Fuji Speedway

Fuji Speedway stands in Oyama, in Shizuoka Prefecture, on the eastern foothills of Mount Fuji. The circuit is run clockwise and now measures 4.563 kilometres, and its long straight is 1.475 kilometres in length. It was originally meant to be an American-style superspeedway, high-banked and 2.5 miles long, but the steep terrain made that impossible. Stirling Moss, brought in as a consultant, argued for a European-style road course instead. The result was a road circuit that still carried a trace of the first idea in its opening corner, a banked turn with a 30 degree slope. The track opened in January 1966.

The banking repeatedly led to serious accidents. After a crash in 1974 that killed two drivers, a new section of track was built. The layout then measured 4.359 kilometres and no longer included five fast corners.

The first Formula One race in Japan took place here at the end of the 1976 season. Mario Andretti won in a Lotus in the rain, and James Hunt secured the world title in his battle with Niki Lauda, who withdrew because of the dangerous conditions. Hunt won the 1977 race for McLaren. In that race a crash involving Gilles Villeneuve killed two spectators, and Formula One then left the circuit.

A major rebuild to a design by Hermann Tilke ended with the reopening in April 2005. Formula One returned in 2007. In heavy rain and mist the first 19 laps were run behind the safety car, and Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren. Fernando Alonso won the 2008 race for Renault. In 2009 the Japanese Grand Prix returned to Suzuka.