Coordinates: 35°22′18″N 138°55′36″E / 35.37167°N 138.92667°E / 35.37167; 138.92667

Fuji International Speedway

Location	Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Time zone	GMT +9
Major events	Japanese Grand Prix Super GT Formula Nippon MFJ Superbike D1 Grand Prix
5th and current configuration (2005–present)
Length	4.563 km (2.835 mi)
Turns	16
Lap record	1:18.426 ( Felipe Massa, Ferrari F2008, 2008)
4th configuration (1993–2004)
Length	4.469 km (2.777 mi)
Turns	12
Lap record	1:14.854 ( Takuya Kurosawa, Lola, Formula 3000, 2000)
3rd configuration (1986-1992)
Length	4.440 km (2.759 mi)
Turns	10
Lap record	1:14:088 ( Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Nissan R92CP, JSPC, 1992)
2nd configuration (1975–1985)
Length	4.360 km (2.709 mi)
Turns	8
Lap record	1:10.02 ( Stefan Bellof, Porsche 956, 1983 Mount Fuji 1000 km, 1983)
Original circuit (1965–1974)
Length	6 km (3.728 mi)
Turns	15
Lap record	1:32:57 ( Vern Schuppan, March-Ford F2, 1973 Japanese Grand Prix)

Fuji Speedway (富士スピードウェイ, Fuji Supīdowei^?) is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s and hosted the first Formula One race in Japan in 1976. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and national racing. Originally managed by Mitsubishi Estate Co., Fuji Speedway was acquired by Toyota Motor Corporation in 2000. The circuit hosted the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix in 2007, after an absence of 30 years, replacing the Suzuka Circuit, owned by Honda.^[1] After Fuji Speedway hosted the 2008 race, the Japanese Grand Prix returned to Suzuka for the 2009–2011 races. Fuji Speedway is known for having one of the longest straights in motorsport tracks, at 1.5 km (0.93 mi) in length.^[2]

History[link]

1963–79: F1 launches in Japan[link]

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 4 km (2.5 mi) high-banked superspeedway, but there was not enough money to complete the project and thus only one of the bankings was ever designed. Mitsubishi Estate Co. invested in the circuit and took the management right on October 1965.

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

"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, Monthlery, 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."

After a double 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 4.359 km (2.709 mi) course which also eliminated 5 other fast corners proved more successful. In 1966, the track hosted a USAC Indy Car non-championship race, won by Jackie Stewart. The speedway brought the first Formula One race to Japan at the end of the 1976 season. The race had a dramatic World Championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and in awful rainy conditions, Hunt earned enough points to win the title. Mario Andretti won the race, with Lauda withdrawing due to the dangerous conditions.

There was less celebration after the second race in 1977 as 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 instead. F1 didn't return to Fuji until 2007.

1980–2000: National racing venue[link]

Fuji Speedway former layouts: Red 1965–1974, Blue 1975-1985, Green 1986–2004

The abandoned "30° Bank" of the old track

Fuji remained a popular sports car racing venue and FIA World Sportscar Championship visited the track between 1982–1988 and it was often used for national races. Speeds continued to be very high, and two chicanes were added to the track, one just past the first hairpin corner, the second at the entry to the very long, very fast final turn (300R). But even with these changes the main feature of the track remained its approximately 1.5 km (0.93 mi) 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.

The track continues to be used for Japanese national races, but plans to host a CART event in 1991 were abandoned and it was not until the autumn of 2000 that the majority of the stocks of the track was bought by Toyota from Mitsubishi Estate,^[3] as part of its motor racing plans for the future.

On May 3, 1998 there was a serious multi-car crash during a parade lap before a JGTC race. The cause was a pace car going twice over the recommended speed in torrential rain. Ferrari driver Tetsuya Ota suffered serious burns over his entire body after being trapped in his car for almost 90 seconds.^[4] Porsche driver Tomohiko Sunako fractured his right leg.^[4] For further information see 1998 JGTC Fuji incident.

2001–present: renovations[link]

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. The circuit 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, 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.

