The unexpected KLM & Heineken
Circuit Kawasaki lost paved the way for the Japanese motor racing.
KAWASAKI On wet slightly, but nice, sunny Saturday June, many people flocked to the large area near the Maruko bridge across the Tama River in Shin Maruko in Nakahara Ward Kawasaki to enjoy an early weekend summer.
There were little boys playing baseball on fields, students play football and some residents using the space for jogging nearby, others used their barbecues and beers.
Most probably weren t aware of the legendary Tamagawa Speedway, which existed here, just outside of Tokyo, during the prewar period.
1 2 km oval course was opened in May 1936 and had its first official competition with four wheels 7 June, 26 years before the famous Suzuka circuit opened.
On May 29 this year, a memorial ceremony was held at the site to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tamagawa circuit and a white plaque was installed in a location right in front of where the seats are the organizers also brought some classic cars that were used in those days the seats of the track, which are concrete and still are the only visible trace of the old speedway left.
It may surprise some, but racing competitions were held in Japan since the 1920s, at that time, there were not only motor racing courses, if temporary locations, such as vacant lots and horse racing tracks, were used.
Tamagawa Speedway Vice President Taiju Company Kobayashi poses for a photo on the site where the circuit was 80 years ago KAZ NAGATSUKA.
Taiju Kobayashi, Vice President of the Company Tamagawa Speedway, which was formed two years ago and has approximately 20 members to keep alive the legacy circuit, told the Japan Times that the idea of building a track permanent was introduced by Gunji Fujimoto, a Japanese automobile fanatic Seattle-raised who returned to his homeland in the 20s.
Fujimoto came up with the great idea to create the first motor racing circuit in Japan, he persuaded would Tokyu Corporation, a private railway operator and land developer, and Hochi Shimbun newspaper company to establish a federation to launch the fast lane .
According to Kobayashi, whose late father Shotaro was a noted automotive journalist, a total of 24 cars ran in the first event in 1936 weren participants t fully professional drivers the words of Kobayashi, they were mostly guys who were crazy cars and racing.
Many of the facts of this breed remain obscure The presence of the first fast track event would have been as high as 30,000, but the actual figure is uncertain some reports have said that the seats were filled, while others said that about 10,000 were in the presence of input was 1, which according to Kobayashi, would be appreciated as much as 4,000 to 5,000 today.
One of the crazy-participating car was Soichiro Honda, who would later become a giant of the automotive industry worldwide by founding his own company, Honda Motor Co Ltd in 1948. Honda has also been involved in racing activities car, including Formula One and MotoGP.
A young Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Co Ltd crashes during the first competition held in four-wheel Tamagawa Speedway in 1936 TAMAGAWA SPEEDWAY CORPORATION.
In the first competition in the fast lane, Honda, which had already opened a repair shop in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 1928, led with his younger brother Benjiro beside him as his mechanic in a vehicle with two Hamamatsu car seats race, he was forced to retire after the car collided with another machine, however, Honda returned three months later for the second event in the fast lane.
Masayuki Takayama, division of business communication Honda, said that if the company founder ran as individuals, races to the highway has increased his desire to make better cars.
We believe it gave him the motive force of his spirit hard, says Takayama And this is not an exaggeration that this was the starting point for our activities in motorcycle racing and F1 racing later.
Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co Ltd, also has its factory team competing in the first race at Tamagawa Speedway held the third year after Nissan was founded.
It is said that Nissan cars have finished behind vehicles in automobile manufacturing company Ota, who was one of the largest in the country when it is then Nissan president Yoshisuke Ayukawa furious Due to the strict order of its President, Nissan car went on to win the second event.
Our participation in competitions at Tamagawa didn t have a direct influence on our racing activities after the war from an organizational and technical point of view, a spokesman for Nissan, however, as a company that has been involved in racing activities after the war, you might be able to say that pre-war stories could provide us the psychological strength and incubated our Nissan pride.
A group including the mayor Kawasaki Norihiko far left Fukuda Tamagawa Speedway Vice President Kobayashi Company Taiju second from left, and television personality Masaaki Sakai third to look left at a race car used in the prewar period a memorial ceremony for the anniversary of 80 years Tamagawa Speedway late May YOSHIO FUJIWARA mOTOR PRESS dE.
Neither Honda nor Nissan participated in legitimate racing until 1950.
Organizers of competitions Tamagawa Speedway had to be discreet prewar Japan, which was in an unstable state at the time.
