My brother-in-law is a retired S-class keirin racer in Japan and we
just got a note from him this morning with the news that the Japan
Keirin Assn. has apparently just decided to open up the Keirin pro
league to non-Japanese with no age restrictions and no written tests.
This is huge news and a great opportunity for any young aspiring
track racer. 20 years ago the average keirin racer in Japan was
making over $100,000 US and there are about 4,000 of them there racing
on over 40 tracks that are the epitome of tracks. If I was 10 yrs.
younger I might consider going back over there and trying out!

My father-in-law raced until he was 53 as he was still able to beat
enough younger or older riders to stay up in the A-class. So,
basically, if you can beat some other riders you can survive, but I'm
guessing that they'll still have basic speed tests to qualify and
possibly still require that you go thru the Keirin School near Mt.
Fuji meaning that you might have to learn to speak Japanese to
understand the coaches/ teachers.

Good luck to anyone inspired to go over there and give it a go! Let
me know if you do; I'll be very jealous!

Tim Potter