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Twin Ring Motegi

(Redirected from Mobility Resort Motegi)

Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport venue located in Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the venue's name came from the facility having two race tracks: a 2.493 km (1.549 mi) oval track and a 4.801 km (2.983 mi) road course. It was built in 1997 by Honda Motor Co., Ltd., as part of the company's effort to bring the Championship Auto Racing Teams series to Japan, helping to increase their knowledge of American open-wheel racing. The oval was last raced on in 2010 by the Indycar Series. On 1 March 2022, the name of the track was changed to Mobility Resort Motegi, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the facility.[1] The road course's most notable event is the Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix which is currently held every year. The track also currently hosts rounds in the domestic Super Formula Championship and Super GT series each year.

Mobility Resort Motegi

Location120-1 Hiyama, Motegi
Haga, Tochigi, 321-3597 Japan
Time zoneUTC+09:00
Coordinates36°32′0″N 140°13′42″E / 36.53333°N 140.22833°E / 36.53333; 140.22833
Capacity68,156
FIA Grade2
OwnerHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
OperatorHonda Mobilityland
OpenedAugust 1997; 27 years ago (1997-08)
Construction cost¥5 billion (44,873,000.00 United States Dollars)
Former namesTwin Ring Motegi
(August 1997–February 2022)
Major eventsCurrent:
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix (1999, 2004–2019, 2022–present)
Pacific motorcycle Grand Prix (2000–2003)
Asia Road Racing Championship (2024)
Super GT (1998–present)
Super Formula (1997–present)
Former:
GT World Challenge Asia (2023)
WTCC Race of Japan (2015–2017)
IndyCar Series Indy Japan 300 (1998–2011)
Coca-Cola 500 (1998)
Websitewww.mr-motegi.jp
Speedway (1997–present)
Length2.493 km (1.549 miles)
Turns4
Banking10°
Race lap record0:25.830 (Brazil Hélio Castroneves, Lola B99/00, 1999, CART)
Road Course (1997–present)
Length4.801 km (2.983 miles)
Turns14
Race lap record1:31.422 (Japan Toshiki Oyu, Dallara SF19, 2021, Super Formula)
East Road Course (1997–present)
Length3.400 km (2.112 miles)
Turns11
West Road Course (1997–present)
Length1.400 km (0.869 miles)
Turns6

Speedway

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View of the oval

The oval course is the only one of its kind in Japan used for competitive racing. It is a low-banked, 1.549 mi (2.493 km) egg-shaped course, with turns three and four being much tighter than turns one and two. On March 28, 1998, CART held the inaugural Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi Speedway. The race was won by Mexican driver Adrián Fernández. CART continued racing at Twin Ring Motegi Speedway from 1998–2002. In 2003, Honda entered the Indy Racing League and the race became a part of the IRL schedule. In addition to Indy car racing, the track has also hosted a single NASCAR exhibition race in 1998.

Honda, which had built the oval for the express purpose of developing its oval-racing program for Indy car racing, did not win a race at the track for its first six years of operation. In 2004, Dan Wheldon took the first win for Honda on the oval. In 2008, the Motegi oval gained additional publicity when Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indycar race, beating Hélio Castroneves for her first and only Indycar victory.[2]

The 2011 season was the last season of IndyCar in Motegi. It had been dropped from the calendar as organizers looked to maximize viewing audiences.[3] The road course, rather than the super speedway, was used for the 2011 race due to damage to the oval track resulting from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. The oval is not presently used for racing and even has been used as additional parking space during MotoGP events, but is still used for Honda's annual Thanks Day event showcasing various Honda road and racing vehicles, mainly from the nearby Honda Collection Hall, with Takuma Sato running a lap of the course in his 2017 Indianapolis 500 winning car seven years since the last IndyCar race in the oval.[4][5]

Track length of paved oval

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The track length is disputed by series that run at Twin Ring Motegi. The NASCAR timing and scoring use a length of 1.549 mi (2.493 km).[6] This length was used by CART in their races between 1998 and 2002, too.[7] The IRL measured in 2003 a length of 1.520 mi (2.446 km).[8] This length was also used in the following races until 2010.[9]

NASCAR history

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Main article: Coca-Cola 500 (Motegi)

Mike Skinner won the only NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race held at the track in 1998, the Coca-Cola 500. Skinner won driving the No.31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The race was most noted for being the first oval track NASCAR race in Japan as well as being the first in which Dale Earnhardt and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., competed with one another, driving No.3 and No.1 Coca-Cola Chevrolets, respectively. The track also held the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 1999 with Kevin Richards getting the win.

