JAPAN’S OTHER RACE CIRCUIT

PAUL WILLIAMSEN, Lexus International Training guru and Facebook Friend, recently mentioned the Okayama International Circuit, née TI Circuit Aida. The TI stood for Tanaka International, after its founder Hajime Tanaka; Aida was the nearest town. This race circuit hosted two Formula 1 Grands Prix back in the 1990s and was one of the first motorsports resorts—complete with its own private club in Tokyo.

The 2.3-mile track is quite complex, with considerable changes of elevation. Its First and Last Corner are prosaically named, its Hair Pin oddly spelled, the others honor motorsports personalities (and a sidearm?).

Hajime Tanaka owned golf clubs. And by this I don’t mean merely those things carried around in a golf bag; I mean a multiplicity of properties—50 of them—at which one plays golf.

More recently, 2011, Hajime Tanaka developed the Genelec 6000A mobile stereo speaker; see www.TanakaModel.com.

In Japan’s high-buzz 1980s, Tanaka also collected Rolex watches, more than 500 of them, and works of Bugatti art. What’s more, he spent perhaps $100 million on TI Circuit Aida with a goal of hosting a second Formula 1 race in Japan each year. (At the time, tickets for the Japan Grand Prix were in such demand that a national lottery decided who could buy them.)

This model of the TI Circuit Aida became reality in 1990.

Tanaka’s plan for TI Circuit Aida wasn’t simply a race track. When it opened in 1990, it included a posh hotel, clubhouse and garages so that members could store their cars on-site and helicopter in whenever the spirit moved them.

Hajime Tanaka and his Ferraris, along with other members and their cars, pose in front of the pit-side clubhouse. That second story had a gourmet restaurant with TVs monitoring the circuit’s corners.

Membership in the T&I Sports Club cost an initial ¥15 million (about $120,000 back then), ¥13 million of which was a 10-year interest-free loan to the club. There were annual dues of around $120. As a membership spiff, there was also a private club, the Bugatti Bar, in Tokyo.

The members’ Bugatti Bar in Tokyo sported a kid’s Type 55—and an impressive array of single-malt whiskies.

In the bar and Tanaka’s office nearby, his Bugatti art included several bronzes of animals, beloved of artist Rembrandt Bugatti, brother of Ettore. The hood ornament of the Bugatti Royale, a trumpeting elephant, is modeled after one of Rembrandt’s bronzes.

Ettore Bugatti built only six Royales, each of which featured this added bit of Bugatti art.

Carlo Bugatti, father of Ettore and Rembrandt, was also represented in Tanaka’s collection. Carlo designed and fabricated Art Nouveau furniture, jewelry and musical instruments.

Art Nouveau furniture of Carlo Bugatti was renowned for its pronounced Arabic influence and exquisite detailing.

Tanaka achieved his goal—twice, in fact—of hosting an international Grand Prix at TI Circuit Aida. The 1994 and 1995 Pacific Grands Prix were both artistic, if not commercial, successes. The Formula One Constructors Association named Tanaka its Promoter of the Year for the 1994 event.

The 1995 Pacific Grand Prix, scheduled for April, was wisely postponed until October because of the giant Kobe earthquake. Michael Schumacher won both Pacific Grands Prix, 1994 in a Benetton-Ford, 1995 in a Benetton-Renault, these wins contributing to the first two of his seven championships.

The Pacific Grand Prix was then discontinued, largely because of TI Circuit Aida’s remote location. The mountains of Okayama Prefecture are 500 miles from Tokyo and 100 miles from either Hiroshima to the west or Kobe to the east, the nearest major cities.

Its relative isolation complicated the circuit’s international appeal.

Alas, in March 2003, Tanaka International applied for Civil Rehabilitation, Japan’s “process to prevent business failure.” The circuit’s new owner renamed it Okayama International Circuit. In 2008, Okayama International hosted an FIA World Touring Car Championship event, the first FIA event held at the venue since 1995.

I remember fondly lapping the TI Circuit Aida in a Porsche 911 Turbo during a Dunlop tire introduction in 1992. The Bugatti Bar and its Laphroaig Single Malt were memorable as well.

Many thanks, Tanaka-San. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2013