Sportsland SUGO Celebrates 50 Years
A Japanese hillside full of velocity
Tucked into the rolling foothills of the Zao mountain vary in Murata, simply 25km from the colourful metropolis of Sendai, you’ll discover the undulating and picturesque Sportsland SUGO circuit. Owned by Yamaha Motor Firm, the venue opened in 1975 and this yr celebrates its fiftieth birthday.
From the outset, the temporary was clear: construct a multi-discipline motorsport park that exams riders, drivers and machines. Half a century on, the advanced has earned a fame for producing thrilling racing motion, having hosted Japan’s prime sequence on two- and four-wheeled machines. It has additionally welcomed a bunch of world stars alongside the way in which.
What units Sportsland SUGO other than different circuits in Japan is the big selection of competitors it will probably host. The advanced options a world street racing course, a world motocross course, and the CIK/FIA-certified Worldwide West Course for go-karts, gymkhana, and supermoto, in addition to a trials space and coaching fields. It’s the one venue in Japan with three internationally licensed programs that may run occasions concurrently.
The Worldwide Racing Course is the centrepiece of SUGO: a 3.621km ribbon (3.586km with out chicanes) whose 70m of elevation change and blind crests demand bravery each lap. There’s a 704m again straight, 10–12.5m of observe width, and a foremost straight that climbs for 600m at a punishing 10 per cent gradient. The encompassing hillsides dictate the circuit’s rhythm with plunging descents that result in technical sequences and a full-commit cost to the road.
Via the Eighties and Nineties, SUGO developed from Yamaha’s proving floor right into a fixture of Japan’s premier championships. At this time’s calendar options the All Japan Highway Race sequence, Tremendous Taikyu, Tremendous Formulation, Tremendous GT, and Formulation Drift Japan, with motocross, trials, and karting additionally taking centre stage.
Jay Wilson has been based mostly in Japan racing and testing with Yamaha lately and received the 2024 All-Japan Motocross Championship.
Jay Wilson – 2024 All-Japan MX Champ on Sugo
“Sugo is Yamaha’s personal racetrack in Japan, and being a Yamaha Manufacturing facility rider myself, it’s at all times one in every of my favorite tracks to race at. Sugo is without doubt one of the few rounds of the All Japan Motocross Championship open to worldwide riders, so many huge names in our sport have raced there. This yr, I used to be fortunate sufficient to share the observe with the 2025 World Champion Romain Febvre, and Sugo was really the first-ever observe I raced in Japan, which kick-started the chapter of my profession racing and testing with YMC.
“The observe itself could be very bodily demanding, the ruts are deep, and Japanese ruts aren’t lengthy and constant; they’re sharp and aggressive, and you need to be on a motorcycle setup, or it’s difficult to get round. The followers have views from all totally different areas – the KYB bounce, the European part, and Sugo hill are all fairly iconic.
“Lastly, the followers at Sugo are particular. As a result of it’s the one spherical to get worldwide riders, they typically are extremely beneficiant – Final yr I used to be gifted a samurai sword there, and this yr we even acquired a personalized Yamaha Manufacturing facility Racing pooper scooper for our canine – the followers put in an enormous effort to point out their help to us riders, particularly at Sugo.”
Over time, SUGO has additionally welcomed World Superbike and Motocross Grand Prix rounds. Legends together with Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, and Michael Doohan have conquered the course on two wheels, whereas Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher have turned quick laps on 4.
Mick Doohan took his maiden victory within the All-Japan Superbike Championship at Sugo in 1988 on a Yamaha FZR750 and was referred to as up later that yr by the Marlboro Supplier Group to race for them within the World Superbike occasion at Sugo. A 22-year-old Doohan didn’t fare so nicely within the first moist race however made an announcement within the second bout. Doohan recounted the Sugo World Superbike victory to Cycle Information…
Mick Doohan
“I received it, and received it fairly simply. Inside two weeks, Honda was at my door at residence wanting me to signal with them. I received the following race in Australia after which went and examined the Yamaha [GP bike]. Then I signed for Honda once I went to Fuji to do an F1 race. And Yamaha wasn’t too happy. I signed with Honda on a Saturday and needed to race for Yamaha the next day. The whole lot I did in Japan in 1987 and ’88, I couldn’t put a foot flawed, and that kind of steered me on the trail to go Grand Prix racing.”
