DRRが好調！

今ホームステッドでテスト２日目が終わった所ですね。タイムチャートを見ると茂木で走るDreyer&Reinboldのマイクが良いタイムを出してきましたね！テストとは言えども、最後にしっかり纏めて来た所を見ると、チームの戦闘力がアップしている所を感じます！！今から茂木が楽しみです！！

Just ended the second day of testing at Homestead. I was really surprised to see the DRR driver Mike Conway in 8th. I think the team has really stepped up during the winter and I can' wait to get back in to the car!!

去年走ったBECKは３Gと言うチーム名に変更して、ドライバーには知り合いのスタントンが走っています。最初のテストは無事に終わり、最下位に終わってしまいましたが、今後はどんどん伸びて行くでしょう。でも改めてエンジニアの力によってチーム力が変わる事を実感する一日でした。ここだけの話、去年は助っ人で日本から某GTチャンピオンチームのエンジニアがお手伝いに来てくれたのですが、もう一日あれば予選も余裕でクリアーできる車が作れたんですよね。そんな悔しい思いも今年のレースにぶつけるぞ〜！！

The team I drove last year Beck Motorsports is now called 3G Racing and my buddy Stanton is driving for them. They safely ended their two...or three days of testing and although they are at the bottom of the speed chart, I'm sure they will get better as he they get more acquainted with the car. It just shows how competitive the IRL is and how important the engineering staff is to the team. I actually had one of my buddy who is an engineer for the Best All Japan GT team in Japan come to the 500 last year day before the bump day. He has helped so much that I'm sure I would have made the field if we had another day. I guess that's an excuse for not making the field but I will just need to go out there again and prove that we can get the job done!!

テスト開始

ついにホームステッドでのオープンテストが始まりましたね！ながい、オフシーズンも終わりようやくスタートって感じです。で、自分もこのテストに足を運びたかったのですが、懐が寒い＆５００の営業活動に専念しなくてはいけなかったので、今回は断念・・・。

Finally the Indy Car season is on the way! I can't believe it's almost been 6 months since the Indy Car has been on track all at once. Very excited to see the car on track although I am not there physically... I really wanted to attend the test but decided not to since I have more work to do trying to put deals together for the 500.

でも、やっぱりインディーカーが動いているのを見ちゃうと身体がムズムズしちゃいますね！！しかも、IndyJapanを一緒に戦うDreyer&Reinboldのドライバーのマイクはボチボチの滑り出し！！できるだけ、現場に行ってチームの動きをみたいな〜・・・。（泣）

It's pretty interesting with all the shuffling of the drivers. I'm also happy to see that the DRR driver Mike Conway is doing well first time on the oval. I'm sure they are being some what conservative now since he is a rookie on an oval. I regret not being there watching the car on my computer monitor...but will have to give my best effort getting things moving forward for 500 since thing are real tough these days,...

山本優弥選手

昨日のIndyJapanの正式な参戦発表をしてから、沢山のファンからの応援メールが届いて朝から気合いが入ってしまいました！ジムに行ってがっつりトレーニングして体調もバッチリです。

After the the official announcement for the Indy Japan race, I started to receive tons of fan mails congratulating me for being able to get back in the car. It certainly makes me happy and was really hyped up when I hit the gym first thing in the morning!

昨日は日本でK-1 World Maxの試合が行われたみたいですね。僕の知っている山本優弥先週は決勝まで行き、最後は残念ながら小比類巻選手に負けてしまいましたが、かなりのガッツを感じました！！試合にいきたかったな〜！でも、知り合いが頑張っているのを見ると、良い意味で刺激されますね！！自分も改めて気合いが入りました！！

When I got home, I searched on line to see the results from the K-1 World Max tournament that was held last night. My buddy Yuya Yamamoto made to the final but lost the tournament to Kohiruimaki who has been around for a while... Obviously I was bummed to see the results but I think he really did great going in to the tournament as an underdog and to come out as vice champ! I will definitely look forward to seeing his next match!!