Road course

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The road course is 4.801 km (2.983 mi) long and is unique in sharing garage and grandstand facilities with the oval course, but being entirely separate otherwise. Although they are separate tracks, it is impossible for races to occur simultaneously on the two courses; to access the oval track, teams must cross the road course pit and front straight. The road course also runs in the opposite direction from the oval; clockwise, rather than counter-clockwise.

The course itself is built in a stop-start straight-hairpin style, which flows differently than many similarly-sized tracks. By Japanese standards the circuit is exceptionally flat, with only a slight elevation rise towards the hairpin turn. The road course is much busier than the oval track, with Super Formula visiting twice, Super GT and Super Taikyu cars once each, and local events almost every weekend. The road course can be used in three ways: the full course, or two "short courses" can be made, using connecting roadways. These short courses are usually used for junior formula events, such as Formula 4 and FJ1600.

The road course is also a popular motorcycle racing track, with the MotoGP usually visiting once a year, as well as several Japanese national bike racing series. It has hosted the Pacific motorcycle Grand Prix from 2000 to 2003 and the Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix since 2004.

Other facilities

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Gran Turismo cafe

In addition to the main racing complex, Mobility Resort Motegi features a second road course (called the "North Short Course") for karting and Formula 4 events, as well as a 0.250 mi (0.402 km) dirt track for modified and sprint car racing and also standard saloon racing. In addition, the FIM Trials series visits the track every year for the world trials championship. Therefore, an outdoor trials course exists on the facility.

Outside of racing, Mobility Resort Motegi has the Honda Collection Hall, which features historic Honda racing and production cars and motorcycles, and Honda Fan Fun Lab, which features Honda's next generation technologies such as robotics, fuel-cell vehicles and aviation. Honda also operates a technology demonstration center on the site, as well as educational centers.

In 2009, a cafe opened which was named after the Gran Turismo video games.[10][11]

Track difficulties

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Mobility Resort Motegi is a separate-but-combined road-and-oval track (as opposed to the "roval" tracks common in the United States), and the decision to include a full road course contained largely within the oval necessitated design compromises. For spectators, sightlines can be extremely poor for road course races, as the grandstands are much further back than usual. The oval course blocks the view of much of the road course, including the best passing point on the track [citation needed], and several large-screen televisions are needed. Seating outside the grandstand is limited to areas of the infield and along the 750 m (820 yd) backstraight of the road course.

Track access is a major concern, with only two entry and exit points by a two-lane public road. Motegi is not a particularly large town, and accommodation is virtually non-existent close to the track, except for the on-site hotel. Train links to the area are extremely limited (the major regional lines, JR East and Tobu Railway do not service the area), nor has a planned superhighway been completed. Thus the stated track capacity (about 65,000) is dictated largely by traffic flow, not by actual seating capacity (estimated to be nearly 100,000 for road-course events, 80,000 for the oval).

In 2011, Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo proposed to boycott the MotoGP race out of fears for their health from radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant even though all the independent scientific experts including the World Health Organization and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency had stated that it is safe to live permanently 80 km (50 mi) or more from the plant.[12] Motegi is more than 120 km (75 mi) from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In the end, all the teams showed up for the race.

