Honda spends big on giant sports complex
By Bruce McMahon
HONDA is ready to bring the wonderful world of IndyCar racing to Japanese fans with the opening of its new Motegi motorsport park.
The first Japanese CART Indycar race -- the Budweiser 500 -- will be held on March 28 next year.
With a CART championship under its belt, thanks to last year's IndyCar champion Jimmy Vasser and Target-Ganassi's Honda-powered Reynard, the Japanese carmaker opened the gates on August 1 to one of the world's biggest motor racing complexes.
The Twin Ring Motegi motorsport park features 14 tracks, including a 2.4km American-style banked superspeedway for CART and NASCAR racing and a 4.8km road-race circuit.
Go-kart circuits, dirt speedways, a trail bike track and a driver training facility are included in the 400ha site in Tochigi Prefecture, about 100km north of Tokyo.
The Twin Ring tag is derived from the two main tracks, or "rings" in the complex.
Reigning PPG Cup champion Vasser has already run several laps of the oval in his Reynard-Honda, declaring it a "beautiful circuit" despite running the demonstration in light rain.
"The oval is very wide and will be great for racing," Vasser said.
"I think we'll be racing around the oval at 320km/h, going wheel-to-wheel and racing side-by-side in the corners.
"Twin Ring Motegi is one of the premier race tracks in all the world. It sets a new standard for oval tracks."
The CART Indycars are expected to reach 350km/h on the superspeedway with average speeds of 320km/h.
Motegi facilities include a Honda museum and an event hall for corporate events. A hotel is due for completion before the first Japanese PPG CART world series race and an entertainment theme park is planned for stage two.
A subsidiary of Honda, Twin Ring Motegi Co Ltd, has worked for three years on the project in the secluded valley.
Millions of cubic meters of dirt and rock have been moved, tunnels and bridges built and hundreds of kilometers of roads and tracks laid.
The superspeedway is an irregular oval shape with a large flat turn on one end and a tighter, more banked turn at the other.
Earth and rock were piled more than 60 meters deep to create the banking, which is lined with 40,000 seats, with a further 80,000 seats around the road course.
The road circuit weaves through the infield of the oval, entering through a tunnel at one end and exiting under the banking at the other. Pits for both the oval and the road circuits are parallel on the super speedway infield.
Honda drew on its many years' experience in running Japan's Suzuka grand prix circuit in designing the new complex for maximum racing excitement and spectator comfort.
Facilities also include restaurants and overnight camping grounds.
At the official opening last month, CART president Andrew Craig said Twin Ring Motegi was indeed a world-class track.
"I know all the CART teams, and drivers are going to be very impressed when they come here to visit," Craig said.
Team owner Chip Ganassi appreciated the honor of owning the first Indycar to run laps at Motegi but he is hankering for another slice of motorsport history.
"When I switched to Honda engines, it was my dream to win the series championship. Last year we accomplished that," Ganassi said.
"When I first saw Twin Ring Motegi last November, it was my dream to have the first CART Indycar to ever drive on the circuit. Today we did that.
"Now it's my dream to win the first-ever CART race at Twin Ring Motegi."
Ganassi is in with a good chance with both Vasser and the electrifying Alex Zanardi on his team, although there are suggestions Vasser would like to switch teams for the 1998 season.