Indy Japan参戦決定！

皆さん、ようやく茂木の参戦が決定しました！去年の５００が終わってから、ず〜っと交渉してようやくIndyJapanの参戦は同意ができました。まだ５００の話はこれからで、茂木に向けてもする事は沢山ありますが、９月のレースに向けて早い時期に参戦がきまって何よりです！！

I finally have some great news for you guys!! I have been negotiating for a drive since after the 500 last year and we are finally signed a deal for the Indy Japan race in Sept. The 500 is coming up shortly and I still have a lot of work for the Indy Japan race but I am just really happy to secure a deal this early for a race later in the season.

去年は茂木＆５００両方とも悔しいレースの内容だったので、今年は楽しみです！参戦するチームは０５年と０７年に走ったDreyer&Reinbold。このチームとは仲も良くチームオーナーは自分に取ってインディアナポリスのパパみたいなもんです。今年はエンジニアリングスタッフも強化して、去年のIndyJapanで良い走りをみせていたVisionRacingのデータも持って来ているので、茂木は期待できると思います！！その前に５００があるので、ホッとしているのも束の間でまだまだする事がいっぱいあります！しかし、何よりも今年もファンの皆さんにお会いできるのが楽しみです！！

Since the results from last year was not what I was hoping for nor doesn't show my ability as a driver...I really wanted to go back with a competitive team this year and I am sooOO happy that I am back with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing who I drove for in 05 and 07. The team has strengthen the engineering staff over the winter and I think they will be pretty strong at Motegi since they have some good data from last year with the new engineer that is on board. I really want to thank Dennis Reinbold on being able to give me this opportunity and he is like my father in Indianapolis. Again, there are a yet a lot of work to be done before the race but I am really looking forward to being back in the car as well as getting things sorted for Month of May!!

辛っ！

今日は午前中はミーティング。午後はジムでトレーニング。家に戻って来て夕方まで色々と仕事をしていたらあっと言う間に一日が終わってしまいました。今は小腹がすいたので、母親が買ってきてくれたお煎餅を堪能。柿の種に唐辛子がまぶされていて、メチャ辛だけど、激ウマです！これ、お薦めです！！

I had a meeting in the morning to discuss about some future plans, and than came home and off to the gym after lunch. I needed to get some work done all afternoon and this week is already over...!?! I'm a bit hungry so decided to get a quick snack to satisfy my stomach. My mom brought me some rice cracker with chili powder and these are really hot but reallyX2 good!!

あとちょいです。

ず〜っと続けて来た交渉がようやく纏まりそうです。連日チームとの連絡を取り合い、ようやく細かい部分の話し合いまで前進しました。今の時点ではIndyJapanは纏まりあとは引き続き５００に向けての交渉＆スポンサー活動を続行しないと。が、まずIndyJapanの参戦については近日中に発表できそうです！今年もまた応援しに来て下さいね！！＆待ちに待った発表も楽しみにしてて下さい！！

Things are moving forward rapidly and I think we will have a good announcement to make by Monday. I have been in touch with the team the last couple of days working out the details and we are in the final touches. Indy Japan is looking good but still working on the 500 program and will have some serious work to do on that end. Nevertheless, I am very happy to get something on to the plate that we can proceed with. Well for now, stay tuned for my racing plans which will be announced shortly!!

ブログサボっちゃいました・・・。

３日前に朝起きてネットをしようとしたら、何故か繋がらない・・・。メールチェックをしても、アカウントがおかしい・・・。早速プロバイダーの電話番号を調べて電話をしようと思ったら、な〜んとプロバイダーのサイトがなくなったる〜！？！色々と調べて電話番号をゲットしても、回線が繋がらず夜逃げか〜と思いパニクり状態。が、翌日になるとネットは普通に回復してメールも使えるようになりました。あれは、いったいなんだったんだろう！？！ちなみにまだ、プロバイダーの電話は繋がりません。

I woke couple of days ago and the internet was down. I tried to check my e-mail and something was going crazy with my e-mail account. I went on line using my iPhone and tried to check the phone number for my internet provider and found out that their website was also down!?! I found their phone number and called them but the phone line was disconnected. For a second I though the company went belly up...but decided to wait a day to find out what was going on. Woke up the next day and the service was back up and their website is back up too...but the phone line still disconnected. I don't know what happened but am content for now for having the service back on.

