Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography/japan

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Indy Japan 300

Grand Prix circuit

Summary

Grand Prix circuit

FieldValue
Race titleIndy Japan 300
Track map[[File:Twin Ring Motegi map-2.svg175px]]
Series longIndyCar Series
Series shortIRL
VenueTwin Ring Motegi
First race1998
First series race2003
Last race2011
Distance304 mi
Laps200
Previous namesFuji 200 (1966)
Budweiser 500k (1998)
Firestone Firehawk 500k (1999–2001)
Bridgestone Potenza 500k (2002)
Indy Japan 300 (2003-2010)
Indy Japan: The Final (2011)

Budweiser 500k (1998) Firestone Firehawk 500k (1999–2001) Bridgestone Potenza 500k (2002) Indy Japan 300 (2003-2010) Indy Japan: The Final (2011)

The Indy Japan 300 presented by Bridgestone was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The 2008 race marked the historic first ever win for a woman driver in American open-wheel racing when Danica Patrick of Andretti-Green Racing took the checkered flag.

The first American open-wheel race in Japan was held in 1966 at Fuji Speedway. Jackie Stewart won the Fuji Japan 200, which was held as an exhibition race, and no championship points were awarded. USAC did not return.

For a short period in the late 1980s and early 1990s the CART series explored the prospects of holding a race in Japan. Possible locations would be either Suzuka, Fuji, or a street course in another city. The FIA objected, citing conflicts with Formula One and other interests. In addition, rules were put into place requiring that any CART race outside of North America be held on an oval. Despite the objections, in 1991 CART made their first trip across the Pacific Ocean, and held a street race at Surfer's Paradise, Australia. The plans for a race in Japan were scrapped.

In 1994, Honda joined the CART series, and by 1996, was widely successful. Interest in holding a race in Japan resurfaced, and upon the completion of the Twin Ring Motegi oval, a race was first held in 1998 without FIA objection. The race continued as a CART event through 2002. In 2003, Honda switched alliances to the Indy Racing League, and the race became an IndyCar Series event. On February 9, 2011, it was announced that the series would not return to Motegi for the 2012 season.

Scheduling

From 2003 to 2006, the race marked the final IRL race before the Indianapolis 500. The extended travel time required typically found the race held the weekend before or after Easter, leaving one or two weeks of travel and rest time until practice began at Indianapolis in early May. This situation was widely unpopular for fans, and for television, because it left a large gap in the schedule, and disrupted continuity leading to the series' premier event. In 2007, the race at Kansas Speedway was moved immediately after Motegi to be the race preceding the Indianapolis 500.

In 2008, following the open wheel unification, the race served as part of the unique "doubleheader" weekend with the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Existing IRL teams raced at Motegi, and former Champ Car teams raced at Long Beach. For 2009, in an effort to reorganize the IndyCar schedule, the race was moved to September (swapping with the MotoGP event) on the Respect-for-the-Aged Day and autumnal equinox public holidays, also kept for 2010.

Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it was announced that the 2011 event would be moved to the 2.98 mile road course (used by MotoGP but utilized oval pit lane rather than traditional pit lane due to lack of room) due to damage to the oval. The 2011 event was the final running, a decision made before, and unrelated to, the earthquake and tsunami.

Past winners

SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)ReportRefsLapsMiles (km)CART/Champ Car historyIRL/IndyCar Series history
1998March 28MEX Adrian FernándezPatrick RacingReynardFord-Cosworth201311.349 (501.067)1:57:12159.393Report
1999April 10MEX Adrian FernándezPatrick RacingReynardFord-Cosworth201311.349 (501.067)1:46:01176.195Report
2000May 13USA Michael AndrettiNewman/Haas RacingLolaFord-Cosworth201311.349 (501.067)1:58:52157.154Report
2001May 19SWE Kenny BräckTeam RahalLolaFord-Cosworth201311.349 (501.067)1:44:48178.113Report
2002April 27BRA Bruno JunqueiraChip Ganassi RacingLolaToyota201311.349 (501.067)2:00:05155.447Report
2003April 13USA Scott SharpKelley RacingDallaraToyota200309.8 (498.574)2:21:18129.09Report
2004April 16GBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)1:49:48166.114Report
2005April 30GBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)2:16:46133.365Report
2006April 22BRA Hélio CastronevesPenske RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)1:59:01153.248Report
2007April 21BRA Tony KanaanAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)1:52:23162.295Report
2008April 20USA Danica PatrickAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)1:51:03164.258Report
2009September 19NZL Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)1:51:38163.401Report
2010September 18BRA Hélio CastronevesPenske RacingDallaraHonda200309.8 (498.574)2:04:04147.008Report
2011September 17NZL Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallaraHonda63187.929 (302.442)1:56:4196.635Report

Notes

  • Qualifying record: Dan Wheldon 201.165 mph (323.743 km/h), 2004
  • Race record: Dan Wheldon 166.114 mph (267.334 km/h), 2004
  • 2008: Held on same day as Long Beach Grand Prix due to scheduling conflict as a result of reunification.
  • 2011: Race held on road course due to track damage on the oval from the earthquake.

References

References

  1. Lewandowski, Dave. "Sayonara, Twin Ring Motegi". IndyCar.com.
  2. [http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/43221-series-keeps-japan-date-to-run-road-course/ Series keeps Japan date, to run road course ] {{webarchive. link. (2011-06-06)
  3. "1998 Budweiser 500K". Racing-Reference.
  4. "1998 Motegi Champ Cars". Motor Sport.
  5. "1999 Firestone Firehawk 500K". Racing-Reference.
  6. "1999 Motegi Champ Cars". Motor Sport.
  7. "2000 Firestone Firehawk 500K". Racing-Reference.
  8. "2000 Motegi Champ Cars". Motor Sport.
  9. "2001 Firestone Firehawk 500K". Racing-Reference.
  10. "2001 Motegi Champ Cars". Motor Sport.
  11. "2002 Bridgestone Potenza 500". Racing-Reference.
  12. "2002 Motegi Champ Cars". Motor Sport.
  13. "2003 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  14. "2003 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  15. "2004 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  16. "2004 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  17. "2005 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  18. "2005 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  19. "2006 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  20. "2006 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  21. "2007 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  22. "2007 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  23. "2008 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  24. "2008 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  25. "2009 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  26. "2009 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  27. "2010 Indy Japan 300". Racing-Reference.
  28. "2010 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
  29. "2011 Indy Japan: The Final". Racing-Reference.
  30. "2011 Motegi Indycars". Motor Sport.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

indy-japan-300 recurring-sporting-events-established-in-1998 recurring-sporting-events-disestablished-in-2011 motegi,-tochigi sport-in-tochigi-prefecture 1998-establishments-in-japan 2011-disestablishments-in-japan
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Indy Japan 300 — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report