Dear reader, I truly wish, that as an avid follower of Japanese motorsport for over half a decade if not longer, that we were in the midst of talking about how fantastic this year of racing has been. Obviously, a terrible global pandemic has robbed us of that.
In place of the seasons that were envisioned when the new year began, I wish that I could, in the goodness of my heart, pour all of my heart and soul and energy into preparing you for the restructured seasons that will, good health willing, happen later on.
To whomever may be reading this, hello, I hope that the new year is spent filled with love from your family – be it the family that you’re born into, or the family that you’ve found.
To the reader, thank you for consuming and promoting the content that Super GT World has put out in 2019. Be it here on this blog, be it on SNS via Twitter, or via my contributions to DailySportsCar throughout the 2019 season, where the majority of my written work now resides.
And that brings me to try and summarize the year that I’ve experienced in 2019, a year of many major milestones in my life, both as a professional, and as a person.
And no bigger milestone was had than my very first venture to Japan to cover the Suzuka 10 Hours in August. Not only was this my first time being invited to cover a major motor race in person, away from the dark confines of home. A long way from home, in fact, my first time ever venturing out to Japan or even outside the United States at all. If you can believe it, every time I’ve liveblogged a race, it was well into the night and almost to the break of dawn from my own home.
But nothing could compare to being there and experiencing the sights and sounds in person, and while I’ve visited Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Barber Motorsports Park, and even the Indianapolis Motor Speedway three times as a spectator, Suzuka Circuit has a unique aura all to its own that can only be partially captured when watching a race there on television. You can feel the history within its roadways consume you, just as it did when I first made it there.
And the event itself met all expectations, and wow, there are a lot of people to thank individually no matter how long and how short our interactions were, because, truth be told, just the acknowledgement from peers that I look up to that I’m finally meeting face-to-face was enough to really shake me to my core that I’d really made it. I had no idea that my journey would ever take me to where I’d actually make it to Japan as a car racing writer after years of trying to find a purpose outside the mundane day-to-day working life.
But, safe to say, the Suzuka 10 Hours itself was a great experience, from the first practice and the Suzuka Motorsports Festival and parade from the circuit to Aeon Mall Suzuka, to the chequered flag at the end of the ten hour main event.
What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with the city of Yokkaichi as quickly as I did. Yes, it was a bit fortunate to have a hotel right in the heart of the city by the train station that made things really easy to get to – but truth be told, there was a certain intimacy and convenience about the way the city was planned around the station that I really, really missed when I came back home.
Suwa Park, in the wee hours of the morning, may be the most serene place I could place myself in when I had nothing to do on my first morning in Japan but roam the city to myself and just take in the experience. The station and the market square were a joy to wander at night, as well. It’s strange, being romantic about what is very much an industrial, working-class city just because it was far away.
And I tried to arrive and take it all in with no illusions about where I was staying, after all, Japan is not immune to the same socio-political problems that we have at home. At the same time, it was awesome to take in another slice of the world beyond the friendly confines that I already knew.
And seeing so many cool cars – not so much the race cars as the civilian cars spotted while driving to and from the event – it was awesome, just awesome beyond what words could say.
Make no mistake: I want to be back in Japan in 2020, and if it isn’t at the Suzuka 10 Hours, I’d love to come to the Fuji 500km on Golden Week, the Suzuka 300km in late may, or the Sugo 300km in September after the Olympic rush ends.
Next year, I want to arrive with more knowledge of the native language, that much is a given. And, if I come back to Suzuka, I wish to fulfill a promise I could not do last time: To leave a flower for those lost within those hallowed roads of Suzuka. Jules Bianchi, Daijiro Kato, Hitoshi Ogawa, Osamu Nakajima.
When I was back home, I was treated to another stellar Super GT racing that saw solid racing from the Fuji 500km to the Fuji Dream Race. At long last, the dream of seeing a Super GT and DTM crossover event happened, and it delivered on every front from a competition standpoint. This along with a compelling championship arc that went down to the very last race are the essences of Super GT.