と言う事を理由にここ数日間の間はブログをさぼってしまいました。が、色々と話は順調に進んでいます。でも、ネットがダウンすると本当に困りますね。仕事が進まなくなってしまうので。そろそろ、違う所と契約しようかな・・・？！？

Well, that is my excuse for not updating last couple of days. The good news is, all this time that I have been of the line, I managed to get things moving forward and I am really close on getting a deal secured. May be it's a good thing not to rely on internet so much huh?!?

交渉は順調

今日も朝一にジムでトレーニング。お昼は家で食べて、午後は電話でチームと連絡を取り合って、交渉はスムーズに進んでいます。が、今年はインディ−５００の方が先で茂木が後なので、今までとは違う形での話の進め方となるのでちょっと苦戦しています。が、話は前進しているので一安心です！

As usual, went to the gym in the morning for 2hr circuit training, and back home for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon on the phone talking and negotiating the race deal for this season. Since the Motegi race has been pushed back to Sept now...the dynamic has changed quite a bit on trying to make the 500 and Japan race as a package deal. However, things are moving forward smoothly and hope to be able to have things wrapped up in next 10 days!!

また冬？

１月中旬からは夏日和だったロスも、ここ数日間はメチャメチャ寒いです。今日も朝一でジムに行ってトレーニング。寒いとウォームアップをしっかりしないと怪我をしてしまうので、入念にウォームアップ。

Although we had great weather during Jan, it feels like we are back to winter again with the rain and the chilly weather during last couple of days. I guess the forecast is not so great during this week... The weather doesn't affect my excuse to be away from the gym and was there first thing in the morning. You really need to warm up well when it's cold because you can get injured from working out with out being ready!!

午後は息子を公園に連れて行き、スーパーによって帰宅。子供が寝ている間にガッツリ仕事をして、今から夕飯です！今夜はミーティングがあります・・・。２月もあっと言う間に終わってしまいそうなので、急ピッチで話を進めないと！！

Was back from the gym before lunch and went to the park with my son and picked up some groceries after lunch. While my son is napping, I had to get a lot of work done and off to a dinner meeting now. Seems like a real busy day...

ジムでトレーニング

週末からロスは天気が崩れて、今日も雨。珍しくジャケットを着ないと寒いくらいです・・・。今日は朝一でジムに行き１０kmのランニング。１月中のトレーニングはちょっとサボリ気味だったのですが、体調は良くて１０kmもあっと言う間に走りにいてしまいました。

The weather here in LA has been bad for last couple of days and it is still raining...well actually snowing in the higher elevation. I guess we needed some rain so that's a good thing for the city. Anyhow, I started my day early at the gym for a 10km run and came home just in time for lunch.

午後は試乗で借りていた日産マキシマを返却して家に戻って来てから仕事をしました。インディー５００と茂木参戦に向けて引き続き交渉をしていますが、ようやく茂木の方は具体化してきそうです。が、個人的には何が何でも５００の話をまとめなくてはいけないので、全力で頑張らないと！！

After lunch, I went to drop off the Nissam Maxima which I had over the week end for test drive to write an article which I had to finish last night. Once I got home, I started to make some phone calls to negotiate my deal for 500 and Motegi. Things for Motegi is looking great but I really need to lock the 500 in since it is just around the corner... It will take some work but I am 100% committed to race there again and hope to be able to lock something in real soon!!

イタリアン

この３日間は親父が来ていました。息子も大喜び。しかも、親父が来ると家でイタリア料理を作ってくれるので、美味しいご飯も沢山食べちゃいました。家の親父はイタリアン大好きで、以前GQの雑誌に年間３００日イタリアンを食べる男と特集された事もあります。（笑）でも、食べるだけではなくて美味しいレストラン並みに料理ができる所が凄いんです！！自分も最近は料理をしていないから、また久しぶりに包丁を持たないと感覚が鈍るな・・・。

My dad was in town for last 3days so I was pretty busy taking him around to get all his shopping done. He has 6 Grand Children now including my son and daughter so that keeps him busy going to the mall and buying all the clothing for the kids since they grow so fast. The best part of having my dad in town is that he cooks great Italian food for us while his stay. He loves Italian food so much that he got an interview from GQ Japan last year as a person who eats Italian 300days per year. I got some recipe from him while trying to cook Italian food and will need to return to the kitchen one of these days to horn my cooking skills!!