Rebuilt grandstand in the 2000s

The circuit has always hosted the NISMO Festival for historic Nissan racers, since the takeover and refurbishment in 2003, the event took place at TI Circuit. When the festival returned in 2005, the organisers allowed the circuit owner to bring in their Toyota 7 CanAm racer to re-enact the old Japanese GP battle. Toyota also hosts its own historic event a week before the NISMO festival called Toyota Motorsports Festival. Close to the circuit is a drifting course, which was built as part of the refurbishment under the supervision of "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya. The short course nearby was built under the supervision of former works driver and Super GT team manager Masanori Sekiya and there is a Toyota Safety Education Center, 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.^[5] The series has hosted its rounds since 2003, with the exception of the 2004 closure, the circuit became the first to take place on an international level racetrack^[5] and the first of the three to take place on an F1 circuit. The course starts from the 300R section, slide through the hairpin, then through 100R and ends past the Coca Cola curve. With the reprofiling, as cars no longer run downbank, entry speeds have since been reduced, the hill at the exit making acceleration difficult.^[5] As part of the 2003 renovations, most of the old banked section of track was demolished. Only a small section remains to this day.

Following both poor ticket sales and even worse weather it was decided by FOM that the FIA Japanese Grand Prix would be shared between Fuji Speedway and Suzuka on alternate years with Suzuka holding the next race on Sunday, October 4, 2009. After the global recession and its own operational deficit, Toyota decided to discontinue the hosting of Japanese Grand Prix since 2010.^[6]

Records[link]

Main gate of the circuit

Category	Record	Driver	Car	Date
1975–1985[7]
WSC	1:10.02	Stefan Bellof	Porsche 956	October 1, 1983
Formula One	1:12.23	Mario Andretti	Lotus 78-Ford	October 22, 1977
Formula Two	1:12.62	Geoff Lees	March 832-Honda/Mugen	August 14, 1983
1986–1992[8]
JSPC	1:14.088	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Nissan R92CP	May 2, 1992
Formula Two	1:18.31	Satoru Nakajima	March 842-Honda/Mugen	April 15, 1984
Fuji Grand Champion Series	1:21.800	Masanori Sekiya	March 89GC Mugen	October 29, 1989
1993–2004[8]
Formula 3000	1:14.854	Takuya Kurosawa	Lola T92/50	April 10, 1993
Formula Nippon	1:15.304	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Lola T96/52	October 19, 1996
Le Mans Prototype	1:16.349	Ukyo Katayama	Toyota GT-One TS020	November 6, 1999
JGTC (GT500)	1:23.886	Yuji Tachikawa	Toyota Supra	May 3, 2003
Formula Three	1:26.344	Tatsuya Kataoka	Dallara F302 Toyota	April 6, 2003
JTCC (Group A)	1:31.131	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Nissan Skyline GT-R R32	October 31, 1993
JGTC (GT300)	1:31.356	Suga Ichijo	Mosler MT900R	May 3, 2003
JTCC (Super Touring)	1:33.035	Naoki Hattori	Honda Accord	November 1, 1997
Super Taikyu	1:35.173	Kasuya Shunji	Nissan Skyline GT-R R33	November 7, 1998
2005–[9]
Formula One	1:17.287	Felipe Massa	Ferrari F2008	October 11, 2008
Formula Nippon	1:25.525	Benoit Treluyer	Lola FN06-Toyota	March 31, 2007
Le Mans Prototype	1:31.065	Daisuke Itō	Courage LC70-Mugen	June 2, 2007
Super GT (GT500)	1:32.481	Ronnie Quintarelli	Nissan GT-R	April 30, 2011
JLMC (LMP1)	1:33.117	Shinsuke Yamazaki	Zytek 04S	June 2, 2007
Formula Three	1:35.173	Kazuya Oshima	Dallara F306-Toyota	March 3, 2007
Super GT (GT300)	1:40.682	Haruki Kurosawa	Honda NSX	May 3, 2005
Super Taikyu (ST-1)	1:46.304	Masataka Yanagida	BMW Z4 Coupé	August 4, 2007

The new corners[link]

This is the official listing of the new twelve corners. Only some corners have Japanese names, most of which are a result of sponsorship agreements. The rest are named after the radius of the corner in meters.

The fifth corner

1. First Corner 27R
2. 75R
3. Coca Cola Corner 80R
4. 100R
5. Hairpin Corner 30R
6. 120R
7. 300R
8. Dunlop Corner 15R
9. 30R
10. 45R
11. Netz Corner 25R
12. Panasonic Corner 12R

The Dunlop corner differs with the configuration used. In the full configuration, it consists of a tight right hairpin turn followed by a left-right flick. In the GT course it is a medium speed right-hander, bypassing turns 11 and 12.

