SEPTEMBER 28, 2001

Suzuka ready for season finale

The Suzuka racing circuit has been undergoing considerable work in the course of the last 12 months to bring it up to modern F1 standards.

Suzuka Paddock
© Inside F1, Inc.

THE Suzuka racing circuit has been undergoing considerable work in the course of the last 12 months to bring it up to modern F1 standards. The circuit has always been one of the most spectacular on the calendar but the facilities and the paddock have been below par for some years. The old paddock area has now been flattened and completely rebuilt with the paddock area being extended, the Paddock Club relocated and access to the track for spectators on the other side of the circuit has been completely rebuilt as well.

The work was part of the deal that Suzuka signed last autumn to host the Japanese GP until the year 2005. It is worth noting that Toyota has been planning to rebuild the Mount Fuji facility by 2004 with the intention of bidding for the next Japanese Grand Prix contract. Suzuka is owned by Toyota's rival Honda and so their forthcoming battle on the circuits in F1 will be mirrored by a struggle to win control of the Japanese GP.