Having moved around different locations over the years, the X-JAM Takaifuji ski resort plays current host to the AAGP event as it sits less than an hour from JNCC’s home office in Nagano. The JNCC courses are a bit different than the mostly wooded GNCC racetracks as a JNCC course utilizes a lot of open grass track/ski slope areas and woods sections that are ribboned on both sides with dozens of single-track line choices cut out available to choose from. However, racing at a ski resort rather it’s in America or abroad means rocks are in play, and while X-JAM is not quite as rocky as the legendary Snowshoe GNCC, it still has its fair share of rocky areas which really gives it a true off-road feel. 

With GNCC attendees flying out of Pittsburgh, PA, Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC everyone came together in Newark, NJ for a 14-hour flight to Tokyo. When you leave around lunchtime on Wednesday and spend 14 hours flying, it ends up being late afternoon Thursday when you arrive in Tokyo. Friday morning is a whirlwind as you’re trying to adjust to the time difference, then also be up and ready early for a five-hour drive across Japan to begin prepping the race machines.

Yoshi Kawana serves as the guide for those GNCC attendees visiting Japan and does the same when the Japanese racers come to visit GNCC. He’s done this for many years and doesn’t think twice about picking up a van load of Americans and driving them to the other side of the country. In addition to the aforementioned racers and staff, Baylor would be accompanied by cousin and mechanic Trent Wood, while DeFeo’s father Frank would serve as his mechanic, and Witkowski was joined by mechanic Chase Miller and Witkowski’s better half Kaitlin Fisher. This made for a total of nine American attendees grouped together exploring the Japanese countryside.

After building and testing bikes on Friday afternoon, Saturday brought a bit of sightseeing as the group visited the Zenkoji Temple in Nagano. This temple dates as far back as the year 642, with the current main hall built in 1707. There are not many 1300+ year old buildings around, so seeing this thing firsthand is an absolute honor. From there, it was back to the racetrack for final preparations leading into Sunday’s race day.

Visiting Australian racer, Stefan Granquist, joined the GNCC crew Saturday night as well. Granquist made several JNCC starts in 2024 and actually won two rounds earlier in the season, so the Aussie is no stranger to the JNCC program. The GNCC attendees were treated to staying at Kamloops-Madarao lodge, a family-owned bed and breakfast style lodge built from logs imported from Kamloops, Canada. If you ever find yourself looking for lodging near the Madarao ski resort in Japan, Kamloops comes highly recommended!

Sunday would be race day. With Colby and I participating in the morning FUN-GP, which started at 9am, everyone was forced to be up and at the track early. The JNCC crew is so welcoming they introduced Colby and I during the starting lineup for the front row of the AM race, really giving us a true rockstar feel. After the riders meeting, the ten second call goes out from JNCC announcer Shigehiro Nakai while Masami readies the Japanese National flag. Masami lifts the flag and once it waves, we’re off and rolling. Just like last year, I got a pretty bad jump off the start and rounded the first turn somewhere mid-pack. Conditions were a bit hardpacked slick early, and couple that with limited time riding FIM-spec tires I sort of struggled on the first few turns of the first lap.

Colby on the other hand felt good off the start and worked his way up through the pack early. As several racers who got out front early made some minor mistakes here and there, I worked my way through the pack climbing up the mountain through the ski slopes on the first portion of the course. Colby had actually found his way into the overall lead at one point, but a little bobble let another racer by. As we hit the first woods section, which plays to my riding style, I clicked off a few more passes and even passed Colby just as we hit the slopes again over to additional long woods sections.

I rode around in the 2^nd and 3^rd place positions for a majority of the race until a mishap just before the one lap card. I had battled with Toyoki Nitta for 3^rd for around an hour and as we worked through lapped traffic, I picked one bad line and got held up long enough for him to get around me. I kept him in my sights through the next woods section but ended up falling trying to pass on an alternate line. Since I opted for the fanny-pack style hydration system, the hose was routed through 2 slits in the jersey which comes pre-cut on Moose Agroid jerseys to accommodate such hydration systems. Well, somehow the exposed section of hose from my waist up to mid-back became wrapped around the end of the handlebar and I was stuck to the bike as it was laying on the ground.