Fuji Speedway in videogames[link]

The Fuji circuit is well known to fans of the arcade racing game Pole Position, as cars raced on the circuit in the popular loop. Fuji Speedway (renamed "Namco Circuit" in the Namco Museum ports and "Blue Speedway" in Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade) was thus the first circuit ever to be featured in a video game.^{[citation needed]}

Fuji is also featured in Top Gear, Gran Turismo 4, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Gran Turismo 5. For F1 Challenge '99–'02, Grand Prix Legends, rFactor, GTR - FIA GT Racing Game 2, GT Legends and RACE 07 - The Official WTCC Game the track is available as free downloadable add-on.

Fuji Speedway in television[link]

The Fuji circuit is featured prominently in the Japanese television drama Engine as the main setting for the racing scenes, as well as the home of the (fictional) "Regulus Cup". The track was also featured in an episode of the 11th season of the British automotive show Top Gear in which host Jeremy Clarkson takes a Nissan GT-R through its paces.

2007–2008 Japanese Grand Prix[link]

During the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, Fuji Speedway met with a lot of problems such as 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 that meant a simple lunch-box was sold for 10,000 yen (US$87) at the circuit.^[10][11]

Newspaper accounts of the event also alleged problems with Toyota bias and control. During the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, the circuit prohibited the spectators from setting up the flags and banners to support the teams and drivers,^[12][13] with the exception of the Toyota F1 team whose owner also owned the circuit.^[14] Therefore, there were very few flags and banners in the event compared with other Grand Prix events.^[15][16]

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.^[17] Additionally, walkways and spectator facilities were improved, along with larger screens.^[18] However, the race was also affected by rainy weather, which has historically interfered in a number of past races at the circuit.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fuji Speedway

• Fuji Speedway official website
• Fuji Speedway info from official F1 website
• A visit to the Fuji Speedway
• Trackpedia's guide to the Fuji Speedway
• BBC's circuit guide to the Fuji Speedway
• Google Map
• Fuji Speedway problem

Tetsuya Ota

Nationality	Japanese
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1993-1996
Teams	Simpson Engineering, Ennea SRL/Ferrari Club Italia
Best finish	None (DNF)
Class wins	0

Tetsuya Ota (太田 哲也, Ōta Tetsuya^?, born 6 November 1959) is a racecar driver from Maebashi in the Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He is notable for surviving a fiery multi-car pileup he was involved in during a JGTC race at Fuji Speedway on May 3, 1998, caused by a safety car which was driven at twice the recommended speed in torrential rain during a parade lap. Ota was seriously injured and, as a result, he subsequently brought a lawsuit against the race organizers.

Life[link]

Following his education at Musashi University, Ota turned to racing cars in 1982. He drove in the junior formula FJ1600 (Formula Japan) series before moving on to All-Japan F3 Championship in 1986 and then graduated to race in the domestic Formula 3000 series between 1987 to 1991, excepting 1989. Ota also competed in numerous domestic series such as (JTCC) Japanese Touring Car Championship, (JSPC) All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and Fuji Grand Champion Series as well as in Super Taikyu.^[1] While competing in JSPC, Ota was a factory driver for Mazda between 1989 to 1991.

Ota's first foray in racing outside Japan was when he competed in four straight 24 Hours of Le Mans races between 1993 to 1996, all with a DNF and one DNS.^[2]

In 1990 Ota married Atsuko. In 1993 he became a regular contributor to Neko Publishing's Tipo magazine. This gave him the privilege of being on the selection committee of the Car of the Year Japan (COTY).

Since his inaugural season Ota has competed in the All-Japan GT Championship. His speciality was racing Ferraris, especially in other series. Ota became the most highly regarded driver of the marque in Japan.^[2]

1998 JGTC Fuji incident[link]

On May 3, 1998, during round 2 of the JGTC at Fuji Speedway, Ota was badly injured. There were 47,000 spectators in attendance for the 67 lap race.^[3] At the time of race there was torrential rain and visibility was limited. Following the parade lap, the safety car drove through the starting line at 150 km/h (93 mph) then suddenly slowed down.^[2] This caused 910 Racing's Porsche 911 RSR driven by Tomohiko Sunako to aquaplane and strike the rear of Kaoru Hoshino's 911 GT2. Of the GT300 cars, the third car in front of the Porsches (and 22nd on the grid),^[4] the BMW M3 of Yasushi Hitotsuyama, behind, managed to avoid the Porsche by driving onto the grass and then back to the circuit, while the Porsche struck a barrier and rested on the grass.^[2] A caution flag was waved out.