Daryl Beattie received races within the All Japan 500 cc Highway Racing Championships in 1992 and recapped a few distinct Sugo reminiscences for us. Daryl has some nice reminiscences from Japan that additionally embody a victory on the Suzuka 8 Hours.
Daryl Beattie on Sugo
“I rode as soon as and solely as soon as, the V4 twin-crank NSR500 at Sugo in a secret check with the manufacturing facility. The Yamaha was a twin-crank, however the Honda was at all times a single-crank. Honda wished to check a twin-crank engine, and we went to Sugo, the place I put about 30 laps on it with the HRC President and a small group of technicians. Then, it disappeared… Sugo was additionally famend for having a few of the most interesting rice in Japan. If you happen to managed to get pole place, they gave you a 5 kg bag of rice; the mechanics can be throughout me for it, because it was like gold to them.”
Kevin Magee was additionally extremely energetic in Japan across the similar time, with loads of miles underneath his belt at Sugo, to not point out back-to-back victories on the Suzuka 8 Hours for the Horsham Hurricane.
Kevin Magee received the 1987 spherical of the Formulation 1 Motorbike Championship at Sugo on a YZF750 and likewise claimed podium leads to the TBC (Tohuku Broadcasting System) Massive Race on the circuit on the YZR500.
Magee has some nice tales from Sugo about hot-rodding the Yamaha-supplied golf carts and rolling them, as soon as onto his passenger Warren Prepared and one other time onto Aaron Slight… Racing the likes of Pirovano, Goddard, Slight and Phillis from Sendai to Sugo in low-cost vehicles. Using a BW200 up within the hills behind Sugo to heat up his arms correctly earlier than races to assist stave off arm pump. To grabbing the knee of Aaron Slight to assist push himself ahead an inch to beat the Kiwi throughout the road at Sugo…
Sugo additionally performed a pivotal position in shaping the profession of Australia’s most profitable World Superbike racer. Troy Bayliss had his first-ever trip on the Manufacturing facility Ducati World Superbike at Sugo when he was referred to as as much as exchange the injured Carl Fogarty in early 2000. It didn’t precisely go to plan…
Troy Bayliss on Sugo
“My first ever trip on the Ducati World Superbike was there; it was additionally my first time on Michelin rubber. I acquired the decision to switch Carl Fogarty after he was injured, and I didn’t full a single lap in both of the races. Within the first race, I acquired caught up in a turn-one pile-up, and within the second race, Tamada took me out. After that, I assumed I’d by no means get on that bike once more, and at first, it regarded as if Ducati had been of that opinion. They put Luca Cadalora on it subsequent trip at Donington, which I assumed was unusual as I used to be coming from BSB and knew Donington, however anyway, Cadalora didn’t go too nicely. In order that they put me on the bike at Monza, a observe I didn’t know, however Cadalora did… You’ll have imagined it might have been the opposite manner round, however nonetheless, I managed to impress them at Monza (Troy made an unbelievable overtake of 5 riders in a single nook to take the race lead). As they are saying, the remainder is historical past…”
Steve Martin rode World Superbikes at Sugo within the early 2000s, however ten years earlier than that, the South Australian additionally rode a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 in F1 trim within the All-Japan Championship when he was 21.
Steve Martin on Sugo
“Again then (1990), it was a frightening circuit. Stuffed with partitions and blind corners, particularly in case you weren’t on the best rubber! If you happen to suppose Laguna Seca has some undulation, Sugo is on an entire new stage. I crashed 4 occasions in a single weekend there. Fuji Yoshimura put his fingers on my shoulders and mentioned Steve, in case you crash any extra, we don’t have any extra elements left. I believe Yoshimura discovered each picture of me on that bike and deleted it or erased it from their reminiscence, though Fuji nonetheless likes me… I additionally raced there in World Superbike again within the days when the manufacturing facility Japanese riders had actual Japanese manufacturing facility bikes, and boy, had been they arduous to beat. In the long run, end result at Sugo for me was having the ability to go away the circuit with out the Assist of a strolling stick!”
Chris Vermulen has some barely extra optimistic reminiscences of Sugo.
