Japan's 200mph Corkscrew - Fuji Speedway - Assetto Corsa

[@Braindown73]

Wow, I'm honoured that you used my skinpacks for this race! I did wonder why I suddenly had a few 'likes' on Race Department in quick succession - now it's all so clear. Fantastic content as usual, you're a real pleasure to watch.

[@goldengooch1867]

In terms of danger, old Fuji puts the Monza banking to shame.

[@Villoresi]

That's a stretch. Did you see the NASCAR guys do an iRacing thing on the Monza Oval early during lockdown? That was nuts. Also, back when the south banking was farther out and both bankings were lower, there was an event that saw 3 drivers killed. I'd imagine that series of incidents at the 1933 Monza GP didn't do anything to help oval racing's perception across Europe.

[@AdriCovers]

@@Villoresi And don't forget about AVUS. That was even crazier at 43º and had no protections. At least Fuji had guardrails.

[@johnnytopgun6414]

@@AdriCovers guard rails just made you blow up 3 seconds sooner

[@isuckatthisgame]

avus > monza > fuji > winchester > daytona

[@chuala428]

And the fact it is next to an active (for now) volcano

[@rosumin38]

What's cool is the banking still exists and you can visit it.

[@dembrowi_n_c.5111]

I love how the Rev counter bounces like a classic cable driven one of the era did.

[@ianshafer64]

It’s an option to toggle it on in Content Manager, so I’m not sure it’s mod dependent

[@ianshafer64]

@@mattiapresti7295 it’s probably in the updated car config files that content manager downloads in that case. Then again it might not even need to be downloaded, since toggling it on just checks for a rigged tachometer, then check’s the car’s age according to the mod description.

[@Synchro-Mesh]

@@ianshafer64 Custom Shaders Patch alongside with the Console :)

[@infn8loopmusic]

The level of detail and coverage and perspective shared in these videos is second to none for motorsport and AC mods. Thanks for making great content like this. It's so great to get the history lesson and the gaming content together.

[@scullystie4389]

Mr. Riker, how did you make this track? “We made it up.” Should I race my friends on it? “You can’t, don’t even try!”

[@twiellie]

Give this man every fucking trophy, and medal known to the planet.

[@rolux4853]

Is there an explanation for this quote?

[@gt1man931]

Man, I was born just a little late to watch Bobby race much. I loved him as a commentator as he never held back and gave not one care for PC or diplomacy. Great video, like always.

[@millennialchicken]

Yes another historic circuit documentary

[@Cidrila]

I gotta say, your videos absolutely shine when you pair the racing in-sim with this much history and context from the tracks and cars you're showcasing. Thank you for documenting motorsport in such a interesting way and turning our sims into such cool tools for bringing back tracks and cars from the past that would otherwise only be seen in old pictures!

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

I didn’t even know USAC IndyCar raced at Fuji

[@legoferrari14]

Japan certainly had an interesting fascination with US racing categories; NASCAR, Indycar and Can-Am all made their way to Japan at some point in some way shape or form.

[@misterjersey5460]

@@legoferrari14 NASCAR racing in Suzuka Circuit and Motegi will forever blow my mind.

[@GenuineRage]

@@misterjersey5460 imagine if the nascar japan league ever actually took off. It would be amazing.

[@Yoshiman2024]

@@legoferrari14 Not only racing. Baseball as well. Same goes for South Korea.

[@blinkyxx7789]

Easily one of the best videos, I think, about one of my favorite eras of Japanese motorsport - the 60's to the early '70s. In that vein, Funabashi Circuit would also be fun to feature on the channel, a tight, technical course built in the heart of Tokyo that opened and closed after just two years - long extinct, but equally fascinating in its own right.

[@rc.c5773]

Translation from Japanese. After the closure of the Funabashi Circuit, much of the site was converted to residential and commercial land. However, the stands on the main straight and other parts of the track were reused for auto racing (a race held on a short oval track using special motorcycles and betting on the order of finish), which is officially recognized as a gambling event by the local government in Japan. Until then, auto racing in Funabashi had been held on a dirt track for motorcycles that existed inside the dirt track for horses at Funabashi Race Track, which had previously existed near the circuit. However, when the circuit was closed, they attempted to have an independent, fully paved, exclusive track, and moved to that location from the racecourse, which was about 800 to 1000 meters away. In a sense, Funabashi Auto Race Track, which inherited its history as a race course, produced many oval racing greats such as Masamitsu Iizuka and Takumi Katahira, and was even called the "Mecca of auto racing," but in later years However, it was closed down in the 2010s due to unintelligent new residents who came with the development of residential land and uncooperative government officials who received the proceeds from the gambling. Today, the site is occupied by IKEA and a cluster of warehouses.

