Taiyo Aksu Interview
16-year-old Taiyo Aksu has been racing at a National level for the past two seasons, finishing third in both the ASBK Supersport 300 and Yamaha YZF R3 Cup categories here in 2022.
During his couple of years in the ASBK paddock Taiyo proved popular amongst his peers and always seemed to have a smile on his face and a cheerful disposition. It is those qualities, along with his speed on track, that will no doubt stand him in good stead for his new challenge.
This year, Taiyo has signed with a team in Japan to race in the All Japan Road Racing Championship, contesting the JP250 class as part of the bLU cRU efforts by Yamaha to get on terms with the dominant Honda efforts in the championship. This category allows much more extensive modifications than permitted in the ASBK Supersport 300 category. JP250 machines are of a similar spec to the Asian Road Racing Championship’s AP250 category where the bikes run bigger throttle bodies, head work, a free choice of ECU, improved cooling and lighter aftermarket wheels.
We touched base with Taiyo this week to find out how he is going on this exciting new journey.
Trev: So how did the move to Japan come about?
Taiyo Aksu: “Last year there was some talks about doing the Suzuka Four-Hour with a team over here, and that team also runs in the All Japan Championship, and one of the scouts you could say, they were in Australia and came out to watch me in Morgan Park in the 300 and thought I might be a good fit to do JP 250 class on the R3s. Yamaha was looking for a couple of riders to come, to nurture in Japan and bring up from a junior level, to an international spec of racing I guess.”
Trev: Tell us about that category in Japan, it runs as part of the Japan Road Racing Championship, as a support class, how many entrants have they been having of late?
Taiyo Aksu: “So first round there was 39 entrants I think, so it’s a pretty busy field, but this year competition is tougher than ever, even at the first round we were beating lap record pace by about a second. So that was a shock.”
Trev: Where was Round One?
Taiyo Aksu: “At Motegi.”
Trev: Nice circuit, and where next?
Taiyo Aksu: “Sugo, next month on the 20th [of May].”
Trev: I’m guessing if the team is looking for riders overseas, it would be a pretty good team, is that a good indication? How professional are the teams over there in that championship?
Taiyo Aksu: “They are top notch, this team is the number one satellite team for Yamaha in the Superstock category, and this year they’ve just started in the JP250 class as a Yamaha supported team as well, it’s another satellite team, but I’d say it’s one of the top teams in the competition, so I’m really excited to be where I am.”
Trev: And you are on a YZF-R3, is that right?
Taiyo Aksu: “So, the majority of the bikes over here, especially in my class, are mainly Honda, which is a very competitive bike over here, as you can see in the Asia Road Racing championship as well.
“Yamaha have introduced a bLU cRU program in Japan and have got six riders that they are bringing up through these satellite teams, so the bikes are provided by Yamaha.
“We are all running the same ECUs and they are taking all that data and analysing that I guess. And the rider that Yamaha believe is the fastest out of the six riders gets an opportunity to go further in this program.
“So it’s a bit of – we race on our own against the other Yamaha riders – but we are also trying to win in the JP250 championship.”
Trev: And how have you been going so far?
Taiyo Aksu: “First round was a bit difficult, first two days the team and I were getting the bike sorted, then qualifying didn’t go too bad, we qualified tenth, third out of the Yamahas.
“Then in the race, first I made my way up to fifth, lost a position to a Honda down the back straight and then into the first corner another Yamaha hit the back of my bike and sent me into a highside so, I tore AC joint in my right shoulder, so I’m still recovering from that, but will be back on the bike next week at Tsukuba.”
Trev: So you’re living and working in Japan this year?
Taiyo Aksu: “So I actually made the move, none of my family came with me, I’m living in a homestay, the rest of my family is back in Australia on the Gold Coast. I’m working six days a week, because I’m on a pretty tight budget, to help out as best I can.”
Trev: What are you doing for work?
Taiyo Aksu: “I work at a second hand car dealership, detailing cars and getting them all clean and ready for the showroom floor.”
Trev: Do you have any family links to Japan, or anything like that?
Taiyo Aksu: “Yeah, I’m half Japanese, so my mum is Japanese, and dad is Turkish, but mum’s family is over here. They don’t know that I race, probably a good idea. It’s not they are trying to hide it from them, it’s more we don’t want to stress them out. They knew I raced when I was a lot younger, when I first started and they thought it was so dangerous and kept asking me to stop. So we just told them I stopped, but I really didn’t.”
Trev: *Laughs* That’s hilarious. We miss your smiling face around the ASBK paddock. All the best for the rest of the season, we’ll touch base again after the next round or two perhaps.
Taiyo Aksu: “Thanks Trevor.”
