Editing Fuji Speedway (section)

==History==

=== 1963–79: F1 launches in Japan ===
Fuji Speedway Corporation was established in 1963 as Japan NASCAR Corporation. At first, the circuit was planned to hold [[NASCAR]]-style races in Japan. Therefore, the track was originally designed to be a {{cvt|4.000|km|mi|abbr=on}} banked [[superspeedway]], but there was not enough money to complete the project and only one of the bankings was completed. [[Mitsubishi Estate]] invested in the circuit and took over the reins of management in October 1965.

Converted to a road course, the circuit opened in December 1965 and proved to be somewhat dangerous, with the wide banked turn (named "Daiichi") regularly resulting in major accidents. [[Vic Elford]] said:

{{Blockquote|"In 1969 I spent two months in Japan doing a test contract for Toyota and their [[Toyota 7]] (5 litre V-8), which along with a big Nissan (6.3 litre V-12), was destined for CanAm. My last testing and then the subsequent Sports Car GP were at Fuji, but the track was run in a clockwise direction. The reason that banking was so horrific, was that at the end of the straight we went over a blind crest at around 190/200 mph and ''dropped into'' the banking. At other tracks (Daytona, Montlhéry, etc.) you climb up the banking. One of the results was that although there were many brave Japanese drivers there were not too many with great skill and the death toll from that one corner was horrendous. To such an extent that the big Gp 7 cars were then banned in Japan and thus, neither Nissan or Toyota ever made it to CanAm."}}

In 1966 and 1967, the circuit hosted the [[Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix]] as the final round of the [[FIM Road Racing World Championship]]. The 1966 race was run on the full track with the banking, which meant that the Honda works team did not take part due to safety reasons; the following year, the race was run on a shorter 4.3&nbsp;km track without the banked section.<ref name="hayashi2005">{{Cite book |last=Hayashi |first=Shinji |publisher=[[:ja:三樹書房|Miki Shobō]] |date=2005 |isbn=4-89522-456-2 |language=ja |script-title=ja:富士スピードウェイ 最初の40年 |trans-title=Fuji Speedway: The First Forty Years |pages=57–60}}</ref> In 1966, the track hosted a USAC Indy Car non-championship race won by [[Jackie Stewart]].<ref name="hayashi2005"/> The track had a 24-hour race in 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z8611/Toyota-2000-GT.aspx |title=1967 Toyota 2000 GT |work=conceptcarz.com |access-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref>

After a fatal accident in 1974 on the Daiichi banking where drivers [[Hiroshi Kazato]] and Seiichi Suzuki were both killed in a fiery accident that injured 6 other people, a new part of track was built to counteract the problem, and the resultant {{cvt|4.359|km|mi|abbr=on}} course, which also eliminated 5 other fast corners, proved more successful.

The speedway brought the first [[Formula One]] race to Japan at the end of the [[1976 Formula One season|1976 season]]. The race had a dramatic World Championship battle between [[James Hunt]] and [[Niki Lauda]], and in rainy conditions, Hunt earned enough points to win the title. [[Mario Andretti]] won the race, with Lauda withdrawing due to the dangerous conditions. In 1977, [[Gilles Villeneuve]] was involved in a crash that killed two spectators on the side of the track, leading to Formula One leaving the speedway. When Japan earned another race on the F1 schedule ten years later, it went to [[Suzuka Circuit|Suzuka]] instead. The Grand Prix returned to Fuji in 2007 following its renovation.

===1980–2000: National racing venue===
[[File:Fuji Speedway evolution.svg|thumb|Fuji Speedway former layouts: ''Red'' 1966–1974, ''Blue'' 1984–1987, ''Green'' 1988–2004]]
[[Image:Fuji Speedway 30-degree high bank.jpg|thumb|The abandoned "30° Bank" of the old track]]

Fuji remained a popular [[sports car racing]] venue; the [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] [[World Sportscar Championship]] visited the track between [[1982 World Sportscar Championship|1982]] and [[1988 World Sportscar Championship|1988]] and it was often used for national races. Speeds continued to be very high, and two [[chicane]]s were added to the track: one after the first hairpin corner, the second at the entry to the wide, fast final turn (300R). Even with these changes, the main feature of the track remained its approximately {{convert|1.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} long straight, one of the longest in all of motorsports.

