緊急募集！レーサー宇井陽一の機材トラック盗難からレース参戦へ

Help Us Replace our Stolen Motorcycle Race Gear and Raise Racing Fund. 
 

Youichi Ui, Motorcycle Racer

 

Hi, I am Youichi Ui, a motorcycle road racer.

I started racing 27 years ago, primarily I participated in the All Japan Road 
Race Championship. For 9 years from 1996 to 2005, I participated in the World Championships, before returning to race in the All Japan Road Race Championships.

In addition to activities as a rider, I have been coaching and developing ride
rs since I started participating in the World Championship.  I am currently working as a coach, engineer and director of both Asian Road Racing Championship and All Japan Road Racing Championship teams.

 

 

 

● How We Lost Our Truck and Gear

Our truck was stolen on the day we departed for Malaysia for the opening of the Asia Road Racing Championship. 

We were preparing for the All Japan Road Race Championship until the night of March 2nd.  On the morning of March 3rd, the mechanics and I were gathered at the garage and discovered that the truck with the equipment needed for the race had been stolen.

 

I prepared a report of the damage in the garage at the last minute.  I checked in for the flight at the airport only 40 minutes before the flight. To be honest, the idea of not going to Malaysia went through my mind for a moment. However, for the sake of Yamaha Thailand, the team I am a director of, and the team members who were waiting for me, I had no choice but to go.

I decided that I could handle the robbery case even while I was overseas and got on the plane. Of course, I was filled with anxiety, but was encouraged to go by many people who gave me advice. While I were in Malaysia, I kept supplying information on the truck to those who were helping us. At the same time, I asked TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) to report the incident on their TV channel, which resulted in other TV channels broadcasting the news. I am grateful for all the great cooperation received from TV stations and newspaper publishing companies in spreading the news which captured broad attention.

The police also put in a lot of effort to find our truck, but unfortunately it
 has not been found yet. A small amount of racing equipment was found, but most of it were burnt, to destroy the evidence I assume, and were in no state to be used.

 

 

 

● What the Loss of Equipment Means to Us

 

In the truck, there was everything we need to race, including our racing equipment, spare parts and tools I have collected, one by one over many years. They were our team assets. It is not only a matter of money, there were many things that are not manufactured anymore or otherwise difficult to obtain. For example, there is a motorcycle part called a transmission. This is a very important piece of equipment which transmits power to the bike smoothly. In order to accommodate in many racing circuits and racing situations, I had a wide variety of transmissions. Some of them are not available any more, and now I’ve lost them all. 

In the world of motorcycle racing, we compete for 0.001 second advantages. To obtain that advantage, it is necessary to pay attention and respond to changes by combining detailed components and parts. These details make abig difference. This is why I have a motto "Be particular about the details and do a precise job” and have been racing for a long time as a professional racer. However, I lost my precious race system that I built up over many years in one night.

 

Initially I was busy coping with the incident as well as racing at the Asia Ro
ad Racing Championship, hoping to find the truck. However, as some time has passed, and as the possibility of the truck to be found has faded, it’s time for me to think what I should do for the future.

 

At first, I did not know what to do and could not calm down enough to think of a plan. I also wondered if we asked for favors, would we be able to return those favors? 

 

 

 

● The Reason I Want to Race Competitively Again 

During the time since when the incident occurred, I have been encouraged by so many people.  They say "I still want to see Mr. Ui's racing" and "Don't end your career like this." The more I listen to everyone’s warm voices who support me, I came to think “I have to keep racing” and “I have to complete my work as a professional.”

 

For the past 11 years, I have received support from sponsors as well as invested my private property to manage my own "rider development team." I have continued this activity because I want riders to race under the best conditions as well as to stimulate motorcycle racing more by developing good riders.

I have also been working on tire development for Dunlop for 16 years. Races involve risks because tires under development are used. However, I have continued serve my profession because I am grateful to Dunlop who have been supporting me for many years and have a passion to make good tires and support riders to race better as well as making races interesting.

 

 

When I started racing 27 years ago, I was racing only for myself.

Then, as I continued racing for many years, I started to feel strongly that I 
wanted to return something to the road racing world that gave me meaning to life.

 

I continued 2 activities that are “developing riders" and "making good tires
” because I want to contribute to the racing world by continue to be a professional rider and to make people out there happy.

 

I can not stop this halfway.

I have another motto on racing. That is "Once I am on the grid and the race is started, I will try to do my best to race creatively and never give up." I ca
n not retire from this race of my life, not halfway. Thus, I made up my mind t
o find a way to continue. 

 

 

 

● Future Activities 

The All Japan Road Racing Championship starts on April 6th. The first round at Twin Ring Motegi is on April 6th and 7th. For this round, although we don’t have enough funding or equipment, because I want at least our riders to participate in the race, I have borrowed the equipment for them from the people around us. Although I won’t be able to participate in the Motegi round, I would love to participate in the second round, the Sugo round. I would like to ask your support for me to participate in the second round. 

 

 

 

● What I Would Like to Ask

I would like to set our goals in 2 stages. 

 

Goal 1: Fund participation in the All Japan Road Race Championship Sugo Rd. (on May 25th and 26th) (6.20 million yen: 5 million yen + Readyfor fee)

 

This is the minimum funds to prepare the equipment to resume the race activities for now. This includes funds for a truck, generators, wheels, brake disks, brake master cylinders, tire warmers, partition, lighting equipment and spare parts.

 

Goal 2: Fund continued racing activities throughout the season. (9.84 million yen: 8 million yen + Readyfor fee)

This funding will allow us to continue our racing activities for a season simi
lar to the previous structure. (One season's worth of spare parts, additional 
wheels for tire development, tire warmere's stands, fairings,spare front fork,
 etc that were on the stolen truck.)

 

Although it is a tough situation, I want to fulfill the mission given to me un
til the end. After the incident, people supported me and said "Please don’t g
ive up” which gave me a lot of energy and motivation to tackle this challenge
. I don’t know how I can repay the support I have received from many sponsors including Dunlop, DENSO, people who have been racing with me for many years and all the other people who are supporting me.  I have always pursued the goal of racing well and I don’t want to end my racing career in this way.

I would sincerely like to ask your favor and support for me to continue my journey.

 

41 Planning Youichi Ui

 

 

 

Contact

Please kindly contact 41planning.project@gmail.com to make your donation.

 

or 

Please kindly check the donation guide below.

 

 

 

 

 

▼Youichi Ui - Profile

1992  Started road racing
1994  Participated in All Japan Road Racing Championship
1995  Won the Championship in All Japan Road Racing Championship GP125
1996  Started participating in World Championship
1999  Became an ace rider of Derbi, Spanish manufacturer of motorcycles
2000 and 2001
     2nd in Road Racing World Grand Prix (WGP) GP125 Acquired 22nd successive 
front row at this championship
Result at World Grand Prix:  11-time Champion, 6-time 2nd, 6-time 3rd and 17-t
ime pole position

125cc MotoGP(2004 JapanGP), 250cc (2007 JapanGP)、
The only Japanese rider who acquired points at all classes.

2006  Participated in All Japan Road Racing Championship
2007  Won the Championship in All Japan Road Racing Championship GP250
2009  Won the Championship in All Japan Road Racing Championship GP250