F1's Forgotten Japanese Track
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- Опубліковано 15 гру 2023
- With a nation as fanatical about motorsport as Japan is, it's perhaps not surprising that multiple tracks have hosted an F1 race in the country. However, one of these tracks seems to have been mostly forgotten about by F1 fans around the world. In this video, we look back at Okayama's brief tenure, as an F1 venue.
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Okayama is actually a really fun circuit. A fair amount of elevation change, plenty of hard braking zones for overtaking, and decent corner variety. It's perfect for GT3, GT2, or GT4. But, Prototypes and any open-wheeled car beyond a Formula 3 just feels too fast for this circuit.
Super GT still quite fun there
How about Super Formula??
@@ArnoldTriyudhoThis is my favourite track to drive with the Super Formula car on AC
I love sim racing on okayama!
It is horrible! No flow whatsover
The Pacific GP was originally scheduled at Autopolis in Japan, 1993 as a replacement for Mexico. When Autopolis went into receivership the race was replaced with The Grand Prix of Europe at Donington Park. Then for 1994 it was finally held at this circuit. This was supposed to have been the third race of 94. Originally the Argentine GP had been scheduled to replace South Africa as the opener. A new street circuit was gojng to be used in Buenos Aires, however after running into some issues, they choose to refurbish the Autodramo Oscar Alfredo Galvez. This change pushed Argentina to October 94, but they still were not going to be ready in time and was replaced once again by the Europe GP this time in Jerez. Argentina would finally return in 95 as round two. The Pacific GP moved to late in the year of 95 due to the Kobe Earthquake in early 95.
Can't believe that peice of crap circuit is real, thought it was dreamt up for Gran Turismo!
The only Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher has a 100% success quota, winning two out of two. 🙂
BTW: The 1995 Pacific Grand Prix was directly a week before the 1995 Japanese Grand Prix, which was won by Schumacher, too. His last win for Benetton.
I went to the Pacific GP and the Japanese GP in 1995 on a trip from the UK which also included the last race in Adelaide two weeks later. I needed a holiday after that trip. I did go back to Perth between Suzuka and Adelaide but that was mostly spent catching up with old friends and putting my possessions in cardboard boxes to ship to the UK.
The Pacific GP was meant to have been earlier in the year but the earthquake in Kobe delayed it and when it was moved to a week before the Japanese GP I had ro add it to my trip.
TI Aida was an interesting track and for the race I had a seat at Turn 1 that gave a view up pit straight. The trip back in a small school bus was a bit cramped though. I did have some of the best food at a track there though - some sort of meat on skewers.
@@simonkevnorris Meat on skewers sounds like it was yakitori, definitely good stuff
It was actually the start of a double-double in F1. Schumacher won 2 straight races in Japan, then Hill won 2 in a row in Australia (last of 95, first of 96).
Okayama hasn't hosted Super Formula races for a few years now, its last event was in 2020. That race was won by Sho Tsuboi who took his maiden win in the category.
Ah, those were the days.
A grid of 26 cars, which may or may not complete the race, depending on how many bits failed - and I completely forgot about those extraordinary rear wings that were used at the start of the 1995 season.
I miss when grids were more than 20 cars
As a track to drive, Okayama is pretty good. Sure, some of the corner names were a bit cheesy, like Hair Pin, but at least they had names, rather than turn [insert number here].
As I was too young to remember when F1 staged races there, I was 5 years old in 1994, I have rewatched both qualifying sessions and the races to get an idea of how F1 did. In the Eurosport coverage of the first qualifying session in 1994, John Watson commented on the amount of downforce the cars were having to run with, saying that the layout was more like a CART track than an F1 track.
Side note, for the 1994 race only, there was a pace car pacing the field on the warmup lap, something unique in F1 history
I still get cold chills when I think about this track from playing Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 2 because it was always so frustrating to race on if you weren't in the top ten on grid the at the start.
It was impossible to pass at unless you were feeling extremely daring (or stupid) and could try to force your way through.
I really remember this track more from Geoff Grammond's Grand Prix 2. It is very tight and twisty - a lot like Hungary. Difficult to overtake on - only being one spot to really do that.
Love that you remember Okayama.Terrific track for anything that's not an open wheeler.
I remember drinving this in the race game GP2, and it was just so twisty that there was little fun to be had. It has bekome rather famous in sim racing though, it seems.