The long pit straight has also been utilised for [[drag racing]]. [[NHRA]] exhibitions were run in 1989, and in 1993 [[Shirley Muldowney]] ran a 5.30 on the quarter-mile strip at Fuji. Local drag races are common on the circuit, at both {{convert|440|yd|m|3|abbr=unit}} & {{convert|1,000|ft|m|3|abbr=unit}} distances.

The track continued to be used for Japanese national races. Plans to host a [[Championship Auto Racing Teams|CART]] event in 1991 were abandoned due to conflicts with the [[Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile]]. It was not until the autumn of 2000 that the majority of the [[stock]]s of the track were bought by [[Toyota]] from Mitsubishi Estate<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns03394.html|title=Suzuka responds to Fuji pressure|work=grandprix.com|date=December 23, 2000|access-date=November 18, 2016}}</ref> as part of its motor racing plans for the future.

On May 3, 1998, there was a multi-car crash during a parade lap before a [[Super GT|JGTC]] race caused by the [[safety car]] slowing in torrential rain.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/05/03/20-years-later-tetsuya-ota-shinichi-yamaji-the-fuji-disaster.html | title=20 Years Later… Tetsuya Ota, Shinichi Yamaji, & The Fuji Disaster | author=RJ O’Connell | date=3 May 2018 | access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> [[Ferrari]] driver [[Tetsuya Ota]] suffered serious [[burn]]s over his entire body after being trapped in his car for almost 90 seconds,<ref name=supergt>{{Cite web|url=http://www.supergt.net/jgtc/ex/gtc_cham/1998e/cha98_2/982race.htm|title=Super GT: AUTOBACS CUP GT Championship 1998 Round 2 – Race Review, Fog Bank Ends 2nd Round of GTC|access-date=December 25, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605103836/http://www.supergt.net/jgtc/ex/gtc_cham/1998e/cha98_2/982race.htm|archive-date=June 5, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and [[Porsche]] driver [[Tomohiko Sunako]] fractured his right leg.<ref name=supergt/>

===2001–present: renovations===
In 2003, the circuit was closed down to accommodate a major reprofiling of the track, using a new design from [[Hermann Tilke]]. The track was reopened on April 10, 2005, and hosted its first Formula One championship event in 29 years on September 30, 2007. In circumstances similar to Fuji's first Grand Prix in 1976, [[2007 Japanese Grand Prix|the race]] was run in heavy rain and mist and the first 19 laps were run under the [[safety car]], in a race won by [[Lewis Hamilton]].

[[Image:Fisco-mainstand.jpg|thumb|200px|Rebuilt grandstand in the 2000s]]
The circuit has hosted the [[Nismo]] Festival for historic Nissan racers since refurbishment in 2003; the event previously took place at [[Okayama International Circuit|Okayama]]. {{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} When the festival returned in 2005, the organisers allowed circuit owner Toyota to bring in its [[Toyota 7]] [[Can-Am]] racer to re-enact an old Japanese GP battle. Toyota also hosts its own historic event a week before the [[Nismo]] festival called the Toyota Motorsports Festival. Close to the circuit is a [[drifting (motorsport)|drifting]] course, which was built as part of the refurbishment under the supervision of "Drift King" [[Keiichi Tsuchiya]] and former works driver and Super GT team manager [[Masanori Sekiya]]. There is a Toyota Safety Education Center and a mini circuit. In addition to motorsports, Fuji also hosts the Udo Music Festival.

