It's here – It's finally race day! We got to the track fairly early and we were all surprised by how many people were in attendance. Their version of our 10 a.m. race had over 400 riders in it! The mayor of Omachi City was also on the property and Trevor spoke at the riders meeting right after he did. Hide translated once again so that everyone could understand. 

The 10 a.m. JNCC start is similar to a GNCC and the first line is a dead engine start, but the remaining groups are live engine and they start with one hand on their helmet. (Note- this was only for this race, in Trevor's race all lines were dead engine starts) The groups also move up each time to the first line, a lot like we recently started doing with the UTV races. The reason I am calling them groups is because there were so many riders they couldn't all start on the same line. They were three to four rows deep for each class!

There is one girl  in particular here, Yuka, who is quick! She doesn't race in the Women's class and instead she took off on the first row of the 10 a.m. race. I'm not sure what place she finished, but I loved seeing a girl up toward the front and beating most of the guys! Instead of blue number plates, the girls run pink backgrounds.

Trevor and Eric headed back into the woods to check out how the course was shaping up since there were so many different opportunities for line choices. During this time, I walked through the pits and ended up meeting Noguchi, the king of seats! Even though Trevor wasn't running a seat made by Noguchi for this race, he was still here to support him due to their past connections. 

Everyone, even fans, kept asking how Trevor's hand was doing since he hurt it at Ironman. Their concern showed just how much they had been anticipating his arrival and how happy they were that he was at their event.

It wasn't long before it was time to line up for the race where they do similar introductions for the pros like GNCC. Trevor was introduced fourth and then we waiting until the rest of the group was called and set to go, which took a while because there was a huge AA (XC1) group!

I was also fortunate to be introduced and asked to speak at the start where Takeshi's daughter, Fuyuno, helped translate. It has always been a dream of mine to attend a race in another country and I'm so thankful that the JNCC crew hosted us and made this dream a reality. Especially thank you to Yoshi who took time away from his family to drive us around and be our own tour guide for the duration of our trip!

Trevor came out of the holeshot in the top-five and made some quick passes up the ski slope to get behind Takeshi. Trevor passed him quickly, but the two continued to battle back-and-forth and run a tight race the first two laps. Trevor's lap times were fairly quick, about 13-15 minutes, and by the end of the race he had completed 13 full laps.

Everyone was lined up from the finish and high-fived each person who came off the track, no matter if they were first or last. It was awesome to witness that sense of community at the track.

Part of the Honda crew quickly began washing of Trevor's bike while the other half began working with Trevor to get his feedback on the new bike. Before we knew it, it was time for the podium celebration. Each class winner lined up their bike and did a short interview, and once that was complete the AA1 and AA2 podiums took place. 

Trevor's win was not only big for him, but it also signified an important achievement for Honda. As many of you know the new bike models were released late due to an earthquake that hit the Japanese factory. Not only are they in the process of recovering and rebuilding, this was the first time the Honda CRF 450 RX has seen competition. Therefore, making Trevor the very first person to win on the new RX!

Trevor received some pretty cool trophies/gifts for winning including $100,000 yen which is equivalent to $1,000 USD. He also received a watch, and Takeshi earned one for his championship as well. The whole JNCC crew loved Trevor and the announcers would go crazy when he went by! Their energy was incredible, and it was so heartwarming to feel how much they appreciated Trevor taking part in their event.

After the race we headed to eat with Masami, Fuyuno, Ayako, Yoshi and the three Honda employees. The restaurant was a steak house so I was surprised when they didn't ask me how I wanted my steak prepared, but then when they brought my meal out to the table I quickly realized. On the plate was a hot stone and you could cook your steak how you liked it. They also had a "premium drink bar" where you could go make different coffees, teas or sodas.

Earlier in the day we met Ross McCain who was a local spectator. Originally from Australia, he now lives in Habuka, which is the town we were staying in. He owns the Bike Bar and invited us over after to hang out and see what his place is all about. The room was fully decorated with all things racing and Ross topped it all off with multiple GNCC stickers everywhere! This was just one more example of the awesome hospitality that we witnessed this trip. 

Thank you to the whole JNCC staff for a wonderful weekend at the AAGP race! From the announcers, registration ladies, and more, everyone was a joy to be around and we loved getting to know each and every one of you! Takeshi's family was the absolute best, and wonderful hosts. Ayako says she misses the U.S. because it's beautiful. To sum it up she said, "America is everything." But after this week, it wouldn't surprise me if Trevor moved to Japan! Haha! The country is everything we expected and more.

Tomorrow we are off to explore Tokyo with Hide, Ayako, Fujuno and Masami!