Seconds later, the Team Ferrari Club of Japan's Ferrari F355 Challenge driven by Ota, slowed down, causing it to aquaplane and swerve left directly onto the Porsche. Both exploded into a fireball on impact.^[2] The Ferrari, after hitting the wall, slid across to the other side of the track and rested at the pit stop exit. Another Porsche swerved to avoid Ota.

Luckily, the driver of the blazing Porsche managed to stumble out of his car with a fractured right leg and was quickly attended to by rescue officials.^[3]

The RE Amemiya RX-7 driven by Shinichi Yamaji stopped in front of the Ferrari while the other cars drove on. Yamaji used a fire extinguisher from his own car to extinguish the fire and then helped to release Ota's safety harness. He did this before race marshals arrived.^[3][5]

Ota was trapped in his car for almost 90 seconds while exposed to 800-degree temperatures and had to be dragged out of the car by a safety marshal.^[2] The marshal lay him on the ground which caused his semi-melted visor to sag onto his face. Ota attempted to get up, but fell. During his another attempt, another marshal spotted Ota, picked him up, and bundled him into the circuit's minivan, rather than the ambulance.

Ota was taken to a hospital in Gotemba^[3] where he was treated for third-degree burns to his face and neck area and minor burns to the rest of the body. He was fortunate to survive. He required plastic surgery to the nasal area as a result of the visor melting on his face. He also suffered from intoxication from the fumes he inhaled from the fire.

As a result of his injuries, Ota was unable thereafter to move his right arm, right shoulder and fingers properly, causing an end to his professional race career.^[2]

Race Canceled[link]

The race was to be rescheduled to a shortened 51 lap race, but thick fog rolled in over the circuit causing the race to be delayed. Organizers waited, hoping that the weather would improve, but by 17:00 the organizers announced that the race was officially called off and all results were voided.^[3]

Subsequent court case[link]

Reports on the incident were filed by the JAF and race organizers. One of the reports stated that Ota did not wear a fire resistant balaclava as required; which he denied.^[5] Also, the report stated that the safety team started fighting fire 20 seconds after the accident, but the reality was the flames of Ota's car were first fought by fellow drivers 50 seconds after the crash while Ota was still trapped inside.^[5]

As a result, Ota filed a damages suit for about ¥290 million ($2,500,000 US) against seven organizers for their failure to implement proper safety measures in Tokyo District Court in November 1999.^[5][6] Those held liable included circuit operator, Fuji Speedway, series organizer, Japan Automobile Federation (JAF); the race operator, VICIC (Victory Circle Club)^[5] and broadcaster TV Tokyo.

On 29 October 2003 six race sponsors and promoters including TV Tokyo, VICIC and Fuji Speedway were found guilty of gross negligence. The success of the lawsuit was due to the recorded TV coverage of the incident which was shown in court.^[5] The responsible parties were ordered to pay ¥90 million ($800,000 US) compensation for pain and suffering, on the grounds that their first aid response was poorly prepared and their race marshals were poorly trained.^[5][6] The judge, Tsuyoshi Ono, decided that organizers neglected their responsibility, as Ota was left in his burning vehicle for longer than the 30 seconds in which he should have been out of the car. The organizers had failed to take sufficient precautionary measures, such as having fire engines on standby as is required to extinguish fires and rescue drivers in 30 seconds or less.^[5]

The judge determined the pre-race agreement between Ota and the organizers not to pursue legal action in the event of an accident was unacceptable.^[2] Despite his written pledge to organizers not to seek compensation in the event of an accident, which all drivers were required to sign, the judge ruled it unfair and said it runs counter to public order and morals. Ono added that the pledge, branded by him as a "death pledge," aims to exempt organizers from responsibility, allowing them to benefit economically from races.^[5]