Layout configurations

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  •  
    Map of both road courses and speedway
  •  
    Map of speedway
  •  
    Map of combined road course
  •  
    Map of west road course
  •  
    Map of east road course

Lap records

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As of October 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Mobility Resort Motegi are listed as:

Category Time Driver Vehicle Event
Grand Prix Circuit: 4.801 km (1997–present)
Super Formula 1:31.422[13] Toshiki Oyu Dallara SF19 2021 2nd Motegi Super Formula round
Formula Nippon 1:34.853[14] Masemi Kageyama Reynard 97D 1997 Motegi Formula Nippon round
Super GT (GT500) 1:38.350[15] Tadasuke Makino Honda NSX-GT 2022 Motegi GT 300 km Race
IndyCar 1:40.2453 Giorgio Pantano Dallara IR-05 2011 Indy Japan: The Final
LMP900 1:43.686[16] Hiroki Katou Zytek 04S 2006 Motegi JLMC round
Super Formula Lights 1:43.851[17] Giuliano Alesi Dallara 320 2021 2nd Motegi Super Formula Lights round
Formula Three 1:44.373[18] Sho Tsuboi Dallara F317 2018 Motegi Japanese F3 round
MotoGP 1:44.461 Jorge Martín Ducati Desmosedici GP24 2024 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
LMP1 1:44.508[19] Shinji Nakano Courage LC70 2007 Motegi JLMC round
Superbike 1:47.324[20] Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha YZF-R1 2024 1st Motegi All Japan Road Race Championship round
Super GT (GT300) 1:47.734[21] Iori Kimura Honda NSX GT3 2022 Motegi GT 300 km Race
Formula Regional 1:47.881[22] Sena Sakaguchi Dome F111/3 2020 Motegi FRJC round
Moto2 1:50.679 Somkiat Chantra Kalex Moto2 2023 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
250cc 1:51.412 Álvaro Bautista Aprilia RSV 250 2008 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
GT3 1:51.770[23] James Yu Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II 2023 Motegi GT World Challenge Asia round
Supersport 1:52.900[24] Keito Abe Yamaha YZF-R6 2024 1st Motegi All Japan Road Race Championship round
LMP2 1:53.558[16] Shinsuke Yamazaki Dallara GC21 2006 Motegi JLMC round
Porsche Carrera Cup 1:53.829[25] Ryo Ogawa Porsche 911 (991 II) GT3 Cup 2020 Motegi Porsche Carrera Cup Japan round
GT1 (GTS) 1:54.200[19] Seicho Fujii Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS 2007 Motegi JLMC round
Formula Toyota 1:55.214[26] Hideto Yasuoka Tom's FT30 2004 Motegi Formula Toyota round
Moto3 1:55.675 David Alonso CFMoto Moto3 2024 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
GT2 1:56.453[27] Tomonobu Fujii Ferrari F430 GTC 2009 250 km of Motegi
Ferrari Challenge 1:56.626[28] Nobuhiro Imada Ferrari 488 Challenge 2019 Motegi Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific round
TC1 1:57.136[29] Gabriele Tarquini Honda Civic WTCC 2015 FIA WTCC Race of Japan
125cc 1:57.666 Mika Kallio KTM 125 FRR 2006 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
Formula 4 1:58.005[30] Rin Arakawa Dome F110 2021 2nd Motegi Japanese F4 round
GT 1:58.315[31] Atsushi Yogou Porsche 911 (996) GT3-R 2000 Motegi JGTC round
TCR Touring Car 2:01.164[32] Choi Jeong Weon Hyundai Elantra N TCR 2024 1st Motegi TCR Japan round
500cc 2:02.889 Mick Doohan Honda NSR500 1999 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
GT4 2.03.040[33] Manabu Orido BMW M4 GT4 Gen II 2023 Motegi GT World Challenge Asia round
Super 2000 2:07.456[34] Eric Kwong SEAT León 2.0T 2016 Motegi Touring Car Series in Asia round
Asia Productions 250 2:07.939[35] Arai Agaska Yamaha YZF-R3 2024 Motegi ARRC round
Asia Underbone 150 2:15.928[36] Murobbil Vittoni Yamaha MX King 150 2024 Motegi ARRC round
Super Speedway: 2.493 km (1997–present)
CART 0:25.830 Hélio Castroneves Lola B99/00 1999 Firestone Firehawk 500K
IndyCar 0:27.0977[37] Tomas Scheckter G-Force GF09 2003 Indy Japan 300
NASCAR Winston Cup Series 0:35.2298[a][38] Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCAR 1998 Coca-Cola 500

Events

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Current
Future
Former
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As a large recently constructed Japanese circuit, Mobility Resort Motegi has and continues to be utilised virtually in a large number of electronic video games, both in arcade machines and in PC and console games for home use.

