is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and national racing. Originally managed by Mitsubishi Estate Co., Fuji Speedway was acquired by Toyota Motor Corporation in 2000. The circuit hosted the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix in 2007 after an absence of nearly 30 years, replacing the Suzuka Circuit owned by Honda. After Fuji Speedway hosted the 2008 race, the Japanese Grand Prix returned to Suzuka for races from 2009 onward. The Super GT Fuji 500 km race is held at the racetrack on Golden Week. Fuji Speedway has one of the longest straights in motorsport tracks, at in length. The circuit has an FIA Grade 1 license. History 1963–79: F1 launches in Japan Fuji Speedway Corporation was established in 1963 as Japan NASCAR Corporation. At first, the circuit was planned to hold NASCAR-style races in Japan. Therefore, the track was originally designed to be a banked superspeedway, but there was not enough money to complete the project and only one of the bankings was completed. Mitsubishi Estate Co. invested in the circuit and took over the reins of management in October 1965. Converted to a road course, the circuit opened in December 1965 and proved to be somewhat dangerous, with the wide banked turn (named "Daiichi") regularly resulting in major accidents. Vic Elford said: After a fatal accident in 1974 on the Daiichi banking where drivers Hiroshi Kazato and Seiichi Suzuki were both killed in a fiery accident that injured 6 other people, a new part of track was built to counteract the problem, and the resultant course, which also eliminated 5 other fast corners, proved more successful. In 1966, the track hosted a USAC Indy Car non-championship race, won by Jackie Stewart. The track had a 24-hour race in 1967. The speedway brought the first Formula One race to Japan at the end of the 1976 season. The race had a dramatic World Championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and in rainy conditions, Hunt earned enough points to win the title. Mario Andretti won the race, with Lauda withdrawing due to the dangerous conditions. In 1977, Gilles Villeneuve was involved in a crash that killed two spectators on the side of the track, leading to