Suzuka could return in '08 as hosts of the "Pacific" Grand Prix. (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos
One of Formula 1's last bona fide "driver's" circuit, Suzuka will no longer host the Japanese Grand Prix next season, after a 20-year run.
The Honda-owned track is set to lose the privilege to the revamped Fuji circuit, owned by bitter rivals Toyota. Fuji's return to the F1 calendar - it was host to the sport back in the '70s - was considered a given after Toyota made massive investments to upgrade the track and its facilities, but the possibility of two GPs in Japanese territory wasn't discarded until yesterday, when Suzuka was notified by F1's organizers.
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"Obviously we feel it's a great pity," Suzuka's public relations chief Yasuo Sugaya told the Reuters news agency. "But we are continuing negotiations in order to be included from the 2008 season."
Suzuka could return in a scenario similar to 1994 and '95, when Japan held two races at Suzuka and Aida, the latter being dubbed the Pacific GP. Last year, the Honda-owned track provided one of the season's highlights when Renault's Fernando Alonso overtook Ferrari's Michael Schumacher on the outside of the high-speed 130R bend.