See also

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Access

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Bus routes[39]

Notes

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  1. ^ The lap time was found by dividing the track length by the speed written in the reference.

References

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  1. ^ "MOBILITYLAND | Announcing a Name Change of the Company and Twin Ring Motegi". www.mobilityland.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
  2. ^ Caldwell, Dave (21 April 2008). "Racing to Victory, and Leaving the Men and the Doubters Behind". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Japan dropped from IndyCar calendar". edition.cnn.com. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  4. ^ "2015 Honda Racing Thanks Day: Takuma & Alonso drove the all-new NSX, production version demo run also conducted". Response.jp. Retrieved 28 June 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Tate, Adam. "Sato Stars at Honda 'Thanks' Day 2017". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. ^ 1998 NASCAR Thunder Special Motegi at racing-reference.info
  7. ^ 1998 race result on champcarstats.com
  8. ^ 2003 race result on champcarstats.com
  9. ^ 2010 race result on champcarstats.com
  10. ^ "Grand Opening of the Gran Turismo Café at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit - News - gran-turismo.com". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  11. ^ "Gran Turismo Café opens in Japan". 3 April 2009.
  12. ^ "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
  13. ^ "2021 Super Formula Motegi Result - 2021/10/17" (PDF). 17 October 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  14. ^ "1997 Motegi Formula Nippon". Motor Sport Magazine. 28 September 1997. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 Motegi GT 300 km Race - GT500 Official Result" (PDF). 6 November 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  16. ^ a b "2006 All Japan Sports Car Endurance Championship Series Round 2 - JLMC Final Official Result Table". 2 July 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  17. ^ "2021 Super Formula Lights Round 15 Result - 2021/10/17" (PDF). 17 October 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  18. ^ "2018 Motegi Japanese F3 - Round 11". Motor Sport Magazine. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  19. ^ a b "2007 All Japan Sports Car Endurance Championship Series Round 3 - JSEC Final Official Results Table". 22 July 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  20. ^ "2024 MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 2 - JSB1000 Supported by ETS Racing Fuels - Race 1 Result" (PDF). 13 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  21. ^ "2022 Motegi GT 300 km Race - GT300 Official Result" (PDF). 6 November 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  22. ^ "FRJC Motegi Round 10 Results" (PDF). 20 September 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  23. ^ "2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS Race 1 - Round 7 - Classification - Provisional" (PDF). 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  24. ^ "2024 MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 2 - ST600 Supported by Bridgestone - Race Result" (PDF). 14 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  25. ^ "2020 Motegi Champion Cup Race Round 4 - Porsche Carrera Cup Japan 2020 - Final Rd.4 - Official Result". 20 September 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  26. ^ "2004 Esso Formula Toyota Series - Round 8 - Final Official Result Table". 24 October 2004. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  27. ^ "250 km Motegi 2009". 8 November 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  28. ^ "2019 Ferrari Challenge Trofero Pirelli Asia Pacific Rd.4 - Official Results of Race 1". 6 July 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  29. ^ "2015 FIA World Touring Car Championship - Twin Ring Motegi - Race 1 - Final Result" (PDF). 13 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  30. ^ "2021 FIA F4 Round 11 Results" (PDF). 6 November 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Motegi GT 2000". 2 April 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  32. ^ "TCR Japan Series 2024 Round 1 - Mobility Resort Motegi - TCR-J Race 2 Results" (PDF). 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  33. ^ "2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS Race 2 - Round 8 - Classification - Provisional" (PDF). 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  34. ^ "TCSA - 02–04 September 2016 - Race 2 - Final Classification" (PDF). 4 September 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  35. ^ "2024 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Round 3 - Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan - Asia Productions 250 - Race 2 - Provisional Result" (PDF). 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  36. ^ "2024 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Round 3 - Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan - Underbone 150cc - Race 2 - Official Result" (PDF). 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  37. ^ "2003 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport Magazine. 13 April 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  38. ^ "1998 NASCAR Thunder Special Motegi Coca-Cola 500 NASCAR Final". 22 November 1998. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  39. ^ Access
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