Chris Vermeulen on Sugo
“I keep in mind watching races on TV from Sugo as a child, my heroes like Slight, Edwards and Corser, nevertheless it was the Japanese wildcards that had been so particular there, Tamada involves thoughts. Once I went there racing WSS in 2001 for the primary time, I realised how technical it was and arduous to study with the entire blind corners, however whenever you acquired it proper, it was an incredible observe to trip, an old-fashioned circuit with actual character.”
Adam Fergusson was one other Aussie who acquired to pattern Sugo on World Supersport equipment in 2001, and Krusty additionally acquired to throw a leg over another particular issues whereas in Japan!
Adam Fergusson on Sugo
“Sugo was a kind of circuits that you simply both actually loved or hated. I fairly favored the place because the structure actually suited my model of flowing between the corners, and lots much less point-and-shoot model. I first minimize laps there on the finish of 2000 in a two-day check with HRC, after which raced within the World Supersport Championship at that location in 2001, however sadly crashed out from place. It was a really technical circuit, with a ton of elevation modifications that actually lent itself to precision driving. The floor may very well be a bit sketchy at occasions, and I tended to battle a bit exiting the ultimate chicane and navigating the lengthy hill to the end. That was the draw back of being barely greater than the opposition or simply being a fatty, as most would say. Sugo was my first actual expertise coping with HRC, as I assisted with the event of the 2001 Honda CBR600 World Supersport bike alongside Spain’s Pere Riba. They had been clearly pleased with my enter, as HRC invited me to Motegi the next week to have a play on a couple of of their different bikes. The Castrol Honda VTR1000 SP2 that Colin Edwards piloted, the Suzuka 8 Hour bike, Daijiro Kato’s (RIP) NSR250 and the one that may keep in my reminiscence for all eternity, Alex Criville’s title-winning NSR500V4!”
Because the equipment superior, so did the ability. A significant resurfacing in 2014 refreshed the street course. The motocross aspect gained a brand new foremost constructing, with extra grandstands arriving in 2017 and 2018. Entry was improved in 2019 with the development of a brand new tunnel from Sendai Airport. Current upgrades proceed to refine the advanced.
Younger Australian Hunter Corney on the grid at Sugo this yr within the second spherical of the 2025 Asia Pacific R3 Cup
Hunter Corney on Sugo
“It was so cool to race at Sugo realizing it was their fiftieth anniversary. It was a tricky weekend, although, due to my first time driving at that observe, and it’s a really difficult observe with the entire quick sweepers and blind crests. Every Session I discovered extra move and confidence and driving there. Jogged my memory precisely why I like this sport and need to maintain pushing for greater alternatives. The observe floor was tremendous easy, driving on the again straight by means of the bushes felt like driving by means of a forest, as a few of these bushes had been big after being there a really very long time. The whole lot felt actually clear, skilled and on one other stage. My favorite half was coming as much as and going underneath the massive Dunlop bridge, as I had ridden underneath it numerous occasions whereas enjoying on my Xbox within the lead-up to the occasion, after which doing it in actual life was fairly surreal. It was simple to see why everybody says Sugo is without doubt one of the finest tracks in Japan.”
What makes SUGO such a compelling problem is its topography. A fast lap calls for greater than outright velocity; it requires technique. The uphill foremost straight punishes gearing and tyres, whereas the downhill blast on the again straight flows into consecutive corners that reward groups who’ve labored out good mechanical grip and aero stability. SUGO is a rider’s and driver’s circuit, the place confidence builds slowly and errors are pricey.
Sugo additionally hosts occasions corresponding to this yr’s ‘My Yamaha Motorcycle Day‘. An occasion that MCNews.com.au was fortunate sufficient to attend and revel in this yr.
At this time, SUGO stays wholly owned by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and operated by SUGO Co., Ltd., with a transparent dedication to the following fifty years: to offer a stage for competitors and a laboratory for enchancment. The following chapter is already underway, that includes new pits, refreshed branding, and smarter operations. One factor that received’t change is the problem of a quick lap across the 3.6km hillside traditional.
The Format
- Size 3,621m (3,586m with out chicanes)
- Longest straight 704.5m
- Elevation change 69.83m; residence straight 10% gradient.
- Owned 100% by Yamaha Motor; established Might 1975
- Location 6-1 Sugo, Murata-machi, Shibata-gun, Miyagi.
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