The Ultimate Test of Patience, Precision, and Concentration
By Cameron Corns on 28 January 2014

The Kyoto 400 is the ultimate test of patience, precision, and concentration. Although this event does not require the exact driving skills required in road course racing, that doesn’t mean the event is any easier, or that it does not require rare or difficult to obtain skills.

The FZR can hit speeds in excess of 300 kilometers per hour in the draft, and it can easily maintain an average lap speed of 280 km/h at the Kyoto Ring. This speed combined with the close quarters racing that is mandatory of the Kyoto Ring Oval in order to maintain top lap times makes the Kyoto 400 a true test of precision. One false move could move drivers from the front of the field to the spectators in a matter of moments.

Just because there is an abundance of speed does not mean that patience isn’t tested. In fact, that very speed will test the patience of a driver. Speed makes the draft strong in the FZR, but just because a driver has a good run does not mean that an overtaking move is the best one. The wrong move could slow down not only you, but your entire drafting group. Also, drivers must understand that the event is 400 miles in duration. What looks to be a poor start to the race could wind up in victory lane, but only if the driver does not get desperate and throw away their chance to recover as many often do. Nobody has ever lead the Kyoto 400 wire to wire, and nobody has won the Kyoto 400 without first needing to persevere through some kind of adversity.

The Kyoto 400 is also a great test of concentration. The task of driving safely around the Kyoto Ring is simple on one’s own, and doing it quickly alone is a relatively simple learned pattern. This simplicity begs for the utmost concentration when alone for long periods. On the other hand, drafting with one or more competitors requires even more concentration. A split second lack of concentration could take any driver out of the event at any time. Two and a half hours of straight concentration is a difficult task, but this is the task placed in front of Kyoto 400 competitors.

The third annual Kyoto 400 will take place on Saturday, February 1 of 2014. Patrick Hall and Sami Huovinen will lead the field to the green flag after they both set the fastest time in qualifying of 38.42 seconds (173.535 MPH / 279.278 km/h). Matt Kingsbury and Borislav Botev won the caution free duel qualifying races and earned the right to start behind them on row two. The average margin of victory for the Kyoto 400 is just .035 seconds.



Starting Grid: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19870068/Kyoto%20400/2014/2014%20Kyoto%20400%20Starting%20Grid.pdf

Qualifying Results: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19870068/Kyoto%20400/2014/2014%20Kyoto%20400%20Qualifying%20Results.pdf

Duel 1 Results: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19870068/Kyoto%20400/2014/2014%20Kyoto%20400%20Duel%201%20Results.pdf

Duel 2 Results: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19870068/Kyoto%20400/2014/2014%20Kyoto%20400%20Duel%202%20Results.pdf

Historical Kyoto 400 and RNCS results, replays, and statistics: https://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=1772644#post1772644