The judge ruled that the safety car was driving at an excessive pace of 150 km/h rather than at the safety pace of 60 km/h, causing the accident when it suddenly slowed down and determined the "fire fighting and rescue preparations were also not up to scratch."^[2]

The judge ruled that Ota was partially responsible as he did not decelerate early enough.^[5] Ota was satisfied with the outcome.^[2]

TV Tokyo denied any responsibility themselves throughout the case, as they did not regard themselves as one of the race organizers. The court found TV Tokyo guilty of gross negligence for attempting to avoid responsibility for its part in the incident.^[2]

The claim against JAF was rejected as they could not be held responsible.^[5]

Post court case[link]

Shortly after, there has been a documentary film about the incident titled Crash (クラッシュ), released in 2003 as well as the book titled Re•Birth, documenting his struggle to rebuild his life and his body.

A number of improved safety measures were introduced following the accident, including the introduction of a "doctor car" that contained medical and rescue specialists.^[5]

Ota has since continued to be involved in motorsport, but no longer on a professional scale. He runs a car tuning and race preparation garage, named Tezzo, specializing in Italian cars.

References[link]

• JGTC incident video on YouTube
• TV coverage of the incident on YouTube

External links[link]

• (Japanese) Official site
• (Japanese) WEB KEEP ON RACING
• (Japanese) 太田哲也さんインタビュー「全ての人にチャンスを ～Keep on Racing」
• (Japanese) 太田哲也オフィシャルブログ
• (Japanese) Crash official page
• (Japanese) Tezzo

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. It includes attribution to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2009)

Keiichi Tsuchiya

In 2008, as Executive Advisor of ARTA
Nationality	Japanese
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1994-2000
Teams	Team Kunimitsu Honda, Team Lark McLaren, Toyota Team Europe, TV Asahi Team Dragon
Best finish	2nd (1999)
Class wins	2 (1995, 1999)

Keiichi Tsuchiya (土屋 圭市, Tsuchiya Keiichi^?, born January 30, 1956, Tōmi, Nagano, Japan) is a professional race car driver. He is also known as the "Drift King" (or Dorikin (ドリキン)) for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport. He is also known for touge (mountain pass) driving.

The car he drives, a Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno, has become one of the most popular sports cars; the car is also known as "Hachi-Roku" in Japan (hachi-roku meaning "eight six"); his car is also called "The Little Hachi that could." A video known as Pluspy documents Tsuchiya's touge driving with his AE86. He also is a consultant for one of the popular comic books, "Initial D". "Bunta" (Takumi's dad) is a character which describes him.

Biography[link]

Tsuchiya started his career through the Fuji Freshman series in 1977. Unlike many drivers who came from wealthy families or motorsport backgrounds, he honed his skills from street racing and became an underground legend.

Racing career[link]

National championships

He would continue to take part in the Japanese Formula Three Championship, Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC), the latter while driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R (previously in the Cosmo Oil Sierra Cosworth) in the Group A championships and later a Honda Civic in the Supertouring car championships. ^[1]

Le Mans

He went on to score a class win and an 8th place overall at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Honda NSX. In 1999 of the same race, this time in a Toyota GT-One, during the last hour while co-driver Ukyo Katayama was building up pace to the leading BMW V12 LMR he was forced into the grass by a backmarker privateer's BMW LMP, blowing the tire out. They survived the ordeal and went onto score the fastest lap but were forced to settle for second.

NASCAR

He has raced in NASCAR-sanctioned exhibition races at Suzuka Circuit (Suzuka Thunder 100) and at Twin Ring Motegi Superspeedway for the 1998 NASCAR-sanctioned exhibition and 1999 NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series races at the circuit, both named the Coca-Cola 500K.

Drifting career[link]

When Tsuchiya was a freshman in circuit racing, he got his racing license suspended because of the illegal racing he was still doing. In the movie series Shuto Kousoku Trial, he advised street racers to leave the illegal racing scene if they want to become involved with professional racing. ^[2]

After his retirement[link]

After his retirement, he remained in racing and is now an official Drift Muscle(He Quit D1 in January 2011) judge and was Team Director for both GT500 (for one year) and GT300 Class of ARTA JGTC Team until the team disbanded their GT300 operation at the end of the 2005 season. He owned the aftermarket suspension company Kei Office until he sold the business in 2005. His trademark color is jade green which appears on his overalls and helmet and is the adopted color of the company he used to own, Kei Office. It was also the color of the D1 Grand Prix Kei Office S15 Silvia of driver and employee Yasuyuki Kazama who also wears a suit similar in pattern.

