The Suzuka Circuit began as a test circuit for Honda in 1961, initially designed by Soichiro Honda himself, but after realizing the challenges of creating a race track, sent a telegram to John Hugenholtz, who was in the midst of redesigning the Zolder racetrack. Soon Hugenholtz was riding in a helicopter with Honda, overseeing the land which Honda planned to place the circuit. Hugenholtz initially designed a track that would avoid the numerous rice fields and large hills, but on his next visit discovered that Honda had already bulldozed the area. This admittedly left Hugenholtz with more room to work with, and he changed his initial design from 3 crossovers and multiple switchbacks, to a more reasonable figure of 8 with a wide array of fast bends and only one hairpin.
Construction was completed in less than a year, and opened with a sportscar race in September of 1962, won by Peter Warr in a Lotus 23. Tragedy nearly befell the circuit immediately after.
During the first motorcycle race at Suzuka, East German defector Ernst Degner, who had moved to Japan to race motorcycles, crashed horribly at the fast corner before the bridge underpass. Luckily, Degner survived his injuries to see the corner named after him.
After losing the Japanese Grand Prix in 1966 in favor of Fuji Speedway, Suzuka continued to serve its purpose as a test track for Honda's 2 and 4 wheeled vehicles, while GT and Sportscar races were run yearly, such as the 300km, 500km, 1000km, and 10 hour endurance races. Eventually the FIA returned to Suzuka with Formula 2 in the 1970's, and the 8 hours of Suzuka motorcycle race began in 1978.
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23 сен 2024
