A rare look behind the scenes of an Asian stadium event

[HRTV]

This is a very recent yet rare look at what takes place behind the scenes. Watch how fast the number 2 boat is lifted out of the water by hydraulics and has the motor pulled off.

Amazing!


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[Aussie Steve]

Very impressive , nice to get alook in at there amazing set up for events


Steve A

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

Is that the race winner getting the rock star treatment and going for a victory lap ?

[Islandmon]

Very Interesting, thanks for posting it.

[Bob Dunlap]

more

Great Dan! check out this one. He wins bid bucks! or rather yen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OotBUzToWcs&feature=fvwk

[jeff55v]

Victory dunk.

Behind the scenes.
Dan, This one was posted last week. It appears some traditions are universal, even thousands of miles away.

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[KG4]

Didnt Randy Hippler go over there back in the day to race there?

[doc 35-0]

I got to go in the pit area, very rare, I could not speak Japanese so with a letter of introduction they let me in the pits. During that time, the driver worked his own prop. They do not want anyone to change the odds, as it is all about betting. The audience sets in a airconditioned auditorum with glass fronts. It's a rough life for drivers and followed by gamblers, twenty five years ago, a good driver made one hundred thousand a year. They wanted drivers to come to Japan to race, but you had to pay your own way..I didn't go, but have returned three times to visit a small town in the mountains of Japan where I had developed a exchange with Middle school children.

[BP125V]

Of course!

.....they take the engine off so the driver can get out of the boat!

[bill van steenwyk]

If you know anything about Japanese culture......

the video of the "victory dunk" is VERY unusual, to say the least, for one over riding reason Even the idea, not so long ago, that a young lady would even be allowed to compete against the men would be unheard of. She must be a very special person, both in personality and driving ability, to withstand the scrutiny and possible "unwelcomeness" that she must have received when joining the ranks of the male drivers on that circuit in Japan. If you think American men are sometimes "chauvinist pigs" you ain't seen nothing until you read some of the history of Japanese culture, even very recently.

I wonder if she is the first, and how she managed to be accepted into the training academy that all the drivers on that circuit have to go thru. It is a very tough thing to get thru, and when it was described to us, and we were shown descriptive literature about it, the first thing that comes to mind is a military academy. Very "martial arty" if you get my meaning, but also the drivers were expected to learn some of the finer arts, such as flower arranging, along with learning how to beat the crap out of someone with a long pole. The actual "racing a boat" part is only a small part of the whole curriculum. I have no personal knowledge of any American driver competing in the parimutuel racing,, and the Japanese person who showed us around while we were there, has remained a friend for all the years since, but has never mentioned anything about that. I would think with all the rules they have pertaining to becoming a "sanctioned" driver on that circuit, the same type training the Japanese go thru would pertain to anyone who competed with those drivers on the betting circuit. Not to say Doc would not have been welcome in that type racing, I just can't believe they would accept someone in the parimutuel betting type racing, with no training at their academy, no matter the background of the person and given the standards in existence at the time of our visit. Going to Japan to compete in a UIM race of some type, would be a whole different ball game, just as we have many drivers now who have competed all over the world in those type races. (OSY-400 and other PRO type classes)

Eileen and were very fortunate to have taken a trip in 1974 to Japan. We had contacted the Japan Motor Boat Association prior to the trip, and told the contacted person we were making a trip and would be interested in coming to the headquarters and visiting, and we would also bring some 8MM movie film of racing here in the US, if they were interested in seeing it. They contacted us back and invited us to contact them when we arrived. Upon arrival and after resting a few hours, we called the contact name we had been given and shortly thereafter were picked up in front of our hotel in a Mercedes limo and taken to a quite large office building many stories tall. We were taken to the offices of the Association, where we met several officials of the organization, including the head of it, who was an older Japanese man of very regal bearing, and who was probably at that time in his mid to late 60's. Several years later, his picture was in Time magazine here in the US, along with a short article about his life accomplishments. Among them was the fact he had been an Admiral in the Japanese navy during WW II and commanded a battleship during that time. You would have never known that was the case, as he was very mild mannered, courteous, and had no "military bearing" whatsoever.

After we showed them the home movies and visited with various officials we then had lunch and were taken back to the offices. We both thought the visit was over with, and were escorted downstairs to what we thought was the exit. Instead, again we were picked up by the limo and transported about a 45 minute drive thru Tokyo to what we were told was one of the pari-mutual race courses.

Upon arrival, we were taken to the pit/boat/motor and driver's area's, and given a complete tour of those facilities. We noticed armed guards with 9MM sub-machine guns all around the vicinity of this area, and were told that because of the betting on the races, and to assure no outside interference could take place with the boats, motors, or drivers so as to assure the complete honesty of the racing, that usually no one was allowed in those areas where we were, and this was quite unusual and also quite an honor being shown to us as guests, that we were allowed in those areas. The same thing may be true now, as if you notice in the videos posted, the only personnel around except for drivers, mechanics, and pit personnel, are media types, and not any spectators that you can see.

After the trip to this area, we were taken up to the grandstand area to watch some of the actual racing, with a stop in the timing/starting booth. On the way there, we noticed an area that had been "curtained" off with plastic sheeting. It was obvious by being able to see thru the clear plastic there had been a fire in that area. We were told that was the area where the bets were made and paid off, and several days prior, the "tote boards" had malfunctioned upon completion of a race, the winning driver of that race had very high odds on his winning, and because no money is paid on a race if that happens, the folks that had bet that boat and driver were very upset about not being paid the quite large amount of money they would have won, and fire bombed the area.

All in all a very interesting trip, and one that gave us the opportunity to make a friend we have to this very day. We have had the opportunity in the past to return the hospitality shown to us by him, as he has accompanied several Japanese teams when they came to the US to race in years past.

[Racerkyle20]

Awesome!