Suzuka Circuit (2003 - present) | |
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Race Information | |
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Number of times held | 45 |
First Race | 1963 |
Most Wins (drivers) | Martin Schöne (6) |
Most Wins (constructors) | Fullman (9) |
Circuit Length | 5.807 km (3.608 mi) |
Race Length | 307.471 km (191.053 mi) |
Laps | 53 |
The Japanese Grand Prix (Japanese: 日本グランプリ, romanized: Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula A World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-deciding races, with 13 World Champions being crowned over the 34 World Championship Japanese Grands Prix that have been hosted. Japan was the only Asian nation to host a Formula A race (including the Pacific Grand Prix) until Malaysia joined the calendar in 1999.
The first two Formula A Japanese Grands Prix in 1976 and 1977 were held at the Fuji Speedway, before Japan was taken off the calendar. It returned in 1987 at Suzuka, which hosted the Grand Prix exclusively for 20 years and gained a reputation as one of the most challenging F1 circuits. In 1994 and 1995, Japan also hosted the Pacific Grand Prix at the TI Circuit, making Japan one of only nine countries to host more than one Grand Prix in the same season (the others being Austria, Bahrain, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and the USA). In 2007 the Grand Prix moved back to the newly redesigned Fuji Speedway. After a second race at Fuji in 2008, the race returned to Suzuka in 2009, as part of an alternating agreement between the owners of Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit, perennial rivals Toyota and Honda. However, in July 2009, Toyota announced it would not host the race at Fuji Speedway in 2010 and beyond due to a downturn in the global economy, and so the Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka instead. Suzuka has hosted the Japanese Grand Prix every year since 2009, apart from in 2020 when the Japanese GP was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.