Indycar goes to Japan!

After a succession of North American tracks, IZOD IndyCar Series travels to Japan for round 15!

Twin Ring Motegi is located about 90 miles north of Tokyo and nestled in the foothills of the Hakko mountains. The site, whose natural contours protect the surrounding area from the loud noises of racing, was constructed by Honda in 1997 in an effort to bring the IndyCar Series to Japan. Honda wanted to increase local knowledge of American open-wheel racing, as well as bring enthusiastic fans of all sorts of motorsports together at a site with a dual purpose - a venue for two kinds of racing.

Why "Twin Ring"? Motegi comprises of two overlapping, but seperate circuits; an oval and a road course. The concept was born when Honda executives visited a NASCAR race in Charlotte, North Carolina and were amazed by the huge and enthusiastic crowd, and the great sightlines that the oval circuit provided. Motegi's "Super Speedway" oval circuit resulted from this trip. Honda also wanted to include a world-class road course to attract race series used to competing on European style street circuits.

Construction of Twin Ring Motegi became the largest private construction project in Japan up to that point, although in typical Honda fashion environmental concerns were not ignored - many of the trees on the site were saved and a rare local species of dragonfly was successfully relocated to a new site. With two available circuit types, Motegi hosts a wide variety of racing. The oval hosts the Indy Japan 300 through 2011, and was also the host of an exhibition NASCAR race, and the Coca-Cola 500 in 1998. With its main turns of two different diameters to challenge drivers, the oval is the site of exciting pack racing.

Overlaying the Super Speedway oval (and at times snaking underneath it) is the road course, popular for MotoGP, Formula Nippon, Super GT, and Super Taikyu racing. The road course's combination of long straights and tight hairpins make for great racing action with plenty of places to test your nerve at outbraking and overtaking opponents. The road course also runs in the opposite direction from the oval; clockwise, rather than counter-clockwise.

The road course is being used for this 2011 race, although the oval was the original plan, due to damage to the oval track resulting from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake back in March. It will be the first time the series has raced on the road circuit, all previous races used the oval. The practice sessions are going to be very important for the drivers as well as the teams, as the cars will need setting up and the track learnt.

The 2011 season will be the last planned IndyCar series race held in Motegi. It has been dropped from the calendar as organizers seek to maximize viewing audience.

The Twin Ring Montegi site also has the Honda Collection Hall, which features historic Honda racing and production cars and motorcycles, and Honda Fan Fun Lab, which features Honda's next generation technologies such as robotics, fuel-cell vehicle and aviation. Honda also operates a technology demonstration center on the site, as well as educational centers.

To stage the IZOD Indycar Series in Japan has involved two fully loaded 747's carrying more than 420,000 pound of equipment, 1,526 Firehawk tires being shipped from Ohio to California then a 16 day voyage on sea.

If you haven't arranged your visit to Japan to watch yet you can catch all the action on TV on Versus. Qualifying will be on Saturday 17th at 11:00 pm, and the race at 11:00pm on Sunday 18th.

Acorn Stairlifts PTY Ltd are proud sponsors of #18 Dale Coyne Indycar

Sponsorship of the Indy Japan IZOD Indycar Series race at the Twin Ring Motegi will be provided by the Australian subsiduary of Acorn Stairlifts. Acorn Stairlifts opened their 1st office in Australia in December 2004 and have grown rapidly to become the undisputed market leader across the country. In 2007 they relocated to larger premises, where they operate from today, in Belrose on Sydney's north shore. From here they maintain extensive stocks of Acorn Stairlifts enabling them to delivery stairlifts faster and more cost-effectively than any other supplier.

Acorn are the only stairlift manufacturer to have invested in supplying stairlifts directly in Australia, allowing them to make stairlifts much more affordable and accessible to seniors and other customers Australia-wide. From their regional distribution centres in Melbourne and Brisbane, they are able to rapidly service their customers in Victoria and Queensland. In many other areas they have surveyors and installers to attend all their users needs.

Acorn Stairlifts PTY Ltd directly employ their own surveyors and installers, ensuring that the service you receive from us has the benefit of being conducted by fully manufacturer trained and accredited personnel. Their extensive inventory and direct access to the many technical innovations and developments assures their customers of the highest levels of service delivery.

Find out more about Acorn Stairlifts PTY Ltd on their website: www.acornstairlifts.com.au