I struggled to get untangled, and once I finally got up the bike race wedged into a small sapling. I had lost a fair amount of time to Nitta and just couldn’t make it all back up before the checkered flag. When we came to the finish, I ended up 4^th place in the FUN-A class, and 5^th place overall. I was pretty happy with this as even though I ride sweep at all the GNCC events, and tool around the water truck roads at each Pro Motocross event, I haven’t raced since last year’s JNCC finale. Colby ended up going down pretty hard mid-race and broke his clutch lever. He rode for around an hour with just a nub for a clutch lever, which is pretty impressive! He ended the day 10^th in FUN-A and 30^th overall. He’s already plotting his next move on how to improve if he gets the chance to go racing in Japan again!

The pressure was off us normal Joes in the morning and on the real pros in the afternoon. The GNCC attendees are always favored to win, but the JNCC regulars are pretty darn fast as well. The previous JNCC event took place in a large sand quarry and was won by none other than the Japanese GOAT himself, 12-time All-Japan Motocross Champion, Akira Narita. Additionally, Kazuto Yano has been incredibly fast in the JNCC series and finished runner up to Baylor in 2023, even leading him for a portion of the race. Then there’s always the JNCC champ, Manabu Watanabe, who opted to ride the smaller 250cc machine in the AA2 class as he looked to wrap up a record-breaking 7^th JNCC championship.

After introducing the visiting racers to ecstatic JNCC fans, the ten seconds call would go out once again and the flag would fly one more time to start the race. The front row of the PM race consists of the combined AA1 (open) and AA2 (250cc) racers, where Ryo Uchijimi would get the jump off the line, snagging the holeshot ahead of Koji Kosuge and Yasuteru Kosuge. Witkowski and DeFeo would round the first turn just behind the lead trio, leaving Baylor fighting through the pack on the opening lap.

By the halfway point of the first lap, Witkowski had found his way into the lead ahead of Baylor while DeFeo led the AA2 class and held third place overall. This would pretty much set the tone for the majority of the race as these three would hold these spots for quite a while. Baylor had a decent crash and dropped to the third-place spot for a bit, and meanwhile Witkowski opened up a bit of a lead.

DeFeo, riding the smaller 250cc machine complete with stock motor and stock exhaust couldn’t quite keep up with Witkowski and Baylor’s 450s on the open ski slopes and eventually would lose sight of the lead duo. Regardless, he hung tight in the lead of the AA2 class and ran away from the rest of the field. While these guys controlled the top three spots, Kazuto Yano and Stefan Granquist would battle for the fourth-place spot throughout the race while Takataka Atsuta came from outside the top ten early to the sixth-place position.

Witkowski still held the lead into the final lap, but Baylor had made up a ton of ground and was right on Witkowski’s rear wheel when they took the one-lap card. A portion of the PM course utilized a long, steep, double black diamond ski slope downhill. Baylor, who said he closed his eyes and just held on, would make a pass stick on Witkowski and ride to the overall win. Witkowski would hold on for second, while DeFeo took the AA2 class win and third place overall.

Since the JNCC courses are shorter than the typical GNCC course, it’s not uncommon for top GNCC racers to lap high into the overall finishers. However, with Witkowski and Baylor pushing each other nearly as hard as they would at a GNCC event, they lapped all the way up to fourth place overall and put 12^th place overall two laps down! Fourth place overall and third in the AA1 class would go to Kazuto Yano while Stefan Granquist rounded out the top five overall, fourth in AA1. Manabu Watanabe would end up 2^nd place in the AA2 and seventh place overall, which would be good enough to wrap up his seventh JNCC championship.

With the race in the books, it would be back to Tokyo on Monday but first a pitstop at Mobility Resort Motegi, home to the Japanese round of MotoGP. The venue also features the Honda Collection Hall, a museum dedicated to Honda motorcycles, automobiles and other vehicles. After a fantastic dinner and exploring Monday night, the crew of attendees would time travel on Tuesday; leaving Japan around 6pm Tuesday evening, flying for 12+ hours and arriving back in the United States early afternoon on Tuesday.