Twin Ring Montegi
 |
Twin Ring Motegi |
| Track country: Japan | |
| Track length: 4801m, 2.983 miles | |
| Track width: 12-15m | |
| Longest straight: 762m, 0.473miles |
| Track left corners: 6 |
| Track right corners: 8 |
| Track time zone: GMT +9 |
| Track web address: http://www.twinring.jp/english/ |
| Track location: Circuit is 100km from Tokyo Narita Airport. |
Twin Ring Motegi – track information
Honda constructed the 4.801km circuit, which also incorporates an Indy Car style oval, in 1997 in the hilly countryside 100kms north of Tokyo. It was a massive construction project and the complex also includes the famous Honda Museum and a hotel.
The track has a comparatively long back straight but a series of slow corners and also two tunnels which allows the oval to run round the outside. The circuit staged its first grand prix in 1999, the very wet Japanese Grand Prix, which was won by the Kenny Roberts riding the Suzuki. Roberts won the Pacific Grand Prix the next year at the track but after that it became the domain of the circuit owners Honda and also the Honda Pons team.
Valentino Rossi won the 500cc race at the Pacific Grand Prix in 2001 but after that Sito Pons’s Honda team have won three races in a row. Alex Barros won on his first appearance on the RCV four-stroke Honda in 2002. A year later Max Biaggi brought the Camel Honda team success and in 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, Makoto Tamada totally dominated the proceedings. Not only did he win the 24 lap race, but he also started from pole position and set the fastest lap, riding the Camel Honda.