He also hosts the video magazine "Best Motoring" which features road tests of new Japanese cars including a special section called "Hot Version" which focuses on performance-modified cars. He is a guest presenter in Video Option, a monthly video magazine, similar to the Hot Version which also regularly covers the D1GP and its sister video magazine Drift Tengoku which deals purely with drifting.

He has been an editorial supervisor on the televised anime Initial D and Wangan Midnight. He appeared in episode 23 of Initial D First Stage as a special guest. He also appeared in the semi biographical film Shuto Kousoku Trial 2,3,4,5 and was also featured in the Super GT magazine show in Japan. His life in driving is parallel to that of the Initial D main character, Takumi, as both of them started exploring their local touge while doing regular deliveries for their family businesses. In Initial D 1st Stage episode 23, he was alluded to when Takumi's father was having a conversation on the phone with someone referred to as "Mr. Tsuchiya" who addressed Takumi's father as "Bunta," adding that the memories of his drifting still "scared the shit" out of him. In the Initial D 3rd Stage, the color can also be seen on the overalls and helmet of the sportsbike rider who overtook Takumi as he was en route to an initiation battle with Ryosuke Takahashi. The color of Tomo's racing suit from the Initial D 4th Stage is jade green and has a similar pattern to Tsuchiya's suit. Lastly, Keiichi himself is featured in one episode of Initial D right before the battle with Ryosuke Takahashi when he calls Bunta (Takumi's father) to inquire about the young man. Here he is shown wearing a similar race suit design.

He also made an appearance opposite Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson in a Motorworld in Japan special showing drifting competition in the late 1980s in Japan.

After 1995, he sometimes appeared as a Formula One guest commentator in Japanese Fuji TV. He now owns a new suspension company called DG5.

In 2006, he made a cameo as a fisherman in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in which he was also stunt coordinator and stunt man. Although he only had two lines, it is considered to be an inside joke to the drift racing community.

AE86 Specs[link]

Quotes[link]

• "I drift not because it is a quicker way around a corner but the most exciting way."

• "Speed isn't everything; you gotta look cool on the touge too."

• "This is fun! I wish that Toyota could make cars like this again!" (on the Toyota AE86)

• "Yeah! How come this car gets me fired up all the time?" After winning a downhill touge against a Skyline R34 with the Toyota AE86^[3]

• "カウンターステアが遅いんだな？ (Countersteer is late, huh?)" (from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, dubbed as "You call that drifting?")

• "Men with guts attack those corners!"^[3] - it was a reply to Nobuteru Taniguchi who, driving a more powerful car on the touge, said " I'll get away with turbo power on the straights."

• "The most important thing is balance." (Tsuchiya says this word in every race action.)

• "There's tension on the track; now you see how hard it is. You may be fastest on the street but, unless you know the track, you're not good enough to sit behind the wheel." (Tsuchiya speaking to Shikiba, subtitled portion, Shuto Kusokou Trial MAX)

• "I'm afraid that if I raced you on the street I'd push you to your death." (Tsuchiya speaks to Takahiro Yamanaka, subtitled portion, Shuto Kusokou Trial 2)

• "What is power without control?"

• "It's so fast it will make a dead man scream" (Tsuchiya describing the performance of the Mines R34 Skyline)

• "This is a Cefiro!" (Tsuchiya negatively describing the performance of the V35 Skyline)

• "The important thing is to keep trying"

Career results[link]