As well as being tight and twisty I always thought Okayama was too short to host f1
To be fair, almost every circuit in Japan would be great in F1: Suzuka is a banger, Fuji is incredible, Motegi would be amazing, Okayama is a classic in GT3 and Sugo's elevation changes and environment would make it unique. Oh, and then there's Autopolis.....yeah, maybe this is the only exception 😅
Autopolis was vying for the Japanese GP in the early 90s. Kinda glad they didn't get it.
Motegi is awful. It has three interesting corners.
Suzuka is awful
Finally, an episode of Permanent Track Failures. One of my favourite tracks in the video game Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing
ITC was supposed to race at okayama in 1996 but the event was later moved to Suzuka
You know you've been watching so much rally when you think he said makinen, but he actually said hakkinen.
Same thing lol, both finns, both champs, both flying, etc.
Out of the 26 cars that started the race 15 retired. Crazy
1995 did bring out a classic from Martin Brundle in the BBC commentary box:
“I think they’re called Fortis because there appear to be about 40 of them. You keep coming across them every lap.”
‘Ironicness’ love it 😂
I loved driving this circuit on ToCA Race Driver, never realised until reading these comments that it had been on a fair few other games too!
For some reason the 94 race wasnt on yt for the longest time. Never understood why.
Anyone who's played iRacing has spent a lot of time at Okayama.
Good video. I love this track but I forgot F1 raced here.
I watched that monsoon of a SuperGT race this year. Was my first and last SuperGT race I watched live.
Did a deep dive into sennas death a few weeks ago and literally this race confused me so much since it was in Japan but not the Japanese GP. Had no idea the first race there was 1994 or that it was country club style track. Very interesting thanks for sharing
Fun fact, they wanted to hold the 1996 Pacific Grand Prix at Sentul circuit in Indonesia but the corners were too narrow and it was too short (despite being longer than Tanaka)
How did I not know about this track?! Not even my native-born colleagues mentioned it when they found out I was a big F1 fan! (I lived in Okayama for a year.)
Interessting, good job keep it up🩵🦋
awesome video
This track was on Microprose GP2.
I think you should have described the circuit in corner-by-corner basis, like you do with street tracks. Not that many 90 degree corners to find here
What about Autopolis?
Just wanted to mention it)
Bankruptcy. Pacific GP was suppise to ne there's for 93.
I really love this track on Racing Battle from the PS2 era, also still remember fondly of Ueo drifting his AE86 here.
here I thought it was going to be Sugo or Autopolis, forgot about Okayama, hence this video, lol
This track is an IRacing base content classic and has had some good SuperGT races, but yeah, kinda forgotten when it comes to F1.
Fun Fact: that gearbox failure in 1994 was Damon’s ONLY mechanical failure that year.
He collided with Hakkinen at Monaco to put them both out and again with Schumacher at Adelaide. He also lost his front wing colliding with Schumacher at Imola (finished 6th) and Hockenheim with Katayama (finished 8th)
If he’d not been involved in any ONE of those (the two he finished especially as it proves he would have gone the distance) Damon Hill would be a two time world champion
“IF is F1 spelt backwards” Murray Walker
Would you do a video about very old abandoned circuits like brookland or old clermont ferrand
An awesome circuit for slower cars even today, I really like Okayama. Just a shame F1 had its usual overtaking struggles there
Goes to show that F1 was never really a sport where overtaking was easy, like some people want to believe
This track is not forgotten for anyone who played on the formula 1 game on the original playstation. There even is a cheat code for formula 1 97 which will give you a mirrored version of this track to race on.
Okayama is the track I call my "test track" in Assetto Corsa. It's not one of my favorite circuits, but I think it is just perfect when I want to test a new car mod
Having raced this circuit on sim a number of times and in a variety of cars, I really liked it. It's quite the nice little track, its certainly better for GT and touring cars but its not a bad track either way
This was my favourite track on the original F1 game
THis is a super fun track to drive, and was one of my alltime favorites in F1 sims. It is indeed too short, narrow and difficult to overtake, but that makes it so exciting. I can see why they are not hosting F1 races any more, but I would really like to see how a modern car would do on this track.
At that time I didn't even watch F1 yet. The only contact I had with this track was in the racing game Grand Prix 2 on PC.
