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Tag Archive | "Fuji"

THE SUN SETS ON JAPAN

Thursday, November 5, 2009

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THE SUN SETS ON JAPAN

With the unsurprising announcement of the withdrawal of Toyota from Formula 1 effective immediately, along with the confirmation of Bridgestone of their withdrawal from 2010 onwards, it seems the bleak picture I painted towards the end 2008 of a mass withdrawal of Japanese interest in worldwide top flight motor sports has been finally realized. Japanese motor racing fans currently have very little to cheer about on an international scale.  Toyota has now followed Honda’s lead in withdrawing from Formula 1, Subaru and Suzuki no longer grace the World Rally Championship, and Kawasaki took its own hibernation from Moto GP also, save for providing a bike for Marco Melandri.  Kazuki Nakajima and Kamui Kobayashi have now joined the jobless Japanese Formula 1 driver’s queue, which already has claimed the popular Sakon Yamamoto and Japan’s most successful F1 driver Takuma Sato.

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TOYOTA OUT AS JAPAN SAYS SAYONARA F1

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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TOYOTA OUT AS JAPAN SAYS SAYONARA F1

A report in the Japanese English language newspaper "Mainichi Daily" claims that Toyota are about to announce their withdrawal from Formula One effective immediately. The company is due to annouce it's six monthly financial report this Thursday where it is expected to reveal a significant operating loss. Sales have dropped by just over 30 percent in the April to September period compared with the previous year, with exports falling 45.4 percent. The company had already announced it's decision to withdraw from hosting the Japanese Grand Prix at its' Fuji circuit and follows the news that Japanese tyre giant Bridgestone will pull out from F1 at the end of 2010.

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ACO & ALMS WORKING TOGETHER ON LE MANS’ ASIAN PUSH

Sunday, October 5, 2008

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ACO & ALMS WORKING TOGETHER ON LE MANS’ ASIAN PUSH

Le Mans organisers the Automobile Club de l'Ouest ACO and IMSA the organisers of the American Le Mans series will work together to expand the sport into Asia. Speaking on Radio Le Mans during the Petit Le Mans, ALMS founder Dr Don Panoz said that the dream of expanding the series in to the Asian region that began with the Race of a Thousand years in Adelaide was now fully back on the agenda and that his IMSA group would work with series owners the ACO to make the series a success. “We were already to go with a race in Malaysia back in 2001 but of course that was right after 9/11” said Dr Panoz. “nobody could fly anywhere and the race was cancelled.”

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