• 1977 Debut in Fuji Freshman series.
• 1977-1984 Ran selected entries in All Japan Touring Car championship.
• 1984 Fuji Freshman series race (Toyota AE86)= 6 wins
• 1985 All Japan Touring Car championship (Toyota AE86) 1st in Class 3
• 1986 Corolla Sprinter Cup-2 podium places
• 1987 All Japan Touring Car championship (Honda Civic) -1 win
• 1988 Toyota Cup-1st overall
  • All Japan Touring Car championship (BMW E30) -3rd in Class 2
• Macau Guia race (BMW M3) -4th overall
• 1989 All Japan F3 championship
  • All Japan Touring Car championship (Ford Sierra Cosworth) -1 win
• 1990 All Japan Touring Car championship (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
  • Macau Guia race (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
  • New Zealand Touring Car series (Toyota)
• 1991 All Japan F3 championship (Ralt-Mugen)-10th overall
  • All Japan Touring Car championship (Nissan Skyline GT-R) -5th overall
• 1992 All Japan Touring Car championship (Nissan Skyline GT-R)
• 1993 All Japan Touring Car championship (Taisan Nissan Skyline GT-R) -1 win
  • Japan Endurance series (Honda Prelude) -2nd Tsukuba 12 Hours
• 1994 All Japan GT championship (Porsche 911T) -1 win
  • All Japan Touring Car championship (Honda Civic)
  • Suzuka 1000 km (Porsche 911T) -1st in class, 2nd overall
  • Le Mans 24 Hours (Honda NSX) -18th overall
• 1995 All Japan GT championship (Porsche911TRSR)
  • All Japan Touring Car championship (Honda Civic)
  • Suzuka 1000 km (Honda NSX) -5th overall
  • Tokachi 12 Hours (Honda NSX) -1st overall
  • Le Mans 24 Hours (Honda NSX) -1st in class
• 1996 All Japan GT championship (Honda NSX) -13th overall
  • Entered NASCAR Thunder Special race at Suzuka
  • Le mans 24 Hours (Honda NSX) -3rd in class
• 1997 All Japan GT championship (Porsche 911/Dodge Viper)
  • Fuji InterTec race (Toyota Chaser)
  • Suzuka 1000 km (Lark McLaren F1 GTR) -9th overall
  • Entered NASCAR Thunder Special race at Suzuka
  • Le Mans 24 Hours (Lark McLaren F1 GTR) -qualified 10th, retired from race
• 1998 All Japan Touring Car championship (Toyota Chaser) -7th overall
  • All Japan GT championship (Toyota Supra) -8th overall
  • Le Mans 24 Hours (Toyota GT-One) -9th overall
  • NASCAR at the California Speedway.
• 1999 Japan Touring Car Championship (Advan Altezza Touring car).
  • Le Mans 24 Hours (Toyota GT-One) -2nd overall
• 2000 Le Mans 24 Hours (Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S) -8th overall
• 2000-2003 he joined team ARTA racing an NSX once again in the All Japan GT championship.
• 2004-2005 studied in Australia to complete inter-2 course.

References[link]

1. ^ http://driftjapan.com/blog/drivers/keiichi-drift-king-tsuchiya/
2. ^ Books LLC, Books LLC (2010). Drifting Series: D1 Grand Prix, Formula D, Red Bull Drifting World Championship, Keiichi Tsuchiya, Nz Drift Series, D1nz, Option, Video Option. Drifting Series. General Books LLC. ISBN 9781158069118. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Touge Showdown 2 - AE86 vs Skyline GT-R - Hot Version International" on YouTube

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Keiichi Tsuchiya

• (Japanese) Official site
• IMDb profile
• AsianAthlete.com profile
• (Japanese) Bridgestone Automobile Radio
• Best Motoring International
• Drift Japan » Keiichi 'Drift King' Tsuchiya - Driver Profile and Overview

Allan McNish

Born	(1969-12-29) 29 December 1969 (age 42)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	2002
Teams	Toyota, Renault (Test Driver)
Races	17 (16 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2002 Australian Grand Prix
Last race	2002 Japanese Grand Prix

Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a Scottish racing driver. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2008, and three-time American Le Mans Series champion.

Early life[link]

McNish who was born in Dumfries, Scotland played football while at school. He was a fan of Nottingham Forest and also supported his local club Queen of the South. It wasn't until McNish began in karting that he found something at which he excelled.^[1]

Early career[link]

McNish began his career in karting like fellow Dumfries and Galloway driver David Coulthard. McNish credited the start given to both of them and Dario Franchitti as being largely down to David Leslie senior and junior.^[2]

McNish and Coulthard both were recognised with a McLaren/Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award having moved up to car racing. In 1988 he won the Formula Vauxhall Lotus championship and in 1989 finished runner up to David Brabham in a close fought British Formula Three Championship. During the late 1980s McNish shared a house with team mate Mika Häkkinen.^[3]

Tipped as a future F1 driver, he tested with both McLaren and Benetton, whilst also competing in F3000, then the recognised second tier of European motorsport, in 1990-1992. Whilst racing his first season in F3000, McNish suffered a crash at a race in Donington Park where a bystander was fatally injured.^[4] He went on to finish 4th overall in the championship that season. Concentrating on F1 opportunities meant he appeared in F3000 only once during 1994, at Pau.

