Inside Japan’s Mid Night Club, and how it came to be one of the most exclusive, secretive racing clubs in the world

The Mid Night Club is one of the most legendary features of the car world in Japan – a racing club.

Aside from its Japanese Domestic Market (JDM), Japan is famous for something else.

It’s also famous for one of the most exclusive, secretive racing clubs in the world.

This is the story of the group that made street racing what it is today – because this is the story of the Mid Night Club.

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Origin story of the world’s most legendary club

Japan’s Mid Night Club Racing Team is a fascinating topic for car fans across the world.

It’s one of the most legendary facets of car culture anywhere on the planet.

And yet it also remains one of the most secretive and exclusive, too.

According to legend, the racing club was a collection of Japan’s top street racers.

It was founded sometime in the mid-1980s, with 1987 often accepted as the year of formation.

The club operated on a strict code of conduct and ethics.

No members of the club, nor any members of the public, were to be put in danger.

The Mid Night club also enforced a strict entrance minimum of a car capable of 160mph.

However, most of the group’s cars were capable of blasting along at 190mph.

The rules and the cars of the Mid Night Club

Those lucky enough to be accepted into the Mid Night club were considered an ‘apprentice’ for the first year.

That meant having to attend every single meet in order to become a fully-fledged member.

It is rumoured that only 10 percent of apprentices stuck it out to become official members.

The cars achieved this while racing along the Wangan Highway between Tokyo and Yokohama.

Speaking of the cars – what types of cars were worthy of representing the Mid Night Club?

It turns out that only the very best of the best was good enough to get you in the door.

Local legends, such as the Mazda RX-7, Toyota Supra, Nissan 300ZX. and GTR were all commonplace.

But Europe’s finest more than found a home among the Mid Night Club crème de la crème.

The Porsche 911 was commonplace, as were other exotics such as the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa.

Members of the club regularly tested these machines at the now-destroyed Yatabe Test Track.

Mid Night Club comes to a shuddering end

Unfortunately, the original Racing Team came to a crashing end in 1999.

It is said that one night, the Mid Night Club got into a street race with the Bosozoku biker gang.

Unlike the Mid Night Club, the Bosozoku biker gang was rebellious and destructive.

One night, the two clubs got entangled in a high-speed chase against each other.

According to legend, the high-speed chase on the Wangan saw the bikers lead the group into a high-traffic area.

A resulting crash saw two Bosozoku bikers die, and eight motorists put in the hospital.

Six of the eight were innocent motorists, with the other two presumed to be Mid Night Club members.

Due to the group’s code of honour, the Mid Night Club was disbanded.

It had failed to uphold its code of ensuring the safety of innocent people, and so the decision was made to halt the races altogether.

Most of the legendary cars involved in the club were hidden away or destroyed.

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