The Rain Gods Descend on Suzuka! Mizuno shows overwhelming speed [2025 All Japan Road Race Final Round Report

Photo/Text/Hiroshi Nakamura.

After Katsuyuki Nakasuga won his 13th championship in the previous round in Okayama, the focus of the JSB1000 class was "runner-up," or the battle for second place in the ranking. An extraordinary rain man appeared on the scene, saying, "I have always been good in the rain--.

Just when you thought the actors were all here: ......

The All Japan Road Race has finally reached its final round. In the opening round of this season, Ryo Mizuno (DUCATI TEAM KAGAYAMA) took a solo victory, but Katsuyuki Nakasuga (YAMAHA FACTORY RACING) returned the favor with a double win in the second round in Sugo, while Mizuno was out injured. After the Suzuka 8 Hours, Shumitsu Uramoto (Auto Race Ube Racing Team) scored a double win, and Nakasuga won all three races in the following two rounds, Autopolis and Okayama, where Uramoto was absent due to his participation in the Bordeaux d'Or. Nakasuga won all three races in the following two rounds from Autopolis to Okayama, where he was absent due to Uramoto's participation in the Bordeaux d'Or. Even if Mizuno or Uramoto won, Nakasuga would always finish in second place - this certainty, with five victories and no laps lost, was the deciding factor in Nakasuga's championship victory. In the final round, Uramoto, returning from Bordeaux, and Mizuno, who has made a full-fledged recovery from his injury, were all expected to face Nakasuga in a grueling battle that would be fought without regard for points. However, in the pre-run on Thursday, Nakasuga, who marked the top overall time, crashed. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured, but he cancelled Friday's run and marked the 2nd fastest time in Saturday's official qualifying session. With Uramoto in pole position, Nakasuga in 2nd, and Mizuno in 3rd, the front row was the same top three for both races of the two-race final round. When I met him on Saturday morning, he said, "Are you hurt? I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm just a little sore. I'm just a little sore." Nakasuga was smiling, but he didn't look like he was "a little sore" as he walked with a limp. Nakasuga must have been looking forward to the first battle between Uramoto and Mizuno, who had not raced in three races and had recovered from his injury. However, after qualifying on Saturday, the race was rained out. At the time of the sighting lap when the riders pitted out and got on the grid, the course was still only slightly wet due to drizzle, and while the riders stayed on the grid, the track surface gradually became wetter. While the riders stayed on the grid, the track gradually became wetter. While many riders changed from dry tires to wet tires on the grid, Nakasuga started his warm-up lap on slick tires. The crowd was in an uproar, but after one lap, Nakasuga went straight to the pits. Nakasuga had to withdraw from the race. Driving on a wet track when you are injured, especially when your lower body is not able to stand up on your feet, is really dangerous. I think Nakasuga and the team made the right decision.

In Race 1 on Saturday, it was Mizuno who took off at the start. Uramoto was chased by Tetsuta Nagashima (DUNLOP Racing with YAHAGI), Takuya Tsuda (Team Suzuki CN Challenge), Satoru Iwata (Team ATJ), and Kota Nosane (Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing) in third and later, but the top two were too fast! In the opening lap, Uramoto passes Mizuno at one point, but Mizuno quickly overtakes him and settles into the lead. The 1-2 formation of Mizuno and Uramoto was, in other words, a battle between Ducati and BMW. Around the first three laps of the race, the battle for third became more intense, and the order was Iwata, Nagashima, Tsuda, and Hiura, with Honda and Suzuki battling it out here. As expected, Mizuno's Ducati and Uramoto's BMW were able to pull away from the rest of the pack, not unrelated to the base performance of their machines, especially their superior traction control. In particular, both Mizuno's Panigale V4R and Uramoto's M1000RR have JSB-spec power units that are equivalent to works machines. The electronic control system should be the same as the machines competing for the top position in WSBK. Mizuno was by far the fastest driver in the race, and Uramoto in second place was unable to catch him. As the rain gradually got heavier and heavier, some drivers started to fall down, and the race was red-flagged and ended without completing the scheduled 14 laps. Mizuno took the win by over 6 seconds over Uramoto, with Uramoto in 2nd place and Daijiro Hiura (Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda) in 3rd place after a fierce battle for 3rd place.