[@theghostdrummer99]

Lol, the mod author took his name from a Star Trek Next Generation character.

[@neubert500]

This may have been your best video in my estimation. In 1968 I was 10 years old and had all the bravery of a 10 year old boy and just KNEW I could drive as well as anyone. I read Dan Gurney's columns in Popular Mechanics (I think) and KNEW how easy it was. This video shows how wrong I was and am thankfully I had the career I had. This was GREAT! Thank you SIR!

[@dylanhagenwelch8594]

Man the racers who raced this iteration of Fuji speedway had balls of steel especially going into Daichi corner at 200mph

[@dovydasgrigas441]

Just found this channel and its just too good of an idea. Sometimes videos about racing history can feel detached and distant, but replicating the action of those events in assetto corsa makes them much more real.

[@ramchickedy9570]

Hi Richie. Great video again, specially the history lesson and the great scene shots in the beginning. I'm watching your videos for a long time now (I remember your crash into Bandini with the Ferrari at GPLs Monza back in the days) and I am happy to see you are finally driving a track of mine! I created the original model for 'old lady' GTL, back in 2014. Actually all of the models were already in the this version, whats new in AC is mostly vegetation. GTL wasn't able to handle that much grass ;). To get the elevations right (no 3D scanning, haha) i created a complete isoline model from the landscape around the track, taken from a 60s map of the area. Then I created the roads for the track. The result should have been be the realistic landscape. It is a bit off in sometimes, though. Videos that came up after the track was released show some things aren't correct. But there is always something. There are videos of the GTL track on KZbin if you want to take a look ;). Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to seeing you drive and comment my other tracks some day maybe! Unfortunately most are not in AC.

[@icecoldf1894]

Man, your videos are so good and I’ve been loving ur content. You literally got me into sim racing

[@maxcoffin1644]

The start to this race was epic, the hectic starting grid, the cars bouncing and weaving around the bank, and the crash right in front of you. So cinematic!

[@bernardausterberry6174]

Beautiful track, another great report. Clockwise is the way to go, as nobody dies in sim racing.

[@GCoimbra40]

if you miss the first corner, you will fly to the strastosphere

[@vitameat]

Watching this, I keep wanting to put Speed Racer music in the background, as the Mach 5 takes the Daiichi perfectly with Racer X close behind :)

[@BestWafflesEUW]

In future gp cyber formula anime there’s a homage to the daichi on one of the circuits they race. If you enjoy speed racer. You will love that anime

[@flare2000x]

The layout really reminds me of the original Kyalami. Long straight, down into T1, a few sweeping bends up and down, then a long climbing right to finish the lap.

[@freejrs]

Really liking the music on this one. Cheers. 👍

[@DobieMeltfire]

The A.I. may be slow, but it can be improved by recording your own racing line. I did a few AI files myself, but it not great enough to release on RaceDepartment

[@hudsboy1049]

Damn, Fuji was going to be the first track for NASCAR to Japan? As a NASCAR fan I never knew of that lol

[@legoferrari14]

All I knew of NASCAR in Japan for the longest time was when they raced at Motegi.

[@TheSilverShadow17]

​@@legoferrari14 Nascar raced at Suzuka as well in the 1990s

[@benjaminh1034]

Thanks for suggesting this track. I’m loving it with VRC’s 1999 formula NA. I really appreciate all the history you include in these videos. Fascinating stuff!

[@riderofthemark6661]

What a track!! amazing!! Great video, didn’t know Jackie won here

[@danielkarmy4893]

I follow your channel anyway, but wondered why I'd been recommended a video of yours from May last year, especially when I've never watched anything else Fuji-related as far as I'm aware. I do check on Wikipedia every day to see who's recently departed our world - just a habit I've had since I was about 12 - and, as it happened, Vic Elford died the other day.

[@PaulSmithm]

Man, that was great, you put that together so well! I learned a ton from this, love that!

[@Rollingzoku89]

One of my all time favorite classic tracks I used to race on rFactor 1. I need to revisit this on AC. Thanks!