妻のグリーンカード

今日は長い一日でした。朝６時に起きて、８時から妻のグリーンカードの事についてオフィッスに行ってきました。１年前に申請のインタビューも終わり、グリーンカードを認可されたのにも関わらず、肝心なカードが１年経っても届かないので、いったいどうなっているのか確認に行ってきました。

It was a long day today. It started at 6am since we had to go to the Federal Building to get an update on my wife's Green Card. For some reason, we were approved a year a go but still waiting for the actual card and it was about time to see what was going on. I bet they lost all the paper work which is a common thing I hear. It is quite amazing to see how disorganized they are and they are really in need to for some budgets to update their system as well as people....

しかし、本当に政府のオフィッスはモタモタしていていらいらします。しかも、妻のケースに関してはどうなっているのか、向こうもわからないみたいで・・・。恐らく書類をなくしたんでしょうけど・・・、それを認めない所がまたムカッ！？！とりあえず、弾丸トークでどうにかしてくれと、頼み込み大至急チェックしてもらっています。いや〜しかし、２時間待たされて子供もイライラしてきて、自分もイライラしてきて精神的に疲れる１日でした。

Well...it was a real long wait and my son was frustrated and I was irritated and was a very very stressful day. On a good note, my dad is coming in town tomorrow so my son will have someone to play with!!

豆まき

今朝は息子を幼稚園におくりにいき、その時に今日は豆まきをする事を発覚。親も見学できるイベントで、妻に話をしたらぜひ見たいと言う事で、ダッシュで家に戻り妻と娘を連れて息子の豆まきを見学。大きな庭の真ん中で地味〜に豆まきをしていましたが、楽しんでいました。

Got up early in the morning and took my son to the pre-school. I found out that there was an event today at the school in which the parents can watch their child. I phoned my wife and she wanted to see my son so I had to drive all the way back to Downtown and back to Torrance to see my son throw beans at the devils. It's an event called Setsubun in which the kids gets to throw beans at the devils to wish an maintain good health.

午後は家に戻り仕事をし、夕方はジムでトレーニング。ここ数日間は日本からの、問い合わせで色々とサーチをしたり大変でしたがようやく話が落ち着きそうです。しかし、色んな所に電話をして交渉をするのは慣れているので、レースで鍛えられたノウハウは違う仕事でも活躍しています！？！（笑）

Came back home for the afternoon to get some work done. I have been searching for a car to export in Japan which has been taking up much of my work time lately. The negotiation tactics calling and talking to the teams has certainly helped me getting the deal done with the car dealers!?! I think the deal is done where I can put the project to rest now...

もう２月ですね。

うひゃー、気がついたら２月ですね。１月って何したっけ・・・？って思ってしまう程に時間が経つのは早い。しかも、週末はあっと言う間に終わってしまった〜・・・。（泣）

Wow...it's already Feb!?! Can you believe that?? It feels like there was no Jan.... The time just keeps flying huh?!? Well, may be that's what we need so the economy may pick up faster!!

今日はピットをお風呂にいれて、お風呂掃除をして午後はずっと息子と遊んであげました。大きくなるに連れてアクティブになり、体力もありあまっているので、沢山遊ばないとストレスがたまるみたいです。が、そうすると、なかなか仕事に手がつかないので大変・・・。子育てって大変ですね。

Today, I bathed Pit since it was about time and cleaned the Bathroom since my dad is coming in town this week. Through out the afternoon, I played with my son. As my son gets older and bigger, he is getting active and the play time seems to expand where it is turning out as an work out for me!?! It's great to spend some time with my son, but the downside is, it is hard to work especially if you are in middle of work....may be I need an office away from home soon!?!