Kenji Suzuki wins the last round of the JNCC AAGP in Aso, Japan to claim the 2011 championship. Takeshi Koikeda finishes second in a hard fought battle after being tied in points at the start of the race. Jason Thomas rounds out the podium with a third and Jesse Robinson finishes fourth.
Photo By: Robinson Family
Jason and Jesse with their awards
The race was held on an extinct volcano in Aso, Japan. Steady rains Friday and Saturday made the volcanic soil soft and extremely slippery. Robinson describes it as, "take a John Penton mud race, blue groove it and grease it down with axle grease, then you would have more traction". Thomas described it (in that British accent) "like butter".
Twenty-two Pro riders lined up for the dead engine start, as Jason Thomas claimed the holeshot while Jesse Robinson was collected up in the first turn with another rider who went down. The GNCC had full representation at that time, first and last. Ha Ha. At the conclusion of the first lap it was Thomas, Suzuki, Koikeda all within 15 seconds and Robinson working his way to fourth about two minutes and 30 seconds down from the leader.
The second lap is where all the problems began as many riders in the rest of the field were having problems negotiating the course. Four trouble spots were causing severe bottlenecks. The worst one was where the track ran under the road into a culvert then out into a ravine. No way to reroute this section. Thomas and Robinson, not forcing the issue, just had to wait their turn. After lap two it was Suzuki with Koikeda just behind then Thomas about three minutes back. Another two minutes behind Thomas was Robinson as he stopped for fuel and said, "it is a quagmire, I had to push four riders up the hill so I could get through."
Photo By: Robinson Family
First corner pile up at the AAGP
The lap times were getting slower as lap three came to a conclusion. The scoreboard showed that 40 plus riders had not completed the first lap. Thomas made up a lot of time as Koikede took the lead with Suzuki just behind and then Thomas about two minutes behind them. Robinson was still holding onto fourth about five minutes behind the leaders.
Lap four was a nail bitter. The riders were 15 to 20 minutes behind. The track had gotten so bad at the culvert that Suzuki and Koikeda were at a stalemate. This allowed Robinson to catch up and he and Thomas made a plan. As soon as they reached the other side of the culvert they would drag both bikes to the top of the ravine where it was flat. The team work paid off; as to every ones surprise, Robinson pops into the pit first with Suzuki coming around as Robinson stops for goggles and Thomas about fifteen seconds behind.
Now Robinson and Thomas are hot on the heels of Suzuki running wheel-to-wheel. Robinson stalls his bike and has trouble starting because of overheating. Thomas continues on the heels of Suzuki, and then makes a mistake allowing him to get away. Then Koikeda got around Thomas at a bottleneck. As the white flag came out it was Suzuki with a minute lead over Koikeda and Thomas another 40 seconds behind and Robinson losing four minutes with the bike issues.
Photo By: Robinson Family
The view in Japan is amazing
The last lap ended as Suzuki turned the fastest lap of the day with Koikeda around one minute behind and Thomas two minutes behind and Robinson six minutes down after more overheating issues. Thomas said, "I pushed as hard as I could and made no big mistakes but just wasn't enough to catch those guys."
It was a good day for the JNCC, showing that the series and the riders are a force to be reckoned with. Many thanks to Masami Hoshino and the Coombs Family for having this relationship, which allows this to happen. Hopefully this will continue for years to come. HAI!!!
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