page_title: Suzuka Circuit
section_title: Motorsport events
hierarchical_section_title: Suzuka Circuit / Motorsport events
caption_attribution_description: M. Schumacher car, Suzuka 2006
context_page_description: Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka Circuit for short, is a motorsport race track in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Mobilityland Corporation, the subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd..
context_section_description: Suzuka is one of the oldest remaining tracks of the Formula One World Championship. It has a long history of races as host of the Japanese Grand Prix. Suzuka was dropped from the Formula One calendar for the 2007 and 2008 seasons in favor of the Toyota-owned Fuji Speedway. Fuji had just been remodeled and the circuit redesigned by Hermann Tilke. Suzuka and Fuji were to alternate hosting the Japanese Grand Prix starting in 2009. In July 2009, Fuji announced that it would no longer be part of the F1 calendar. Suzuka signed a deal to host the Japanese Grand Prix through 2011.
  The circuit closed for a year to make renovations. They needed to make the track comply with Formula One requirements for 2009. The last major event held on 18 November 2007. The track held a re-opening day on 12 April 2009.
  Suzuka also hosts other motorsport events including the Suzuka 1000 km endurance race. The Suzuka 1000 km is a round of the Super GT series, and is the only race in that series of that length. Suzuka also hosts the Suzuka 8 Hours for motorcycles, which has been run since 1978.
  NASCAR organized the NASCAR Thunder 100, a pair of exhibition 100-lap races on the East Circuit. The races were held in 1996 and 1997. The 1.4 miles (2.3 km) layout which using the pit straight and S-corners, before rejoining the main circuit near the Casio Triangle.  The cars were from the Sprint Cup Series (then called Winston Cup) and Camping World West Series (then called Winston West). The field was by invitation for the two races, and the field included several Japanese and Australian drivers. The 1996 event was marred by tragedy when pace car driver Elmo Langley died of a heart attack during practice. During qualifying for the 1997 race, rain caused Goodyear to use rain tyres on the Sprint Cup cars. This was the first time in NASCAR's modern era (which started in 1972) that race cars used rain tyres.
  It was announced on 21 June 2010 that Suzuka Circuit would host the Japan round of the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season instead of the Okayama International Circuit.
caption: Michael Schumacher's car being carried after retiring from the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix
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