Back in the early 1990s WERA had a class called Future Stars. Here’s Colin Edwards (64) and Takanobu Koyama (14) racing in a WERA Future Stars race at Willow Springs in April of 1991. Edwards won this race over Koyama. The pair were indeed stars of the future. Edwards went on to win AMA 250 Grand Prix and World Superbike Championships. I’m not quite sure why Koyama was racing in Future Stars. He went on that very summer and scored four top-10 AMA 600cc Supersport finishes, including a podium at Mid-Ohio. He ended the season ranked eighth in the series.

Colin Edwards (64) and Takanobu Koyama (14) race in a WERA Future Stars event at Willow Springs Raceway in April of 1991. (Larry Lawrence photo)