Report From Japan

REPORT FROM JAPAN

JACK YAMAGUCHI

125cc RC 126M

As already reported, Honda’s 250cc two-stroke ridden by T. Yoshimura won the national championship Japan GP. It was the first win ever scored by Honda in a national motocross event and understandably made Honda much more confident about this type of motorcycle sport.

Making full use of this good timing, Honda has ventured to unveil its newly developed 125cc two-cycle weapon designed to cut its way into SuzukiYamaha domination of this class. The new bike is designated “RC 125M,” and will make its racing debut soon. Veteran T. Yoshimura will ride it.

HONDA FINISHES 4th AT AOMORI

The ’72 national championship MX series came to a middle-stage climax at Aomori. Aomori, some 300 miles north of Tokyo, is a remote region in northernmost Japan, and the meeting was the first important sports event ever attempted there.

Still, it attracted a record number of spectators and pressmen who were un usually interested in Honda’s newly unveiled 125cc two-cycle motocross machine.

Japanese rider T. Yoshimura rode the machine to 4th place in the senior 125cc race, behind K. Masuda on a Suzuki, H. Suzuki and C. Suzuki both on Yamaha machines.

Honda people seemed to be content with this result, and as an experimental debut, it was impressive to say the least.

YAMAHA TEAM WINS INTERLAGOS 500-MILER

The Yamaha team of A. Motohashi ttnd Hiroyuki K. from Japan won this ^rçar’s Interlagos 500-mile race held near Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Interlagos 500 is the largest event of this type in CentralSouth America, attracting a lot of entries from Japan, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela each year. Motohashi and Hiroyuki rode a Yamaha production 350cc TR3 racer and set a record time of 6 hr., 3 min., 53 sec. Hiroyuki also set the fastest lap at 3 min., 22 sec.

Motohashi and Hiroyuki are both top class riders in Japan, and have won this event before. This year’s event was contested by 38 machines including several 750cc models. Twenty-one machines finished the race.