Tag Archives: fuji speedway

Weds Racing Forg, Japan’s first forged 3-piece wheel reissued

In 1977 the Weds Racing Forg made history as Japan’s first 3-piece forged wheel. It immediately became popular among touring car race teams. To commemorate Weds’ 60th anniversary in 2024, the wheel company is remaking the Racing Forg in three … Continue reading

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Drive a classic Toyota Supra when you stay at the Fuji Speedway Hotel

If you’re planning to visit Fuji Speedway soon, you might want to look into the Supra Winter Festival. The program lets guests of the Fuji Speedway Hotel drive a Supra during their stay. While the main purpose of the promotion … Continue reading

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Overtake, a new racing anime, is coming this fall

The world is still waiting for the next Initial D, the last racing anime to really take the globe by storm. Could a new series about open wheel racing take the mantle? Titled Overtake, the series focuses on Formula 4, … Continue reading

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Tetsu Ikuzawa’s 1967 Japan Grand Prix-winning 906 gets factory homage from Porsche

No, you haven’t mistakenly clicked on German Nostalgic Car (no relation). Granted, this isn’t the type of car we normally cover, but it’s too cool not to share. Porsche Japan has created a one-off factory custom tribute to Tetsu Ikuzawa’s … Continue reading

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50 YEAR CLUB: The Toyota Celica, a pivotal player in Japan’s car culture

Fifty years ago this day, on December 1 1970, the first Toyota Celica went on sale in Japan. It proved to be a groundbreaking car, the first of Japan’s production “specialty cars”, fashionable personal coupes based on a sedan chassis. … Continue reading

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Toyota is building a Motorsports Village at Fuji Speedway

Toyota, which owns Fuji Speedway, is planning to turn the facility into a world-class motorsports destination. It has announced plans to a motorsports village that will include a luxury hotel, museum, and facilities for both racing teams and privateers to … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Watch these old Nissans dominate Fuji Speedway

If you’ve ever wondered why Nissan has such a strong following among Japanese enthusiasts, this video snapshot from 1970-71 explains it all. Nissans of all types dominate the field in two major races from those years. Though this was likely … Continue reading

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Mazda 4-rotor vs Toyota V10: Which race car sounds better?

At Toyota’s recent Gazoo Racing Festival, fans got the rare opportunity to see — and hear — two vastly different top-level prototype race cars roaring side by side. Both the Mazda 787B’s quad-rotor and the Toyota TS010’s 3.5-liter V10 hailed … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Watch Gan-san whip a Hakosuka GT-R around Fuji Speedway

In 2003, Fuji Speedway was shut down for a year in order for a major redesign. It wouldn’t be its first, but it would be substantially different than any of the previous configurations. To celebrate the last days of the … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Listen to the wail of the Prince R380

At the second Japan Grand Prix in 1964, Prince Motor Company pit a family sedan against a race car. And even though Shinichiro Sakurai stuffed a two extra cylinders down the nose of the Prince, the purpose-built Porsche 904 won … Continue reading

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JNC LIBRARY: Sam Mitani’s The Prototype is a thriller with Japanese cars at its center

In the world of spy thrillers, full of CIA agents, gunfights, and global power balance-changing secrets that cannot fall into the wrong hands, there typically aren’t a lot of Japanese cars mentioned. However, when the author is former International Editor … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: The Kenmeri GT-R running at Fuji Speedway, just like it was always meant to

At the 1972 Tokyo Motor Show the most anticipated race car in Japan was unveiled at the Nissan stand. The Hakosuka Skyline GT-R was the most beloved touring car in the country, but its time was coming to an end. Nissan was unveiling … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: TS Cup Sunnys and Bluebirds race at the NISMO Festival

We’ve written a lot here at JNC about TS Cup Nissan Sunnys over the years. They always have a habit of showing up, no matter which classic car event in Japan you’re at. That makes sense, as it’s one of the most active … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: On board with the Drift King in a Group A R32 Skyline GT-R

The R32 Skyline GT-R is a legend among legends, due in no small part to its utter domination of Group A touring car racing in the early 1990s. During the four years it competed in Japan it won every single race it … Continue reading

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VIDEO: On board with the original Hakosuka GT-R touring car at Fuji Speedway

The legendary GT-R name began with boxy, sedan-based touring cars racing at Fuji Speedway. NISMO has just released a video in which they take one of these PGC10 Hakosuka Skyline GT-Rs out on Fuji Speedway, the circuit where they forged their legendary … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Why Calsonic Blue is a legendary livery in Japanese racing

Outside of Japan, most enthusiasts’ first encounter with the legendary Calsonic Blue livery of Nissan’s touring cars was likely in Gran Turismo. Specifically, it graced the R32 Skyline GT-R of the Japan Touring Car Championships, and while Godzilla notably won every single JTCC … Continue reading

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50 YEAR CLUB: Toyota 2000GT

Fifty years ago, the automotive world was forever changed. It was a Tuesday, May 16, 1967 that the Toyota 2000GT was introduced. It marked the dawn of a new age, a breakthrough in not only Japan’s automotive industry, but in … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Hear the Nissan Fairlady 240ZG tear around Fuji Speedway

Fans at least year’s NISMO Festival were treated to the spectacle of Nissan’s historic racing machines tearing around the legendary Fuji Speedway. Though we were able to share photos of the event, there’s nothing like being there and hearing the cars actually … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Nissan R381 “Monster Bird” at Fuji Speedway

Nissan built the R381 race car, affectionately known as the Monster Bird, specifically to prevent the equally monstrous Toyota 7 from winning the Japan Grand Prix. At last year’s NISMO Festival Nissan took the car out for a spin around Fuji Speedway, mixing … Continue reading

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RIP Namco founder Masaya Nakamura, 1925-2017

Video game pioneer Masaya Nakamura passed away on January 22 at the age of 91. News just broke in Japan, leading to an outpouring of love for the man whose company gave the world Pac-Man. However, before the round yellow ghost-hunter became a global phenomenon, … Continue reading

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