The inaugural race, for example, took place just months after 2 26 incident, an attempted coup d'état organized by a group of young officers Imperial Japanese Army on 26 Feb 1936, and with the country under the Law as martial could not only place entertainment, guests needed to present the races as a way to enhance national prestige of the army generals allegedly assisted in fact, the opening ceremony for the first event.
At the same time, as some described later F1 as a laboratory of the automotive industry, the competitions of the expressway have helped promote the development of the Japanese automobile industry.
Motor racing back then wasn not just for fun, it also has the main method to develop the automotive industry, Kobayashi, the Company Tamagawa Speedway, said many people who participated in these races have assumed roles principal in the automotive industry after the war.
Nevertheless, Tamagawa Speedway has a dark presence today because her life is so short.
According to Kobayashi, who was 17 April the circuit has hosted six events on four wheels, the last in 1938 as the nation entered the second Sino-Japanese War of that year.
The races were needed to help enhance national prestige in the controlled economy before and during the gasoline war effort was distributed through the rationing system Kobayashi said that, in the circumstances, competitions Tamagawa Speedway could not continue.
During periods of food shortage during the wars of the time, the site was used as a potato field.
Kobayashi presented the following hypothesis If not occurred wars, racing in the fast lane WOULD continuous and Japanese racing engine could follow the US example, with oval track racing as Tamagawa instead of European-type circuits such as Suzuka.
And Japanese racing circles might have been competing in Indy Car instead of F1 as the greatest goal, Kobayashi said with a smile.
It is difficult to know when the curtain fell on Tamagawa Speedway officially He just faded According to Kobayashi, a driving school he started in 1955, and could be considered the unofficial time the circuit has disappeared.
The Nippon Ham Fighters used the baseball field, which was installed after the track had disappeared between 1961 and 1997, including days, the team was called Toei Flyers and Nittaku Home Flyers, ease of agricultural practice .
Today, the region is for the public and used as a park The majority of people who are likely don know the fast track and was a young Soichiro Honda he raced.
But for those who know his legacy, the highway is not only a short circuit there for decades, but the roots of racing in Japan and the automotive industry.
It is certainly attractive to look back in retrospect, Kobayashi said, but we also think what would have happened if it had not existed, we do not think it would have been the same.
I said Hirotoshi-san, who is a son of Honda-san and founder Mugen Motorsports, during a photo exhibition on the speedway And he told me, you can say that as a fact, not a hypothesis.
The following story was published June 9, 1936 Japan Times number.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd of 30,000 fans, Jiro Kawasaki, driving a Invicta won the 120km race, the feature event of the racing staged at the new track Maruko Sunday Tamagawa under the auspices of Hochi Shimbun his time was one hour 45 32 minutes 8 seconds.
Shinichi Sakakibara, a Curtis was second in one hour 46 minutes 15 seconds 6 A total of 22 cars were registered for the event.
One accident occurred when Honda, driving a Ford, Chevrolet raced in from behind in the first race of the day Morita The car overturned it and Morita was seriously injured.
General Motors Cup Race, 18 kilometers Teisuo won by Maruyama, Mercedes; 2nd, Kenzo Tada, Bentley Time, 13 52 4 minutes.
Ford Cup race won by 19 km Yutaka Kawagoe, Hupmobile; 2nd, Yasuji Kimura, Ford Time 12 41 8.
National Racing 12 km won by Yuichi Ota, Ota; 2nd, Sukeshige Ota, Ota, Time, October 43 8.
Bosch Race Cup 30 km won by Shinichi Sakakibara, Curtis; 2nd, Gunji Fujimoto, Bugatti Time, 21 00 8.
Commerce and Industry Minister Race Cup for domestic cars 36 __gVirt_NP_NNS_NNPS<__ kilomètres gagnés par Yuichi Ota, Ota; et, Takeo Sawaguchi, Temps Datsun, 36 14 8.
Hochi Race Cup 120 km remportés par Jiro Kawasaki,; Invicta 1 45 32 8 heures; 2e, Shinichi Sakakibara Curtis, 1 46 15 6; 3e, Kenzo Tada, Bentley, 1 53 45 6; 4ème, Yuichi Ota, Ota; 5, Shigeo Ozaki, Chrysler; 6, Kiyoji Naito, Ford; et 7, Yutaka Kawagoe, Hupmobile.
Lost Circuit Kawasaki paved the way for the Japanese racing The Japan Times, lost, Kawasaki, circuit.
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