where is motegi race course

Full Answer

What is Motegi Racing?

Motegi Racing was conceived with one mission in mind, performance. Each and every one of our styles is over-engineered to ensure industry leading strength, the lightest weights possible and a seamless connection to your unique style. Be original.

Why did Motegi want an oval course?

A visit to the USA by the project team had seen them amazed by the popularity of oval racing and struck by the fact that at facilities such as Charlotte, spectators could see the entire course from the grandstand. An oval course would thus form an integral part of Motegi's plans. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.

Where is the Twin Ring Motegi circuit?

Motegi hosted the Pacific Motorcycle Grand Prix from 2000 to 2003 and the Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix since 2004. Twin Ring Motegi Circuit is located in central Japan, approximately 100 miles north Tokyo,23 miles east of Utsunomiya and 25 miles north-west of Mito.

What ever happened to NASCAR at Motegi?

NASCAR also briefly dabbled with the Motegi oval in 1998, hosting an exhibition race at the end of the season, won by Mike Skinner. The following year the Winston West Series held the race as its series finale but due to high costs for transport to the event and poor attendance, the series did not return.

Is Motegi racing Japanese?

Motegi Racing Wheels History Motegi Racing gets its name from the Japanese prefecture, Tochigi, which is the home of the Twin Ring Motegi that was founded by Honda Motorsport and introduced everything automotive related to the car community.

How do I get to Motegi?

How to Get There. Access is by train and bus from Utsunomiya Station. Some buses run from Utsunomiya Station to Mobility Resort Motegi. From Utsunomiya Station take the west exit and ride the bus from bus stop #3 going toward Twin Ring Motegi.

How to get to Twin Ring Motegi?

There are 4 ways to get from Tokyo to Twin Ring Motegi by train, taxi, bus or carTake the train from Tokyo to Tomobe Ltd Exp Tokiwa.Take a taxi from Tomobe to Twin Ring Motegi.

How many times did Nascar race in Japan?

This meeting ultimately led to what became a three-year NASCAR run of exhibition races in Japan: two at Suzuka Circuit in 1996 and 1997, dubbed the NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka, and one at Twin Ring Motegi in 1998, named the Coca-Cola 500.

Why are there only 43 cars in a NASCAR race?

Initially, the NASCAR Xfinity Series races had 43 cars compete. During the 2019 season, the number of vehicles dropped to 36 and then went up to 40 during the 2020 season. There are fewer cars in this race than the NASCAR cup because they are on short tracks, which means fewer cars can compete.

How much does a NASCAR Xfinity driver make?

A developmental NASCAR driver makes between $100,000 and $300,000 in base salary and around another $200,000 in prize money. Less taxes and about $25k for disability insurance and you're looking at around $200,000 total. A Spring Cup driver can make over 20 million a year. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

How much does a NASCAR team owner make?

The expected total for owning a NASCAR team is nearly $400,000 per week which over the 38 week season is on average more than $15 million in annual expenses.

When did Twin Ring Motegi open?

On July 31, 1997 , more than 10 years after the project first began, Twin Ring Motegi opened for business. More than 2,000 people including, the landowners, local residents, government officials, construction personnel, and staff and representatives from Honda, gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Is Motegi a motorcycle track?

The road course is also a popular motorcycle racing track, with the MotoGP visiting once a year and now forming the headline international event, as well as several Japanese national bike racing series. Motegi hosted the Pacific Motorcycle Grand Prix from 2000 to 2003 and the Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix since 2004.

Two racing tracks, go-kart racing and circuit races, racing museums and more

Twin Ring Motegi is a set of motorsports tracks in Tochigi home to the Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix. The tracks were built by Honda in 1997 to promote motorsports racing in Japan. Twin Ring Motegi gets its name from the two featured tracks, a 2.5-kilometer oval and a 4.8-kilometer road course.

Motorsports fun for everyone

Honda built the oval for the express purpose of developing its oval-racing program for Indycar racing, but Indycar racing took place at Twin Ring Motegi only between 2003 and 2011. Its biggest claim to fame is the race in 2008 when Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indycar race.

More than just races

Motorsports enthusiasts will find it worthwhile to visit any time of the year. Twin Ring Motegi has several facilities for visitors, such as the Honda Collection Hall , the Honda Fan Fun Lab, and go-kart racing.

When did Motegi host the World Touring Car Championship?

When it comes to other international series, Motegi hosted the World Touring Car Championship for the first time in 2015 and again in 2016. Besides car races, Motegi has become the regular venue for the Motorcycle Grand Prix races since 1999.

What is Twin Ring Motegi?

Twin Ring Motegi is one of the regular venues in the main Japanese racing series, such as the Super Formula (earlier Formula Nippon) and Super GT, but also in many other national competitions. The only world championship event in the car racing was the Japanese round of the World Touring Car Championship in 2015. In the 2016 WTCC season, Twin Ring Motegi was again part of the calendar.

Where is the Twin Ring Race Track located?

Twin Ring Motegi is a unique race track located in Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, 145 km north of Tokyo, at the biggest Japanese island of Honshu. The race track is unique because it features two separate but still connected racing facilities – the 1.549-mile (2.493-km) oval and the 2.98-mile (4.8-km) road course, and its name is derived from such a layout.

When was the Tokyo Race Track built?

The construction began in 1995, and the race track was being built until the summer of 1997. It was the biggest construction project ever financed by a single, private company in Japan. The opening ceremony was held on July 31, 1997. The official seating capacity was 100,000 spectators for the road course events and 80,000 at the oval

The Motegi Grand Prix may be the best excuse (of many) to check out Japan, but getting there requires some planning...let RideApart guide you

A round trip ticket from LAX to Tokyo is $720. Thanks to a heated Rossi and Lorenzo World Championship battle, I bought one. I could only spare five days, and two of those would have to be travel days. I spent a day in Kyoto, another in Tokyo, and the last day attending Sunday mass at the Church of Honda: Twin Ring Motegi.

How to Motegi?

What do I mean by “how to Motegi?” You need transportation to the track, a GP ticket, and return transportation to wherever you came from (assuming you're not one of the 53 people residing in Motegi county). Sounds simple, right? I thought so, too.

The Frustration

I’m writing this in the hope that Moto GP ’s PR department finds it as I had many questions that I could not find on Moto GP’s website.

How I did it

The short version: I took a bullet train from Tokyo to Utsunomiya, the closest train station from Tokyo, to Motegi. At the Utsunomiya train station, I followed signs for a shuttle bus downstairs, found one with an available seat and paid $20 for a trip to the track.

The Ticket and the Travel Agent

If anyone with the slightest connection to Moto GP is reading this, please make this point clear to Moto GP: Foreigners have no f***ing help on how to obtain GP tickets for Motegi through the Moto GP website. Tickets were not available online. The closest I could find was a forum post saying that Moto GP offered them 10 days prior to the Motegi GP.

Transportation To Motegi

Motegi is about 20 miles from the Utsunomiya. This is important because if you’re coming from Tokyo, Utsunomiya has a bullet train stop. From the Tokyo Station, it’s under an hour and a half bullet train ride.

Transportation From Motegi

Motegi, on a soddened GP Sunday, will pack 50,000 in the stands. If Lorenzo is losing quick ground to Rossi in a rain race where Pedrosa is about take home his first win of the year, you may be hesitant to leave early. The cost can be an hour or more of waiting for a passage onto a Utsunomiya shuttle bus.