Japanese Mud Bath

Jeremy Martin Conquers the Land of the (Missing) Rising Sun.

- Donn Maeda

In the ’80s and ’90s, it was common for an American rider or two to contest the All Japan National MX Championship full-time. Brought in as “ringers” of sorts, riders such as Steve Martin, Ed die Warren, Ron Tichenor, and Jeff Matiasevich racked up champion ships in Japan in the twilight of their careers. Not since Kyle Lewis’ title for Suzuki in ’99, however, has a US rider been solicited to spend a season abroad, but it is still fairly common for racers from the AMA or FIM championships to be invited to compete in a single race hereand there. This is most often for the  debut a new production machine, or to bring some added excitement to the MFJ season finale, which traditionally goes down well after the conclusion of the AMA National and MXGP championships.