I also got to cover more of the Pirelli Super Taikyu Series and bring that pro-am championship to new audiences, and the Super Formula Championship continued to gain traction in the eyes of audiences worldwide, all of which I am entirely grateful to have the opportunity to continue to do.
I worried I could never continue this longer than a year before my candle burned out. Here I am after three years of doing largely this, and it never becomes less enjoyable to me. And I really, truly hope that the content I produce is enjoyable to you too. I always wish to be respectful to the devoted Japanese fans who consume the racing in person on a regular basis. And I want to continue to tell the unique and interesting stories that colour the lore of Super GT.
In no order, there are a ton of people that deserve individual thanks, and I know I won’t reach them all.
Christina Villar and Dr. Paul Ip at KCMG, who sponsored the Suzuka trip on my part and made it all possible. And by extension, the people that I interviewed: Katsumasa Chiyo, Joshua Burdon, Eduardo Liberati, Alexandre Imperatori, Andy Richardson, and Warren Tyrrell.
My second home at DailySportsCar – Graham Goodwin, Stephen Kilbey, and photographer Peter “Pedro” May.
John Hindhaugh and Eve Hewitt of Radio Show Limited – whose airwaves I still cannot believe I was able to grace in March when previewing the Super GT season that’s just passed in a stand-alone special.
Sam Collins, an even better person than a commentator, which speaks volumes. Tom Hornsby of the SRO. Circuit interpreter Sonia Ito. Drivers, Ronnie Quintarelli, Richard Lyons, Kei Cozzolino, Chris Buncombe, Tadasuke Makino. Photographer Tatsuya Endo, and the very nice woman who nicknamed me “Miku” in the media room, whose name I’ve sadly forgotten.
Narain Karthikeyan, Bertrand Baguette, and Shinya Sean Michimi, who I interviewed outside of the Suzuka 10 Hours. Ryan Smith of Corvette Racing, and Stephen Maguire of BMW North America.
My Motorsport 101 family: Louis Suddaby, Ryan King, Zoe Hamilton, Cam Buckley, Chris DeHarde, and of course, friendly neighborhood Andre Harrison, and the man who brought me into the fold to begin with, my co-host emeritus Adam Johnson.
Hayley and Chris, Pat and Josh and Danny and Tommy, Misty and Yvanka as well, my network of car racing support and understanding.
Hazel Southwell of Inside Electric (among so many others), Elizabeth Blackstock of Jalopnik, and someone I’ve known for years, now the happiest and most fulfilled they’ve ever been, Remy Connors – three people who inspire me a lot with all of their work, past and present, and their relentless humanity.
Jens, one of my best friends and the person who really inspires and drives me to keep going in this sector. Genuinely one of the most knowledgeable Japanese motorsport superfans there is, who deserves the world.
Pierre-Laurent Ribault, who voluntarily lent his photography skills to provide images to the work I’ve produced in 2019 – I can never repay that enough with my gratitude.
To my coolest and sweetest partner I’ve ever known, Vincent.
And lastly to my brother Gaven, my sister Melissa, my niece Olivia, my grandfather Maurice, and my mother Barbara and father Sean and uncle Brendan.
Let’s do this again, even better than before, into next year and beyond.
Sincerely, R.J. O’Connell Founder and Editor, Super GT World.
It seems surreal to announce this, but yes, Super GT World will be in attendance to cover the 48th SMBC/BH Auction Suzuka 10 Hours on August 23-25, on location at Suzuka Circuit.
This adventure will be one of many firsts. My first time ever covering a motor race on location as a member of the press rather than from my own home at Super GT World HQ. And, crucially, my first time ever venturing outside the United States for any length of time, a terrifying enough prospect with the travel anxiety that comes with it.
But this is one that I sincerely hope will be worth it. To be able to take in the sport that I love, this close to the action, is a dream come true.
