Rev Up Your Engines: The 51st Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament Brings Cosplay and Speed to the Track
On Sunday, August 18th, I participated in the 51st Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament, held at the Stackland Farm off-road course at Asagiri Kogen/Fujigamine, at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Today is my report!
What is the Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament?
Many people may not know this, but the traditional Vintage Motocross (VMX) event has been held for half a century.
The oldest participant in this tournament was 81 years old! The average age was 55! This is a race of longevity in many senses!
A handmade banner for the Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament
Conference Theme
“Our goal is to provide a venue for the scramblers of the good old days who are being lost to the waves of time, to expand the circle of like-minded enthusiasts and to play a part in Japan’s motorcycle culture.”
The theme of the tournament is quite heartwarming!!
Eligibility
Participants must understand the purpose of the event, follow the rules, and behave with a gentlemanly attitude while running and behaving calmly. Also, participants must abide by the following three major principles.
1. Bring your own injuries and lunch!
2. When the time comes, act sensibly!
3. Everyone who gathers at Asagiri is a friend!
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In other words, everyone is eligible to participate! Lol
This information alone probably won’t give you any idea of what it’s like, so please take a look at some photos first!
Cosplay elements in the regulations!? Introducing each class
This event is divided into classes based on the year and engine displacement of the participating vehicles, and the level of cosplay…it’s a cosplay race in a sense!
“Do I have to cosplay to participate?”
Not at all! Here are the regulations for each class.
You can also check out the regulations on the official Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament website below!
There are also classes where you can participate in regular VMX wear instead of leather jumpsuits!
Traditional Asagiri Class
The main event, the Asagiri class…
○Vehicles manufactured before 1966 that have been modified to look like racers or clubmen
○Riding in equipment that imitates that of riders at that time
○Make and wear the designated sash and bib number.
That’s quite a high hurdle!
Moreover, it was mid-August, right in the middle of summer.
Even though we were at the foot of Mt. Fuji, the temperature easily exceeded 30 degrees. We were wearing leather jumpsuits from head to toe, and it was a hellish heat race…
This class of car runs on rough roads in old vehicles that could break down at any time…
To the average person, these regulations may seem like a punishment game, haha, but the people running look cool and are fun to watch!
Speaking of this tournament, the Asagiri class is the highlight!
Antique Class (AN)
Antique class…is it written as “antique class” in English?
The regulations are for vehicles manufactured before 1973 that meet any of the following criteria:
①Vehicles manufactured before 1964
② Press frame vehicles
3) 4-stroke vehicles
④Two-stroke twin-engine vehicle
This class has the most participants and is a very competitive class!
Even within the antique class, cars are divided by engine displacement, so you can enjoy close battles!
The start of the AN class! A wide variety of vehicles are competing!
The AN class vehicles are on their way to the course! What an exciting moment.
Exciting Class (EX)
The regulations for this class are open to vehicles manufactured before 1973 that do not fall under the Antique Class, and this class is also divided by engine displacement.
Entries included Yamaha’s MR50, DT, HT, AT, Kawasaki’s KE and KS, and more!
EX class, a tense moment before the start…
Final Class (FN)
This class is for older vehicles (up to the 1970s).
Vehicles from 1974 to 1979
Some of the fast looking bikes participating include Honda’s XR, CR, and XL, and Yamaha’s YZ and TY.
The start is by head touch (touch the helmet with the left hand and shift into gear when the start flag is pressed).
Open Class
Any air-cooled, twin shock vehicle is OK in this class, regardless of year or engine displacement!
Members who had been competing in different classes crossed class boundaries and competed in earnest.
Meanwhile, I participated on my business bike. (More details later)
A class that mixes small and large displacement engines!
Photo by ingly_mongly
What course will you be running?
The course is not a typical motocross course, but an uneven terrain where four-wheeled off-road vehicles such as jeeps and Jimnys compete in triangle races.
It’s narrow and full of ups and downs and curves.
The ground is more rocky than dirt… it’s a very tough course to ride on a bike! That’s where we’ll be racing lol
I also participated, but I drove almost entirely in first gear. I could barely complete about half the race with my foot off the gas.
However, the advanced and veteran runners were extremely fast, with impressive running!
The road is very rocky and slippery! If you slip and fall, it hurts…
What was my race result?
So, how did Mintan (me) do in the race?
Ah, yes, I got the booby prize in the open class.
I could have entered the antique class with my 1968 CT50, but I was worried it would break when riding on the rocky terrain in the morning mist, so I entered with my 1995 business bike (CD50).
Due to the year of manufacture I couldn’t enter any class so I entered the open class.
In that open class… almost everyone was a serious motocross rider! Some even had 500cc bikes lol
The other participants were half-laughing and saying, “What? Are you going to open with this?”…lol
Despite that, I managed to finish the race even though I was a lap behind.
A serious race but with a friendly atmosphere
This was my first time participating in the Asagiri Kogen Scramble. I knew about it since I started vintage motocross last year, but even though it’s a traditional and historic event, there isn’t much information about it on the internet!
To be honest… before I participated, I was a bit nervous as a newcomer wondering if it was a closed event.
However, my concerns turned out to be unfounded when we all did some radio exercises before the event started.
No, the race itself is run seriously on a tough course…it’s a serious race with falls and collisions!
But apart from the race, it was a heartwarming experience!
It was a very satisfying event, with a relaxed awards ceremony, a rock-paper-scissors tournament with locally grown corn at stake, and participants receiving a souvenir dried fish!
Will he be the champion in the Asagiri class next year? Or the last place?
For me personally, this tournament ended with me feeling unfulfilled in the open class.
After the event ended, my mind and heart were filled with the desire to race on an old vehicle.
I tweeted this on Instagram and lo and behold!!!
By good fortune, I was able to inherit the Asagiri class champion vehicle!
My new partner is a 1963 SUZUKI SPORTS80K11 (Cerpet)!
We will be competing in the 52nd tournament next year with this Serpet, but last year’s champion vehicle came in last!
So that’s the best story I could come up with lol
So, everyone, please look forward to next year’s Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament!
Asagiri class champion car, 1963 Serpet
We are also reporting on the Asagiri Kogen Scramble on Instagram “Minna no Tanseki-do”! If you are interested, please check it out!
Reel video of the Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament
Instagram “Everyone’s Single Cylinder”
(51st Asagiri Kogen Scramble Tournament Report) Photo Gallery (24 photos)
“Everyone’s Single Cylinder” Introducing my car: BMW R50/5 (1969 model)
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