 'Hear no evil see no evil speak no evil' monkeys that are carved into the front of a temple in nearby Nikko but whatever the reason it's an unusual way to sell flowers!
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