The only time the circuit is run on a reverse direction is during the [[D1 Grand Prix]] round, as Keiichi Tsuchiya felt the new layout meant reduced entry speed, making it less suitable for drifting.<ref name="JDM Option Vol.21">JDM Option Vol.21</ref> The series has hosted its rounds since {{D1|2003}}; with the exception of the 2004 closure, the circuit became the first to take place on an international level racetrack<ref name="JDM Option Vol.21"/> and the first of the three to take place on an F1 circuit. The drift course starts from the 300R section and ends past the [[Coca-Cola]] corner. With the reprofiling, as cars no longer run downbank, entry speeds have since been reduced, the hill at the exit making acceleration difficult.<ref name="JDM Option Vol.21"/> As part of the 2003 renovations, most of the old banked section of track was demolished. Only a small section remains to this day.

Fuji Speedway was announced to host the finish of the [[Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics|road cycling races]] at the [[2020 Summer Olympics]] and [[2020 Summer Paralympics]].<ref>[https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/notice/20180809-01.html Challenging Cycling road race courses revealed] – Tokyo 2020 official website, 9 August 2018</ref>

===2007 and 2008 Japanese Grands Prix===
{{Main|2007 Japanese Grand Prix#Problems with the Circuit|l1=2007 Japanese Grand Prix|2008 Japanese Grand Prix}}

During the [[2007 Japanese Grand Prix]], Fuji Speedway met with a lot of problems, including the paralysis of the transportation network provided by the shuttle buses, poor facilities including some reserved seats without a view, lack of organization, and expensive meals such as simple lunch boxes being sold for 10,000 [[Japanese yen|yen]] (US$87) at the circuit.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://mainichi.jp/enta/car/graph/20071001/ |title=富士スピードウェイ：コース見えず、トイレやバスは大渋滞 ３０年ぶりＦ１に課題 (Fuji Speedway: Can't see the course, and the rest rooms and the shuttle buses are crowded. There is a problem in F1 has not held for 30 years) |date=October 1, 2007 |publisher=[[Mainichi Shimbun]] |access-date=October 3, 2007 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011010512/http://mainichi.jp/enta/car/graph/20071001/ |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kansenzyuku.or.tv/circuit_photo/data/1190949269.jpg |title=F1 Grand Prix lunch-box – \10,000 |date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=www.kansenzyuku.com/ |access-date=October 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824042707/http://www.kansenzyuku.or.tv/circuit_photo/data/1190949269.jpg |archive-date=August 24, 2008 }}</ref>

Newspaper accounts of the event also alleged problems with Toyota bias and control. The circuit prohibited spectators from setting up flags and banners to support teams and drivers,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kansenzyuku.or.tv/circuit_photo/data/1190869319.JPG |title=Notes on the reserved seat |date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=kansenzyuku.com |access-date=September 30, 2007 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824042711/http://www.kansenzyuku.or.tv/circuit_photo/data/1190869319.JPG |archive-date=August 24, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://yaplog.jp/champion-ship/archive/395 |title=日本ＧＰ・横断幕の事 (About banners at the Japanese GP: Q&A with Mr. Ikeya, Fuji Speedway) |date=October 1, 2007 |publisher=champion-ship |access-date=October 1, 2007 |language=ja}}</ref> with the exception of the [[Toyota F1]] team.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www42.atwiki.jp/kusotoyota/?plugin=ref&serial=11 |title=Captured image from the race on Sunday |date=September 30, 2007 |publisher=[[Formula One Administration]] |access-date=September 30, 2007 |language=ja}}</ref> Therefore, there were very few flags and banners in the event compared with other Grand Prix events.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news1.as-web.jp/contents/photonews_page2.php?news_no=12951&cno=1 |title=横断幕はどこ？ (Where are banners?) |date=September 30, 2007 |publisher=AUTOSPORT Japan |access-date=October 2, 2007}}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.i-dea21.jp/kensawa/index.php?d=20070930 |title=Kenji Sawada's Report from circuit |date=September 30, 2007 |publisher=Kenji Sawada, an official F1 photographer |access-date=September 30, 2007 |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013205757/http://i-dea21.jp/kensawa/index.php?d=20070930 |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}</ref>