I live in Okayama prefecture and circuit is cool place to visit if you can. I went to a drift race and gt style car race there.
I attended the 1995 Pacific GP at TI Circuit Aida. Had to bus in daily from Osaka. It was the first GP I ever attended, and I saw drivers and even Murray Walker maybe 10 empty grandstand rows away on practice and qualifying days. I figured, "I'm sort of tired from walking almost all the way around the circuit, and it's hot out, so I'll just make a point of catching up with them next weekend at Suzuka." HAHAHAHAHAHA... no.
I remember the 95 race for being the debut race on Jan Magnussen standing in for Mika Hakinen who I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) had just had his appendix out.
The only reason this track was on the calendar was because Kyalami was dropped and Bernie needed a track to fill the gap
Yes Bernie did not find replacement for kyalami.he bring f1 here short,
Actually, I didn't forget it. I really loved driving on it in Microprose GP2.
Okayama is probably my favorite Japanese track, even over Suzuka 😅
come on this track so bad slow
iRacers know Okayama all too well 😆
Okayama is GOAT
Ah the good ol' days... What do we miss about that time again? Seem to be drawing a blank.
5:40 funny to see a Ferrari mechanic laughing at a Verstappen - if only Jos's son could be so reckless to spin off like that 😂
The highlights of 1994 show how far modern driving standards have come - especially the start with Hakkinen recklessly divebombing Senna rather than banking P3 and the crash involving Alboreto and Wendlinger. I think the cars then were harder to control but still some of the moves were pretty strange.
Why does the outline look exactly like Sugo? xD
It doesn’t
懐かしいなぁ＾＾ 実家にVHSのテープ残ってたような・・・
Fuji is amazing. Probably better with GT cars, but by far my favourite.
Forgotten? Man i must be getting old
techinally Honda was in the 95 season because Mugen is Hondas sports department
ah yes inoue. how can you forget htis legendary driver.
It's impressive that you didn't fail to pronounce the track's name. It's Ok-ah-yammer, not Oh-key-yammer.
this is the part with the car
Most interesting; to be honest, I wasn't aware this was originally built as a car track, it's just too perfect for bikes, much more than Motegi (If only FIM wasn't so anal about safety on non-American tracks...).
Also- Oosaka is the nearest major city? You don't have any friends from Hiroshima, I take it? And you probably never will, those people are so fiercely local-patriotic, they make the Scots look like loyal Englishmen.
5:37 - "and then Jos went a punched a baby for his own mistakes"
I expected the story to be about Aida.
Ironicness is irony.
What about sugo
Surprised you haven't mentioned that Schumi won the '95 title with that second win.
Another forgotten F1 track is the Oscar Galvez circuit in Argentina, it hosted its last race in 1998, maybe that also worth a video some day. Its last iteration was also slow and twisty and had a weird pit entry.
He did mention it.
Fuji is a terrible track. The Motegi road circuit is an amazing track and unfortunately only grade 2, so couldn't be used for F1. Indycar raced on it and it was very very good
Top 3 F1 tracks in order:
Suzuka
Okayama
Fuji
Anyone familiar with iRacing rookies knows this track, great vid though
Hakkinen casually ruining both williams races
wouldn't be easier to call Aida?
Eye-ee-da
Man those rear wings were fugly.
Man.... The amount of times I unconsciously went like "Bruh" in this video was way more than I thought it would be. It was a really funny way to make this video, I really liked it.
Aïda
I prefer Okayama to Suzuka, for bikes at least anyway. Unfortunately, the Japanese MotoGP takes place at the most boring circuit in the world, Motegi.
As others have said, another track that's bad for F1, but great for a lot of other things.
Circiut is isolated in mountains no fun track hard to overtake here,, slow track
bro can you make the f1's boring track in sochi?
Aida was too small and twisty for F1.
So Senna mustve used the same car at Imola as he did here. I wonder if there was some unseen damage from being T boned which caused his crash there.
I don't understand the love for Suzuka. The first sector is fine, all single file though, the rest of the circuit is just, well, there.
Boring track with nice scenery... More suited to slower Touring cars and why the track featured as dlc for the game Race Pro on xbox 360.
It's impressive that you didn't fail to pronounce the track's name. It's Ok-ah-yammer, not Oh-key-yammer.