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| Okayama International Circuit | |
| Location | Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan |
|---|---|
| Active from | N/A - present |
| Major events | Super GT, Formula Nippon, All Japan Road Race Championship, WTCC, Pacific Grand Prix |
| Surface | N/A |
| Length | 2.300 mi (3.703 km) |
| Turns | 13 |
| Lap record | 1:14.023 (Michael Schumacher, Benetton B194-Cosworth, 1994, class) |
The Okayama International Circuit (formerly known as TI Circuit Aida) is a 2.301-mile (3.7 km) private motorsport race track in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. TI is abbreviation of "Tanaka International" after the name of the holding company, though the name of the circuit was officially "TI Circuit Aida".
The course was built in 1992 as a private race track for the wealthy. Soon, it hosted its first race, staged by veteran British drivers (which explains the circuit's corner names, such as Hobbs and Attwood).
In 1994 and 1995, the TI Circuit hosted the Formula One Pacific Grand Prix; both events were won by Michael Schumacher in his early title-winning years. This race made Japan one of only six countries to ever host more than one Formula One event in the same year. It was discontinued primarily due to its location in a remote area of Japan.
In March, 2003, "TI Circuit Company" was transferred from "Tanaka International Company" to Unimat Holding Co., Ltd. [1]. Thus, the owner of the circuit was renamed Okayama International Circuit Co., Ltd. on May 1, 2004 and the name of the circuit was changed from "TI Circuit Aida" to "Okayama International Circuit" on January 1, 2005.
On October 26, 2008, the circuit hosted a round of the Formula V6 Asia and FIA World Touring Car Championship. The WTCC race was the first world championship FIA race since 1995. However, it was announced on June 21, 2010 that Suzuka Circuit would host the Japan round of the 2011 WTCC season instead of the Okayama International Circuit.[1]
References[]
- ↑ "FIA WTCC TO RACE AT SUZUKA IN 2011". fiawtcc.com. 2010-Jun-21. http://www.fiawtcc.com/Read_News.asp?idnews=585. Retrieved 2010-Jul-20.
External links[]
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