Autopolis
 The track's layout .JPG)
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| Location |
Kamitsue village, in Hita City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan |
|---|---|
| Owner | Kawasaki Motors Corporation Japan |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Construction cost | ¥47 billion |
| Architect | Yoshitoshi Sakurai |
| Major events |
Super GT Super Formula MFJ Superbike Super Taikyu |
| Full Circuit | |
| Length | 4.673 km (2.904 mi) |
| Lap record | 1:26.469, Naoki Yamamoto, Team Mugen, Dallara SF14, 2014 |
| Main Circuit | |
| Length | 3.022 km (1.877 mi) |
| Lakeside Circuit | |
| Length | 1.761 km (1.094 mi) |
Autopolis (オートポリス Ōtoporisu?) is an international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan (30 km Northeast of Kumamoto). Opened in 1990, it hosts a range of domestic and international motorsport events throughout the year. Although the track meets a high standard in terms of its facilities, it has never hosted a Formula One race. Due to the circuit ending up in financial difficulties, it has changed hands several times but still operates to this day.
The circuit, located within Aso Kujiyu National Park, was built at a cost of $500 million by the wealthy real-estate developer and investment banker Tomonori Tsurumaki who made headlines in 1989, when during a Paris auction, he successfully bid a Pablo Picasso painting Les Noces de Pierrette for $51.3 million from his Tokyo hotel room. Following his successful bid, he announced that his painting was to hang at the art gallery of the auto racing resort, under development at the time.
The circuit was designed by Yoshitoshi Sakurai who was the project leader of the Honda F1 team during the 1960s.
Tsurumaki ordered 30 Buick powered US built single seater race cars called "Sabre Cars" for a race to take place on his circuit's grand opening, on November 1990 consisting of a mixture of invited US CART drivers such as Stan Fox, Johnny Rutherford, Dick Simon, Gary and Tony Bettenhausen, against local Japanese drivers. After the grand opening, Tsurumaki planned on a series with the cars, known as Formula Crane 45. A few races were run in 1991, with only a handful of cars competing.
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