Japanese Grand Prix - Preview

PREVIEW
Japanese Grand Prix, 12-14 October 2001

For the final race of the 2001 Formula One World Championship, Honda and
its partner teams, Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda and Benson and Hedges Jordan
Honda, head to the manufacturer’s home race at Suzuka for the Japanese
Grand Prix. Suzuka Circuit was built by Honda 40 years ago and was the
first full-scale race track in Japan. It exists thanks largely to the
enthusiasm for motor sports of the company’s founder Soichiro Honda, who
always maintained that racing is indispensable for automobile development.

Both Honda’s partner teams will be hoping to score crucial world
championship points at Suzuka this weekend, in order to secure their
positions in the 2001 Constructors’ World Championship. The fight for
fourth place will be intensely fought between the two Honda-powered teams
and Sauber, the three teams having been closely matched all season. For
some of the drivers the race will hold a personal significance. This will
be Jarno Trulli’s last race for Jordan Honda after two years with the
team, and the Italian will be particularly keen to build upon his
performance at the US Grand Prix, where he finished fourth on the road,
before he joins Renault in 2002. Trulli’s compatriot, Giancarlo
Fisichella, will drive for Jordan Honda next season, renewing his
relationship with the team from 1997. 

B.A.R Honda confirmed in July that Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis
will continue to drive for the team in 2002. It will be Jacques
Villeneuve's fourth consecutive season with British American Racing and
Olivier Panis’ second. Like all other teams, B.A.R Honda will be aiming
for a strong result at the Japanese Grand Prix to springboard the team
into a winter of intensive testing and a solid start to the new season.

As part of the build up to the Japanese Grand Prix, B.A.R Honda’s Jacques
Villeneuve and test driver Takuma Sato will drive their F1 cars through
the streets of Tokyo as the highlight of Fuji Television’s F1 Super Run on
Monday 8th October. They will be joined by former Japanese Formula One
stars Satoru Nakajima and Aguri Suzuki, who will be behind the wheel of a
Honda RA300 1967 F1 and a Reynard 308 Formula Nippon car. Hi-resolution
photography and a full news report will be available on www.honda-gp.com,
user name: honda, password: ginther.

Honda is also staging the Civic Challenge Cup at Suzuka, the last ever
round of the 2001 Honda Civic One-make race series after 21 years of the
championship, which will be held before the Grand Prix on Sunday. The top
eight drivers from each of the five regional races held in Japan during
the year have been invited to compete. 40 Honda Civic Type-Rs will line up
on the grid for the final Civic One-make race, as next year it will be
replaced by a similar series for the Honda Integra Type-R.

Note to all accredited F1 media attending the Japanese Grand Prix:
To mark the end of the 2001 FIA World Championship, Honda has invited all
accredited F1 media to a Welcome Party in Motopia, the amusement park at
Suzuka Circuit Land, from 18:30 to 21:00 on Thursday 11 October 2001. The
reception has been organised in co-operation with Suzuka Circuit and food
and drink refreshment will be provided together with the chance for you to
ride the renowned roller-coasters in Motopia next to the circuit. A
location map will be provided in the Media Centre at Suzuka. A media or
FOM pass will be required to gain admittance. For further information
please contact Tim Bampton, Honda F1 Press Office.



Japanese Grand Prix, 12-14 October 2001

Circuit Details
Circuit Name	Suzuka	
Circuit Address 	7992 Ino-cho, Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken 510-02, Japan 
Circuit Length	5.864km/3.644miles

Timetable (all times are local, BST is 8 hours behind)
Friday 	Free Practice:	11.00-12.00 & 13.00-14.00
Saturday 	Free Practice:	09.00-09.45 & 10.15-11.00
		Qualifying:		13.00-14.00
Sunday	Warm-up:		09.30-10.00
		Race: 			14.00 

2000 Results
Winner	 	M Schumacher	 (Ferrari)	1h29m53.435s
Fastest race lap	M Hakkinen		(McLaren)	1m39.189s
Pole position	M Schumacher	(Ferrari)	1m35.825s
Lap record		H-H Frentzen	(Williams)	1m.38.942s

Honda in Japan 2000
Villeneuve 6th / Zonta 9th  

Honda in Japan
Grands Prix: 7               Wins: 3 (Berger 1991, Senna 1989 / 1988)	    
Podiums: 7

Honda F1 winners 
Senna 32, Mansell 13, Prost 11, Piquet 7, Berger & Rosberg 3, Ginther &
Surtees 1

Team wins powered by Honda
McLaren-Honda 44, Williams-Honda 23, Honda 2, Lotus-Honda 2

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