TWIN RING MOTEGI - RACE THREE
A set of exclusive photos from LAT Photographic and also a set from Indy Racing League photographers Race Summary.

RACE THREE: "It Caught Me"
As the 18-car field took the green flag at Twin Ring Motegi in treacherous conditions on cold tires, it was Marco Andretti who couldn't keep his car under him in the extreme conditions and ended his race in the wall. Lap 1, Turn1... crash!

Andretti said of the situation, "That's embarrassing. When you have cold tires like that you hope to take advantage of the other guys but instead it caught me. It was driver error for sure."

Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile.
Twin Ring Motegi

The year 2007 is the fifth since Indy cars first arrived in Japan. These races at average speeds of over 300 km/h have created legions of Indy fans in Japan. This year, the BRIDGESTONE INDY™ JAPAN 300 mile will once again be held at Twin Ring Motegi, the only oval course in Japan. The season looks to offer lots of topics for discussion, including the change in fuel and Kosuke Matsuura's switch to a new team.

Change to ethanol fuel The biggest change this year is the change of fuel to 100% ethanol. Ethanol is a renewable fuel produced by fermenting corn or other grains and is said to provide good fuel economy, along with reducing CO emissions. ·

Engine displacement up to 3.5 liters This year's IndyCar® Series will again be fought with Honda engines. Last year's engines had a displacement of 3.0 liters, but this year, the cars have gone back to the 3.5-liter engines.

Backstory
The Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile is an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The first American open-wheel race in Japan was held in 1966 at Fuji Speedway. Jackie Stewart won the Fuji Japan 200, which was held as an exhibition race, and no championship points were awarded. USAC did not return.

For a short period in the late 1980s and early 1990s the CART series explored the prospects of holding a race in Japan. Possible locations would be either Suzuka, Fuji, or a street course in another city. The FIA objected, citing conflicts with Formula One and other interests. In addition, rules were put into place requiring that any CART race outside of North America be held on an oval. Despite the objections, in 1991 CART made their first trip across the Pacific Ocean, and held a street race at Surfer's Paradise, Australia. The plans for a race in Japan were scrapped.

In 1994, Honda joined the CART series, and by 1996, was widely successful. Interest in holding a race in Japan resurfaced, and upon the completion of the Twin Ring Motegi oval, a race was first held in 1998 without FIA objection. The race continued as a Champ Car event through 2002. In 2003, Honda switched alliances to the Indy Racing League, and the race became an Indycar Series event.

From 2003-2006, the race marked the final IRL race before the Indianapolis 500. The extended travel time required typically found the race held the weekend before or after Easter, leaving one or two weeks of travel and rest time until practice began at Indianapolis in early May. This situation was widely unpopular for fans, and for television, because it would leave a large gap in the schedule, and disrupt continuity leading to the series' premier event. Starting in 2007, the race at Kansas Speedway was moved immediately after Motegi, and would serve as a more popular lead-in to the Indianapolis 500.

The Circuit
The oval course is the only one of its kind in Japan, and currently is only used once a year for racing. It is a low-banked, 1.549 mile long egg-shaped course, with turns 3 and 4 being much tighter than turns 1 and 2. On March 28, 1998, CART held the inaugural race at Twin Ring Motegi Speedway. The race was won by Mexican driver, Adrian Fernandez . CART continued racing at Twin Ring Motegi Speedway from 1998-2002. In 2003, Honda entered the Indy Racing League and the race became a part of the IRL schedule. In addition to IndyCar Racing, the track has also hosted a single NASCAR exhibition race in 1998.

In one of the great ironies of the sport, Honda, which had built the oval for the express purpose of developing its oval-racing program for Indycar Racing, did not win a race at the track for its first six years of operation. In 2004 Dan Wheldon took the first win for Honda on the oval.




 

 

RACE THREE
Race 3 of 16
Saturday April 19th 2008

Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile.
Twin Ring Motegi

Qualifying: Friday April 18th, 1.30pm local time.
Race: Saturday, April 19th 1pm local.