Toyota eyes F1 race after buying Japanese circuit

Toyota eyes F1 race after buying Japanese circuit

TOKYO (AFP): Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it was buying one of Japan's largest racing circuits in a bid to break rival Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s grip on Formula One in Japan.

Japan's largest automaker said it had agreed to purchase 49 percent of Fuji International Speedway Co. Ltd. for 2.5 billion yen (US$23 million) from Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd.

Toyota said its stake would rise to 67 percent after a planned share placement by Fuji International by the end of this year, and would send Hisamitsu Shimada, 57, as the circuit's new president.

Mitsubishi Estate currently holds 80 percent and general contractor Taisei Corp. 20 percent of the race circuit, which lies 120 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.

Toyota will spend 10 billion yen to renovate facilities at the loss-making circuit by the end of 2004 to gear it up for Formula One, Toyota president Fujio Cho told a news conference.

"Along with our young technicians, we have been thinking for a long time that we want to take part in motor sports and captivate young people's imaginations," he said.

The circuit, which stages the Formula Nippon championship, has been losing money for six years because of a rapid fall in visitor numbers, and expects to post a loss of 300 million yen this fiscal year.

Seizing Formula One hosting rights from Honda would give the circuit and Toyota a massive boost, said Toyota vice president Shinichi Kato.

"The most amicable solution would be for two Grand Prix races to be held in Japan, but that's up to the International Automobile Federation (FIA)," he said. Japan used to host its own and a Pacific Grand Prix.

"We cannot say when we'll be able to stage an F1 race at the Fuji Speedway, but I hope we can stage one as soon as possible after we make the circuit ready in 2004," Kato said.

Toyota will upgrade the track and enlarge the circuit's paddock to F1 specifications in a bid to win FIA approval, he said.

Honda and Toyota will intensify their motor sports rivalry in 2002 when Toyota makes its F1 debut as a full works team, with Finland's Mika Salo as its lead driver.

Toyota's F1 entry was originally scheduled for 2001, but in June it announced a 12-month delay and so forfeited a 1.3-billion-yen deposit.

Honda has its own circuits at Suzuka, 300 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, which has the rights to stage the Japanese Grand Prix until 2007, and at Twin Ring Motegi, 100 kilometers north of Tokyo.

Honda, which quit F1 racing in 1992 after eight successful years as an engine supplier, made a comeback this season with an engine for former world champion Jacques Villeneuve's British American Racing outfit.

The Fuji Speedway opened in 1965 and staged two F1 races in 1976 and 1977. The latter year saw a spectator and steward killed when a Ferrari driven by Villeneuve's father, Gilles, ploughed into the crowd following a shunt from Sweden's Ronnie Peterson in a Tyrrel.