After the European campaign, the FIA WEC goes to Japan for the season’s sixth and penultimate round, paying another visit to the circuit nestling on the slopes of Mount Fuji. Maranello’s cars have always enjoyed success with the 4563-metre Japanese track. This year, two Ferrari 499Ps equipped with a hybrid powertrain will tackle the challenge of the six-hour race in the Hypercar, the World Endurance Championship’s top class.
The Fuji International Speedway is one of the most famous and popular in Japan, the first to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in the Land of the Rising Sun. The architect Hermann Tilke redesigned the track in 2003, increasing its overall length to 4,563 metres from the 4,359 metres of the version that hosted FIA World Sportscar Championship races from 1982 to 1988. Fuji includes one of the longest straights in the world, at over 1.5 km. Despite this feature, the track is marked by a sequence of fast turns alternating with slower but highly technical ones. The 300 R is among the most important and should be tackled at high speed. The circuit, in the province of Shizuoka, boasts a unique setting, with Mount Fuji - one of Japan’s sacred peaks - providing the background to many sections of the track.
The Fuji Circuit is located in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
The official name of the Fuji circuit is the "Fuji International Speedway" and takes its name from the mountain on whose slopes it is located.
Originally designed to host Nascar-type races in Japan, the layout, after a change of ownership, was converted into a road circuit and was inaugurated in 1965.
The original track measured 5,999 meters and was raced clockwise, with the 1.5-kilometre starting straight in the elevated section. The end of the straight entered into a very high speed banked curve known as "Dalichi" which proved to be highly dangerous, so much so, that initially the direction of travel was reversed, before later being eliminated completely, thereby reducing the track to 4,359 metres. After a radical restructuring, the circuit was reopened in 2005. The current version measures 4,563 metres. Over the years, a shorter track, plus another one for drifting have been added.
A parte la sua posizione ai piedi della montagna più famosa del Giappone – il monte Fuji appunto – il circuito si caratterizza per la presenza di uno dei rettilinei più lunghi presenti nel motorsport con i suoi 1.475 metri oltre che per il clima. Il clima umido e piovoso tipico della zona, infatti, ha spesso condizionato le corse.