The day after tomorrow, it rained again on Sunday. Then again, ......

Sunday was wet from the morning, with more rain than Saturday. Many riders were not able to cope with the change from the dry track from Thursday to Friday to the wet on Saturday, but after experiencing the wet race in Race 1 on Saturday, they were able to check the setting for the rain in Free Practice on Sunday morning. Incidentally, Nakasuga also missed this Race 2. Uramoto, who had lost an overwhelmingly large lead to Mizuno in Race 1 on Saturday, also went to Race 2 with a different set-up. In the morning warm-up session, Uramoto marked the top time. Although Uramoto said he had no experience driving in the rain on his beloved M1000RR, he quickly adjusted his rain settings. In the morning warm-up run, Mizuno was in second place, and these two were almost 1.5 seconds ahead of Iwata in third place. This warm-up session was a sure sign that the race would be a repeat of Race 1, with Mizuno and Uramoto running alone if the track conditions remained the same.

And in Race 2, that hunch proved true. Mizuno was again in the lead, with Uramoto in second, but Uramoto was still unable to catch Mizuno, which, if Mizuno and Uramoto's performances as riders were equal, could mean that Ducati's rain settings and traction control were superior to BMW's. Ducati's rain setting and traction control may be superior to BMW's. Mizuno started to pull away from Uramoto as early as in the first few laps, but a safety car was called on the track after a rider crashed out. However, when the safety car went off the course and the race resumed, Mizuno was once again in the lead. In the end, Mizuno pulled nearly 10 seconds ahead of Uramoto to take the double win in the final race. Mizuno has now won the final round three years in a row with Honda in 2011, and with Ducati in 2012-25, and has closed out the 2025 season with six consecutive wins in the final MFJ Grand Prix over the course of three years. In second place for the second consecutive race was Uramoto, followed by Nosane in third. In fourth and lower positions were Iwata, Keito Abe (SDG Team Hulk Pro Honda), making his second consecutive appearance as a substitute for the injured Teppei Nagoya, Nippura, who finished third in Race 1, Shin Atsumi (Yoshimura SERT MOTUL), Tsuda, Nagashima, and Taro Sekiguchi (SANMEI Team TARO Plus One), who crashed at the last minute in Race 1, finished in the top 10. I am happy to win both of the final races. I don't think I'm particularly good at racing in the rain, but this week, Uramoto was still very fast in the dry sessions from Thursday to Friday, and with two days of rain, I think the weather may have played a role in my victories. Actually, my first win was in a rain race, both in the minibike and in the All-Japan. This time, I was able to ride with confidence," said Mizuno. If it had not been for the rain, Uramoto would have been faster, Mizuno would have recovered from his injury to what extent, and how Nakasuga would be involved in the race, was the unanimous view of all concerned, and I believe that rain led Mizuno to the lead. Nevertheless, under champion Nakasuga, second place in the ranking is Ducati + Mizuno, and third is BMW + Uramoto. The riders in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th positions in the ranking of Mizuno, Uramoto, and Nozane, which were settled in the final round, were awarded points and positions after two races for Mizuno, four races for Uramoto, and three races for Nozane with no point races. In the JSB1000 class this season, out of a total of 30 riders who earned points, only champion Nakasuga and Kazuki Ito (Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda), who finished 5th in the ranking, earned points in all races, a low figure. With Japanese cars exposed to the strength of Ducati and BMW, the season left us feeling that the level of Japan's top category has never risen. Although it has not been decided yet, Uramoto will not be able to participate in all the races in the 2026 season because the Auto Race Ube Racing Team is planning to fully enter the World Endurance Race, and the season will be a battle between Nakasuga and Mizuno, but how far Nozane will be able to hold off, and how far Ito will be able to show his strength in addition to his certainty. The focus of the season will be on how far Nosane can hold off Nakasuga vs. Mizuno, how much strength Ito can show in addition to his certainty, and how far Nagashima can improve the performance of Dunlop tires. To the gallery (10)