Date: Tuesday 23 December 2008
Venue: Tama Tech, Tokyo

 Yesterday saw the EUMSC Karting Championship head to Japan for its mid-season non-championship exhibition round, held at the Honda-owned Tama Tech circuits on the outskirts of Tokyo. With only pride and no points at stake, many of the series regulars opting to sit out the long-haul leg, however former EUMSC club champion Leslie Mabon made the long trip and was greeted by a huge crowd at Tokyo's Narita Airport (unfortunately, all but one member of the crowd were actually awaiting the arrival of Manchester United for the world club championship, whose flight was due to touch down only twenty minutes later).

Having braved the cold, and the traffic leaving Edinburgh, we eventually arrived only a half hour late for some Xtreme karting in Falkirk. After skating our way into the reception area, a quick look at the track led to some instant praise, the bridge and underpass looking particularly interesting. 

The safety briefing video was one of a kind, and a good thing too...otherwise who’d have known how many people would have struggled to get into, or been black flagged for sticking their legs out of, the karts. Eventually,some practising was underway, and there was action from the off. Despite the no-competition situation, there were still a large number of contretemps negotiating the tricky braking on the descent from the bridge. However, that was nothing compared to happenings as the evening wore on.