"Miyaki is absolutely indispensable to us."

Mechanic Akiyama shared a story that speaks volumes about the partnership.

"Quality is a given with Miyaki, and despite the tight turnaround times that racing demands, they always deliver. But one incident really stood out."

"We had sent some aluminum parts from a machining supplier to Miyaki for anodizing. A few days later, we received a call from one of their team members: 'Are you sure the material matches what's specified on the drawing?'

I couldn't believe it. When we checked with the supplier, it turned out they had used the wrong alloy by mistake.

When I asked, 'How did you even catch that?' they simply replied, 'You can tell right away once you start processing it.'

I was stunned. With any other company, the error would have gone undetected—and those parts would have ended up on the machine."

Aluminum encompasses a wide range of alloys—A2017, A5052, A7075—each with distinct characteristics in terms of strength, rigidity, and more. As the engineer behind world-class racing machines, Akiyama leaves nothing to chance when it comes to material selection.

The wrong alloy means compromised performance. In a sport where fractions of a second decide the outcome, that kind of oversight could prove fatal.

Akiyama still keeps that very part to this day.

"I hold on to it as a reminder," he explains. "So I never forget how I felt in that moment. There's so much to be gained from failure."

He has preserved many such parts from past setbacks. Picking them up one by one, he recounted each story with unmistakable enthusiasm—a living embodiment of the belief that failure is the foundation of success.

From designing race components and machines to overseeing development, Akiyama handles nearly everything on his own. "It's only through our failures—and the support of our manufacturing partners—that we're able to build truly great machines," he says.

Hearing this, we felt a renewed sense of mission: to continue providing world-class Kashima Coat and anodized products to a world-class team.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France has claimed the world championship title time and again in the pinnacle of endurance racing. We may never stand on the podium ourselves, but we share the same drive—the same relentless pursuit of excellence.

It is this unity of purpose among everyone involved with TSR that makes even the most ambitious goals achievable. Together, with one shared vision, the quest for the World Championship never ends.

Why World-Class Racing Teams
Trust Kashima Coat

Engineered for the Harshest Conditions on the Track

Kashima Coat is Miyaki's proprietary hard lubricated anodizing process. It works by electrochemically depositing molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂)—a proven solid lubricant—deep into the pores of a hard anodized aluminum film.

The result: a surface that reaches HV400 hardness and outlasts hard chrome plating by roughly 3× in wear testing—while delivering built-in lubricity that holds up without oil.

In endurance racing, that combination is a game-changer.

Fork inner tubes need to stroke freely lap after lap, absorbing brutal track impacts without hesitation. Pistons have to keep firing under extreme heat and RPM without ever galling or seizing. Kashima Coat is the surface technology that makes both of those possible.

Hard yet slick. It's a paradox—and Miyaki solved it in a single coating.

That's why teams competing at the pinnacle of FIM Endurance World Championship racing continue to rely on Kashima Coat. And it's why Miyaki's name is trusted wherever the stakes are highest.