Shinichi Nakatomi JSB1000 Round 5 Motegi | Continued Tire Development in Actual Race Conditions with ST1000 Specifications

Continued practical tire development with ST1000 specifications. Two days of riding in wet and dry conditions.

On August 29th and 30th, 2026, the 5th round of the All Japan Road Race Championship was held at Mobility Resort Motegi.

Shinichi Nakatomi, whose racing activities are supported by NEXT SCIENCE, once again competed in the JSB1000 class.

Our association with Mr. Nakatomi began in 2015 at JSB1000 Autopolis.

More than 10 years have passed since then.

Through repeated interactions at race venues, we continue to support Mr. Nakatomi's challenges.

And there's something we'd like you to know about Mr. Nakatomi's participation in JSB1000.

That is, he is not merely competing for a position in JSB1000.

Mr. Nakatomi has been continuously working on the development of tires for ST1000 for a long time.

To evaluate these tires in actual race conditions, he deliberately races in the JSB1000 class with an ST1000-spec machine.

This is not a one-time effort or something only for this season.

As part of a long-term tire development effort, he utilizes the demanding environment of actual racing as a testing ground.

Motegi this time was a very interesting two days in that sense as well.

The first day was rain.

The next day was dry.

He experienced two completely different conditions in an actual race.

Why race JSB1000 with ST1000 specifications?

JSB1000 is the pinnacle class of domestic road racing.

Naturally, the conditions differ between a JSB1000-spec machine and an ST1000-spec machine.

Yet, he deliberately enters and races with an ST1000-spec machine.

There is a clear objective: tire development.

In test runs, conditions can be somewhat controlled for evaluation.

However, in a race, that's not the case.

There are other machines in front and behind.

He might not be able to follow the intended line.

Braking points change.

The timing for opening the throttle changes.

Furthermore, conditions such as road surface temperature, weather, grip, and water volume change constantly.

How do the tires react in such circumstances?

How do they feel during braking?

What is the contact feeling like during cornering?

How is traction transmitted when accelerating out of a corner?

And what does the rider perceive in near-limit situations?

There is information that can only be obtained in actual races.

To feed back each piece of this information into tire development, Mr. Nakatomi continues to race JSB1000 with an ST1000-spec machine.

This is another objective of racing that cannot be seen solely by race positions.

August 29th Race 1

Severe wet conditions with many puddles

August 29th was rainy.

From qualifying to the final, the race was held in wet conditions.

What was particularly difficult that day was the many puddles on the track.

It wasn't just that the entire road surface was wet.

The amount of water varied from place to place, and there was a lot of water remaining even on the racing line.

In such situations, the grip condition changes significantly even within a single lap.

The feeling transmitted from the tires.

The behavior during braking.

The feeling of contact during cornering.

The reaction of the rear tire when opening the throttle.

It is necessary to constantly confirm these while riding.

Mr. Nakatomi also proceeded with the race while checking the condition of the machine and tires.

Here is a video of Shinichi Nakatomi heading out of the pit for the wet final race.

However, towards the end of the race, the road surface with many puddles became even more difficult to ride on.

Therefore, in the final stages, he did not force himself to maintain pace, but instead assessed the situation and reduced his speed.

He finished the race in 15th place.

Speed is required in racing.

However, especially in wet conditions like this, the judgment of "how far to push" and "where to mitigate risk" is also very important.

From the perspective of tire development, the feedback obtained in such an actual race environment with a large volume of water is invaluable.

Things that cannot be understood on a dry road surface.

Changes when passing through puddles.

The feeling just before losing grip.

How the tires recover from that.

Such information can only be obtained by the rider who actually experienced it.

August 30th Race 2

Final race held with caution against rain

The next day, August 30th.

What we were concerned about until just before the race was rain.

There was a possibility of rain during the race, and we were preparing while checking the weather movement.

Would it rain?

Would it remain dry?

In a race, this difference carries significant meaning.

However, just before the start, when we re-checked the radar, the situation had changed.

The information had changed to no rain during the race period.

As a result, Race 2 was held in dry conditions.

This was a completely different condition from the wet conditions of the previous day.

Mr. Nakatomi then had to ride the ST1000-spec machine and tires at dry race speeds.

And he finished Race 2 in 11th place.

The severe wet conditions on the first day.

The dry conditions on the next day.

He was able to race in two completely different conditions within a single event.

From the perspective of tire development, I believe it was a very meaningful two days.

Tire development obtainable only through actual racing

Tire development requires various tests.

Test runs that involve setting conditions and checking each one are indispensable.

However, actual races provide information that cannot be obtained elsewhere.

Competing with other cars.

Taking a different line than usual.

Braking deeper than planned.

The timing of opening the throttle changes.