When an F1 drive failed to materialise, he returned to F3000 in 1995 with Paul Stewart Racing (run by the son of Sir Jackie Stewart who went on to form Stewart Grand Prix). While he was arguably the fastest driver of the year, a series of mishaps saw him well beaten by Super Nova drivers Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset in the title race. McNish's career appeared to stall in early 1996 after a deal to race in Formula Nippon fell through and Mark Blundell was preferred for a drive with the PacWest CART team. He also tested for Benetton during the year.

Sports cars[link]

Having devoted his career to the pursuit of an F1 chance, it is ironic that McNish has become one of the world's most highly rated sportscar drivers. His sportscar career began in 1996 with Porsche, at a time when their 911 GT1 model revolutionized sportscar racing. With the factory team he took this car to victory in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans, partnered by Laurent Aïello and Stephane Ortelli. He subsequently appeared for Toyota and Audi in the race, and after losing a likely victory in the dying stages of the 2007 event, scored a second triumph in 2008 with Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello driving an Audi R10.^[5] He has also raced with great success for Audi in the American Le Mans Series, winning the title with Dindo Capello in 2006 and 2007, and taking four overall victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring (2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012).

Formula One[link]

McNish's Toyota engine fails at the 2002 French Grand Prix.

McNish finally found an opening into Formula One in 2001, when the newly formed Toyota F1 team required a development driver. Given his link with Toyota through sportscars he was an obvious choice for this role, and after impressing in testing he was hired to race for the season. He did not score any points during the season's 17 races, and he and team-mate Mika Salo were replaced with a new line-up of Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta for 2003. Salo had scored points for the team on their debut in Melbourne and McNish had very nearly done the same in the Malaysian Grand Prix, only for a pit lane mistake by the team to cost him the result. Both drivers were told of their replacement before Da Matta was announced, and ITV's Martin Brundle commented that "replacing Salo and McNish with Panis and A.N. Other" was not, in his view, a step forward^{[citation needed]}.

McNish had a dramatic accident at the 130R corner while practising for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, but escaped serious injury. This led to the corner being reprofiled the following year^{[citation needed]}.

After Formula One[link]

McNish driving an Audi R10 TDI at the 2008 1000km of Silverstone

In 2003 he was a test driver for Renault F1, also doing a little TV work for ITV, but the next year he returned to his successful sports car racing career, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring, combining this in 2005 with a venture into the highly competitive DTM (German Touring Car Championship), where he competed against the likes of former F1 men Mika Häkkinen and Jean Alesi. He also won Sportscar Driver of the Year awards from the Autosport and Le Mans magazines and the (Jackie) Stewart Medal Award for services to Scottish Motor Sport. He was made the President of the Scottish Motor Racing Club at their annual Prize Giving and Dinner in 2007, succeeding Sir Jackie Stewart.

In 2006, he continued racing with the Audi factory team and was part of the driving line up which won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the new Audi R10 TDI diesel, setting pole position and breaking the lap record. In 2008, McNish won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Audi alongside Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. It was his first win at la Sarthe since 1998.

Since Formula 1 has introduced the Drivers' Representative on the stewards panel at all Grands Prix, McNish has featured as the Drivers' Representative twice in the 2011 season, in Monaco and most recently in Hungary and on both occasions he has penalised the McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton for various trangressions. He has also appeared in a Scania video test driving their new R730 V8.

Other formulae[link]

As well as those above, McNish has also raced in the following racing series:

• Karting
• Formula Ford
• Vauxhall Lotus
• British Formula 3
• North American GT
• FIA GT

Personal life[link]

He lives in Monaco with his wife Kelly and their two children. Prior to his marriage, McNish's stag party in Dumfries was attended by Dario Franchitti and Marino Franchitti and included taking in a Queen of the South football match.^[1]

Racing record[link]

Complete International Formula 3000 results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)