Ian Lougher skipped the annual Macau trip last month as he instead visited the volcanic Japanese island of Miyakejima, in anticipation of a possible road race there in the not-too distant future.
In 1983 a volcanic eruption hit Miyakejima and – although the island recovered – a second eruption 17 years later left it devastated and forced the evacuation of all the inhabitants. It was a further five years before they were allowed to return and, by then, many had set up new homes and new lives on the Japanese mainland.
However, the last two years have seen the island re-group and re-develop, allowing its inhabitants to begin building towards the new road race. Scheduled to take place on an 18-mile course, the event was the brainchild of the governor of Tokyo who, along with his organising party, visited the Isle of Man TT Races in 2006 to see first-hand what was needed to host such a prestigious meeting.
The event is seen as an ideal platform to establish the island of Miyakejima as a tourist attraction, whilst also securing its place on the road racing calendar.
“I really enjoyed my trip to Japan,” road racing veteran Lougher told
Crash.net Radio. “It was nice to go and see a different culture; we always have this idea of the Japanese as being very strict and polite, but they're a great bunch of people and very friendly.
“Miyakejima is six hours' boat journey from Tokyo, sort of in the middle of nowhere. They had a bit of a festival this year, just to get it up and running a little bit. The governor of Tokyo was there and really behind it, and he's the second or third-highest guy in the whole of Japan.
“The surface is good and the width of the road is good; the only problem is logistically it's going to be a bit hard for them to run a meeting there, because the circuit has a lot of corners – more than the TT – and it will be hard to make it really safe.
“There's so much that goes on behind-the-scenes in terms of running a road race that people just don't realise. The whole safety side with marshalling and helicopters is difficult. Also the ferry that goes there – although it's a large one – only takes passengers; it doesn't take any vehicles, so all the bikes and everything else will have to be containered in from Tokyo.
“It will be a bit difficult for them to get started, but they have got a smaller circuit there which runs through a little village and is probably about two miles long. That would be the best way to start I think, just to get people familiar with the place and where it is and then go from there.”
As to his own upcoming racing activities, Lougher said he would be competing himself in the traditional road racing outings next year, but added his principal focus would be on his team management role, after running the Black Horse Finance Honda outfit in 2007.
“We're still talking to Black Horse and a couple of different manufacturers as well for next year,” he affirmed. “I'm planning on running a
BSB team, with a younger guy, or maybe two riders – we're not sure yet – in the new 600 Junior Superstock series or even Superstock itself. Watch this space as they say. Before you know it, the season will be round again, and we've got to be fully-prepared.”