There are many amazing drivers who I dearly wish to meet and talk to in person. Many amazing fans from the locals to the international travelers. In all of the planning and preparation, my sincerest hope is to be a positive presence at the event and to help elevate this event and the incredible people taking part, in the eyes of those following around the world.
Sincerely, -R.J. O’Connell Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Super GT World
Thank you for making 2018 really, really, awesome both as a writer, and most importantly, as a fan. Chances are then, if you’re reading this, you’ve helped make this past year really rewarding.
Between this blog, contributions to DailySportsCar.com, and work on SNS, we’ve covered hours upon hours of racing. All eight rounds of the Autobacs Super GT Series – even when traveling on the weekend of the opening round at Okayama International Circuit, including pre-season testing and driver transactions. All six rounds of the Pirelli Super Taikyu Series, including the inaugural Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours. The inaugural Suzuka 10 Hours. Most of the Japanese Super Formula Championship, All-Japan Formula Three Championship, and other events in Japan.
There’s many people I need to thank for making the year really fantastic, of course.
Jens, known to the world as Geinou, of RacingBlog.de helped to cover for me during my travels over the Okayama round, and still is the person who inspired me to start this journey. If I were to ever trust anybody to take over this blog in my place, you would absolutely be #1 on the list.
Alex Sinclair, who if nothing else apart from being another awesome long-time supporter, dropped me a lifeline in the form of access to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s media site.
Graham Goodwin and Stephen Kilbey of DSC. Thank you Graham for bringing me on board for another year, your words of encouragement always mean the world. Same for Stephen, who I can’t thank enough for contributing nearly an hour of your time to the Motorsport 101 podcast in previewing the Le Mans 24 Hours in addition.
Cllr. Sam Collins, Rob Barff, and Leigh O’Gorman of Super GT on NISMO TV. Thanks for letting me contribute as the unofficial statistician during races. I hope I’ve been able to contribute in a positive manner to all the broadcasts, even if it’s from many miles away on a YouTube Live chat.
Hideto Yasuoka, gracious enough to lend me some time to interview you prior to the start of the 2018 season – a season that began with a first top-10 finish since 2014. We need to get in touch again. The same for every single other team and driver in the paddock who was nice enough to read our writings or share some tweet from us and leave us nice (or not nice!) feedback.
Even the new GT500 champion Jenson Button, which is something I couldn’t even fathom telling 10-year-old me when he was playing as a 20-year-old F1 rookie Button F1 Championship Season 2000 on the PS2!
Andre, Ryan, Adam, and the rest of the M101 crew who’s let me be part of their podcast for another year and been kind enough to listen to me go on and on about this at times on the actual podcast and the Discord server.
And every single fan around the world, I hope you’ve enjoyed every bit of this 2018 journey.
Admittedly, my harshest critic is always myself. I wish I’d been able to upkeep the WordPress blog a bit more in a healthy balance. I wish I’d have covered more of the single-seater action from Super Formula and JF3. I wish I’d have been able to get in contact with more drivers to talk to after interviewing Yasuoka-san. I wish I hadn’t fallen asleep through so so many qualifying sessions, certainly not out of boredom but out of fatigue when trying to maintain a 40-hour-a-week “real job” in addition to all this.
And, of course, I wish I’d have been able to cover one of these races in person – but that’s a goal that’s still within reach. The dream would be to get in the NISMO bunker to call a race, or even better still, go to one in person.
I really want to put forth the effort to being even better in 2019, and doing more, branching out to other SNS outlets, or even making video/audio content.
Anything to help bring Super GT, and also Super Taikyu, into the hearts and minds of more racing fans everywhere. I’d like to think that in the last two and a half years I’ve done an alright job of that already.
I hope I won’t ever let you all down, not in 2019, or into the future. ❤
Sincerely yours,
-R.J. O’Connell Founder and editor, Super GT World
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