Fuji Speedway, Racing Circuit

Fuji Speedway stands in the eastern foothills of Mount Fuji in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, from which it takes its name. Conceived in the early 1960s as an American-style banked superspeedway in the mould of Daytona, it ran out of money and mountainous terrain before the oval could be completed, and opened in 1966 as a road course instead, keeping the Speedway name. Its long main straight remains one of the longest in motorsport at roughly 1.475 km, and the early layout was notoriously fast and dangerous, featuring a downhill plunge into a steep banked corner that was abandoned after fatal accidents in 1974. In 1976 the circuit hosted Japan's first Formula One World Championship round, the dramatic rain-soaked Hunt-Lauda title decider, but F1 left after a fatal accident the following year. Through the 1980s it became a sportscar venue, hosting rounds of the World Sportscar Championship, and chicanes were added over time to tame the speeds. Owned by Mitsubishi Estate for decades, it was bought by Toyota in 2000, giving the circuit a longstanding rivalry with Honda-owned Suzuka. Toyota commissioned Hermann Tilke to reprofile the track, which reopened in 2005 and brought Formula One back for 2007 and 2008 before the Japanese Grand Prix returned to Suzuka. Today the FIA Grade 1 circuit measures 4.563 km over 16 turns and centres its calendar on Super GT, Super Formula and a round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It also embraces drifting, hosting D1 Grand Prix rounds run in the reverse direction.

Operated by: Toyota Motor Corporation