The trip to the circuit took about 30 minutes and the road was wonderful and twisted through heavy forest. I really enjoyed my wake up drive. I had high expectations for the race because without doubt, I had the very best car: Alfa Romeo 8C Monza.

It was so generous of Mr. Hayashi to have invited me on this adventure. I wanted to be sure to repay him with a really good performance in the race. The Japanese were really new to the sport of historic car racing and their events were more about showing off their great cars than wheel to wheel racing, but a few had shown a good burst of speed.

There were lots of spectators in the stands and around the circuit so there was a great audience to play to. The Japanese love motorsport and have some very accomplished home-grown drivers and constructors. Mr. Hayashi had his pink Porsche 935 entered in the six-hour race and as I mentioned earlier had engaged Bob Wollek and Henri Pescarolo to drive it. I was lucky to spend a lot of time with them as we were the hired guns for the weekend and were kept together.
Henri was a very interesting man as was his wife Maddie. They were lovers of miniature banzai trees and they spent all their spare time looking for these in the shops and bought some to take back to Paris.

The historic race for me was scheduled to be run an hour before the 6-hour. We assembled on the pre-grid in order of qualifying with me and the Alfa Romeo 8C Monza on the pole. We then drove out onto the circuit and placed our cars in the appropriate starting slots. The Japanese played their national anthem and the day’s racing program was ready to begin.

After a sighting lap, we lined up for the standing start which was initiated by the dropping of the Japanese flag. I made a demon start and by the end of the start straight had a huge lead. There honestly weren’t any real competitors for me and the Hayashi Alfa Romeo 8C Monza. The race was a 10 lap affair and when the checkered flag was waved I had lapped the whole field of 30 cars. I had noticed that I was receiving a lot of attention from the spectators who were on their feet, clapping and waving. I was putting on a good show for them. I don’t think that they had ever seen the wheels being driven off on old racing car and the continuous sliding was a real spectacle. They were very appreciative of their American showman.

After the race when I pulled into the victory circle. Standing there was Mr. Hyashi and Taki-san and they rushed up to greet me and they were shouting “Griswold – san is Champion!” I thought this was really great. I loved their enthusiasm.

That night I was driven back to Tokyo and once again deposited in the New Otani Hotel. I had a wonderful Kobe beef steak which was the most expensive piece of meat I ever ate at 150 euro. These were the times when Tokyo was the most expensive city in the world. I remember being told that the accumulated value of all Tokyo real estate was more than all of the USA. Shortly after this the bubble burst!

The following morning, I received a phone call to tell me that I was invited to Mr. Hyashi’s house that evening to celebrate my victory. When I arrived it turned out to be desert only but I was told I had a surprise to look forward to later. Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang. It was the beginning of my surprise.

My driver for the past week and his friend motioned me to follow them to the limousine that was parked outside. I went and got into the car and we drove off into the night. I couldn’t ask where we were going because I spoke no Japanese. Eventually, we pulled up to a building that reminded me of a Japanese temple and the car stopped. I got out and followed the driver who rang the bell. Immediately the door opened and we went inside. All the men inside were dressed like friars in brown robes. I also noticed many young scantily clad girls. So this was my surprise!!

I don’t need to go into details, but there was no way to escape my host’s hospitality. It would have been disrespectful and very rude. The Japanese take their hospitality very seriously. When my surprise was finished I went outside and saw the limousine parked on the other side of the street. I walked over and got inside. As soon as I closed the door my driver and his friend burst out laughing and asked me if “Griswold-san get oil pressure up”. The Japanese are fun-loving people!

Read also:
Alfa Romeo P3 or 8C Monza?
Alfa Romeo 8C Monza in Japan