For the [[2008 Japanese Grand Prix]] race, organizers responded to lessons learned the previous year by reducing the total number of spectators allowed at the event.  Compared to 140,000 persons allowed for Sunday events in 2007, attendance was restricted to 110,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://f1update.com/full_story/view/245662/Fuji_to_limit_attendance_for_2008_GP/|title=Fuji to limit attendance for 2008 GP|work=f1update.com|access-date=June 29, 2016|archive-date=February 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227032458/http://f1update.com/full_story/view/245662/Fuji_to_limit_attendance_for_2008_GP/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, walkways and spectator facilities were improved, along with larger screens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2008/02/20/fuji-speedway-gets-better-toilets-but-still-needs-a-roof/|title=Fuji gets better toilets but still needs a roof · F1 Fanatic|date=February 20, 2008|work=f1fanatic.co.uk|access-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> However, the race was also affected by rainy weather, which has historically interfered in a number of past races at the circuit, and later in 2013, led to interference with a [[2013 6 Hours of Fuji|6-hour endurance race]] at the track for the [[FIA World Endurance Championship]].

Following both poor ticket sales and weather, it was decided by FOM that the FIA Japanese Grand Prix would be shared between Fuji and Suzuka on alternate years, with Suzuka holding the next race on Sunday, October 4, 2009. After the [[Great Recession]] and its own operational deficit, [[Toyota]] discontinued the hosting of Japanese Grand Prix beginning in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toyota to pull out of hosting 2010 Japan GP|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708091931/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/sports/news/20090707p2g00m0dm031000c.html|website=Mainichi Daily News  |archivedate=8 July 2009 |df=mdy|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/sports/news/20090707p2g00m0dm031000c.html|accessdate= 7 July 2009 }}</ref>

===2020 Summer Olympics===
During the [[2020 Summer Olympics]], which due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] were postponed to 2021, the speedway was a venue and finish for the cycling races:
* [[Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race|Men's individual road race]]: on 24 July 2021 {{flagathlete|[[Richard Carapaz]]|ECU}} won the gold medal, {{flagathlete|[[Wout van Aert]]|BEL}} silver and {{flagathlete|[[Tadej Pogačar]]|SLO}} bronze.
* [[Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's individual road race|Women's individual road race]]: on 25 July 2021 {{flagathlete|[[Anna Kiesenhofer]]|AUT}} won the gold medal, {{flagathlete|[[Annemiek van Vleuten]]|NED}} silver and {{flagathlete|[[Elisa Longo Borghini]]|ITA}} bronze.
* [[Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's road time trial|Women's road time trial]]: on 28 July 2021 {{flagathlete|[[Annemiek van Vleuten]]|NED}} won the gold medal, {{flagathlete|[[Marlen Reusser]]|SUI}} won silver and {{flagathlete|[[Anna van der Breggen]]|NED}} won bronze.
* [[Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's road time trial|Men's road time trial]]: on 28 July 2021 {{flagathlete|[[Primož Roglič]]|SLO}} won the gold medal, {{flagathlete|[[Tom Dumoulin]]|NED}} silver and {{flagathlete|[[Rohan Dennis]]|AUS}} bronze.

=== 2022: Fuji Motorsports Forest ===
In April 2022, Toyota announced the construction of the "Fuji Motorsports Forest", which {{ill|Toyota Fudosan|ja|トヨタ不動産}}, a real-estate company of [[Toyota Group]], was pushing forward as the "Motorsports Village" project until then. The project precedes the completion of the [[Shin-Tōmei Expressway]] and [[smart interchange]] near the circuit.

With the regional redevelopment plan centered on Fuji Speedway, the Fuji Speedway Hotel (operated by [[Hyatt]]) including  the [[Fuji Motorsports Museum]] was built on the west side of the circuit and opened in October 2022.