The road surface changes suddenly.

Like this time, it rains and puddles form.

And the next day it's dry.

In races, unexpected situations occur one after another.

That is precisely why it is meaningful to use tires in that environment.

It's not just about "no problems under expected conditions," but knowing "what happened under unexpected conditions" leads to further development.

Mr. Nakatomi's long-standing development of ST1000 tires is progressing by accumulating information obtained from such actual races.

And for that reason, he deliberately races the challenging JSB1000 stage with an ST1000-spec machine.

Our relationship with Shinichi Nakatomi dates back to 2015

NEXT SCIENCE's relationship with Shinichi Nakatomi began at JSB1000 Autopolis in 2015.

Since then, the relationship has deepened through race venues, and continues to this day.

Mr. Nakatomi has been racing at the highest level in Japan for over 10 years.

Furthermore, alongside his racing activities, he is continuously involved in tire development.

He doesn't just participate in races; he rides, feels, checks, and connects it to the next development.

He continues this cycle.

We at NEXT SCIENCE sympathize with Mr. Nakatomi's approach and support his current racing activities.

Mr. Nakatomi and ORBITRON

Throughout our long association with Mr. Nakatomi, we have also been involved in various ways with the development of ORBITRON.

In the past, we even commercialized a "NAKATOMI" specification Micro Reactor named after Mr. Nakatomi.

Although sales have now ended due to a product line refresh, it remains one of the products symbolizing the long relationship between NEXT SCIENCE and Mr. Nakatomi.

Information about discontinued products and new series is available here.

Announcement regarding discontinued ORBITRON products and new series

What NEXT SCIENCE has valued in ORBITRON's development is not just looking at a single numerical value.

Response to throttle operation.

Sense of unity of the entire vehicle.

Smoothness.

Tire contact feeling.

And the difference a person feels when actually operating it.

We have pursued such "quality of ride" for many years.

The development philosophy of ORBITRON is also introduced in this article.

Over 10 years of pursuing "quality of ride" that cannot be expressed by numbers alone

Racing and ORBITRON product development are separate endeavors.

However, there are commonalities in the approach: "testing it in actual use," "valuing what people feel," and "connecting changes to the next development."

The current ORBITRON has evolved into the new generation Micro Reactor ZF and ZF-R Series.

ORBITRON Micro Reactor New Generation ZF / ZF-R Series

After the two days at Motegi

August 29th saw severe wet conditions with many puddles.

Towards the end of the race, the situation became even more difficult to ride in, and Mr. Nakatomi completed the race in 15th place while reducing his pace.

On August 30th, preparations were made with concerns about rain during the race.

However, the radar checked just before the start showed a change to no rain.

The race was held in dry conditions, and Mr. Nakatomi finished in 11th place.

Wet and dry.

It was two days of riding with an ST1000-spec machine under completely different conditions.

And this ride at Motegi is also part of the ST1000 tire development that Mr. Nakatomi has been continuously working on for a long time.

Deliberately racing the pinnacle JSB1000 with an ST1000-spec machine.

Putting stress on the tires in actual racing, feeling their behavior, and feeding it back into the next development.

There is another challenge for Mr. Nakatomi that cannot be seen solely by the results of each race.

Our association with Mr. Nakatomi, which began with JSB1000 Autopolis in 2015, continues to this day.

NEXT SCIENCE will continue to support Shinichi Nakatomi's racing activities.

Mr. Nakatomi, everyone at RSN, and all those involved who supported the race, thank you for your hard work over the two days.

Please pay attention to his performance in the next race and the tire development that continues through actual racing.

On-Track Test and Verification Information

The conditions of the on-track evaluation and the limitations for interpreting its results are stated below.

Test dates

August 29 and 30, 2026

Conditions

JSB1000 races at Round 5 of the All Japan Road Race Championship at Mobility Resort Motegi. An ST1000-specification motorcycle and development tires were used. August 29 featured wet conditions with substantial standing water, while August 30 was dry.

Measurement method

During racing, rider feedback was used to evaluate braking behavior, cornering contact feel, rear-tire response under acceleration, and changes in grip. Finishing positions were also recorded.

Results

The rider finished 15th in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2. On-track feedback relevant to ST1000 tire development was obtained under both wet and dry conditions.

Limitations

This was a race-environment evaluation in which weather, standing water, riding lines, and traffic changed continuously; it was not a controlled test with a comparison group. The contribution of individual variables and any rate of performance improvement were not quantified. This article reports tire-development running and is not a test of ORBITRON product effects.

Source

Trackside observations, race results, and rider feedback described in this article. The finishing positions are also reported in RS TAICHI’s Round 5 report.

Author

Rihisa Kanemitsu, Representative Director, NEXT SCIENCE Co., Ltd.