Fuji circuit expects to be big draw

Management at the Toyota-owned circuit, with snow-capped Mount Fuji towering in the background on a clear day, told reporters on a tour of the facilities on Tuesday that they expected a race day attendance of 140,000.

Fuji International Speedway president Hiroaki Kato said the total over three days was likely to be around 300,000.

The circuit, which hosted the 1976 title-deciding race that crowned Britain's James Hunt as champion by one point, has been absent from the calendar since 1977 when an accident involving Sweden's Ronnie Peterson and Canadian Gilles Villeneuve killed two spectators.

Honda-owned Suzuka, which hosts this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix for possibly the last time, has been a fixture since Formula One returned to the country in 1987.

Toyota, who celebrate 50 years in motorsport next year, spent some 20 billion yen ($170 million) between September 2002 and 2005 on renovating the circuit with the help of German track designer Hermann Tilke.

With one of the longest straights in Formula One, at 1.475 km, cars are expected to reach top speeds of around 330kph before heavy braking into a tight first corner.

"We believe that the fastest lap at the first grand prix will be less than one minute 20 seconds," Fuji general manager Max Suzuki said.

Safe circuit

Toyota's Brazilian test driver Ricardo Zonta said the many wide asphalt run-off areas also made it one of the safest circuits with plenty of overtaking opportunities.

However, Toyota motorsport president John Howett cautioned that it was hard to evaluate the venue's true nature until the grand prix cars accelerated out of the pit lane for real.

"A lot of effort's gone on to make it a good track for overtaking and challenging for the drivers," he said.

"It also has heritage and can offer something special.

"It should be a good challenge for the engine designers to make sure they can get the power and the durability."

With 63 percent of Japan's population, equivalent to 80 million people, living within 300km of the circuit and hundreds of thousands expected over the race weekend, traffic congestion could be a problem.

The circuit is in a protected area of natural beauty, nestling among wooded hillsides and with limited road access.

"I think they need to ensure and give confidence that they can get people in and out of the track and provide adequate accomodation," said Howett.

"It's a challenge... but they (the organisers) are fairly confident that with the support of the local authorities they can achieve a good result."