[@dersir3526]

What a track, what a corner and what a superb video! Thank you for showing me an new track I want to try

[@otisturner1455]

AWESOME racing! Nice driving, and I really appreciate the history.

[@bigdawg2246]

if you didnt tell me the history of this circuit i wouldve thought it was a fantasy track from gran turismo

[@glonniecanoy3441]

You mean the High Speed Ring? It's probably inspired by the old Fuji layout.

[@Based-Cat88]

I hate the new track on gt7 no flow rather drive this old 1

[@emigdiogreen7439]

I like the old track more than today's Fuji Speedway.

[@mcfireballs3491]

Who doesn't, today's circuit is irritable

[@pricklypear300]

"Still could always throw it away..." The car: Sorry, I missed that one. What was that? 17:30

[@11NetNet11]

What actually interests me about Fuji Speedway is that the old layout of the track also hosted the Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix in 1966 and 1967. So far I'm trying to find footages of these races but without any success. maybe someone will find it, because it draws my attention to how the motorcycles have somehow managed to control on the Daiichi banking...

[@petertelinde130]

I love how you give inside into the history of these classic tracks and the cars that used to race on them, or never did,... but what if??

[@tomanderson6335]

I can't help wondering how different motorsports history would have played out had the oval been built, or at least the banking built in a safer/more sensible fashion. Imagine a NASCAR Grand National exhibition race being run there successfully, leading to the launch of a Japanese NASCAR series with tube frame Toyota Crowns and Nissan Cedrics using the V8s from their Century and President big brothers (and matching road cars to homologate them)...

[@Villoresi]

Parabolic banking, as opposed to "flat" banking, had been the norm internationally going back to Brooklands, at least. The main issue though is, probably due to funding, the grading and just the inconsistency of the profile of the banking and the corners as you go farther around.

[@TD-bw6qy]

What I was once told at a Fuji race was that NASCAR intended to have a Fuji 500 to bookend their season with the Daytona 500. They were looking at more than an exhibition. I walked the entire modern circuit just last year and one can clearly see room enough for a copy DIS. If that, indeed, was the actual idea. I do not think this 2.5 mile Martinsville on 'roids was the original idea. But I could be wrong. My old Tomadachi said there was a clamor for NASCAR at the time and it would have been a big deal over there. Years later, Motegi went in and the West Series ran over there to a good crowd. NASCAR ran exhibitions at Suzuka before that. Logistics for an annual event had to have played a factor in all this, I would think, too. NASCAR did, indeed, pull the plug on the Fuji plans. Yrs, it is in the hills but easy to get to and Oyama is a nice town. I think it could have worked. Better would be to have built one on the Sendai Plain, but then in March 2011, such a track would have made the Atlanta Motor Speedway tornado look like a dust devil.

[@Murph0981]

I never knew Fuji was originally going to be an oval. Someone needs to make a “If it was finished” track.

[@AgentZ7]

Fuji was one of the first tracks I downloaded when I first picked up AC. Great track. :)

[@joshuaprematta]

Glad to see people are still interested in the Toyota 7! It's sadly taken the back seat for now due to work, both in and out of sim racing. Rest assured it will be finished though, alongside a couple other Can-Am cars some people might have already gotten wind of.

[@anakinGTI]

I’m so happy this channel is growing. I love the historic facts, your commentary and your driving style. Keep it up ❤️

[@theoddstrokesswimmingvideo1314]

Love the vintage Bobby Unser livery

[@johnny5805]

Loved the epic intro. I felt like I was in the 60's !

[@nikbear]

Outstanding video and fantastic track and car/skins, your quality video output is amazing 👍🏁🍾

[@zaphodbeeblerock]

This is so good, what you do! Extremly entertaining :)

[@Dispariabooks]

Some say this was the first Mario Kart track ever designed.

[@DYNANiK]

Great vid as always, your dedication is faszinating! By the way, I love your intonation, I rly like to listen to you!

[@bunherr8974]

Great stuff man!

[@thrownchance]

After finding your channel, it itches me to rebuild my simulator again.

[@ChasingChevy]

This track is a blast to hot lap. Nice and wide, you can really make the most of it.

[@holeshotshane6344]

Dude those guardrails arent gonna be stopping or protecting shit

[@radspeed113]

Such is the 60s

[@holeshotshane6344]

@@radspeed113 they can think to make a 200mph car with 60's tech but when it comes to a guard rail they haven't a clue lol

That bumb in the right turn after the chicane (next to Coca-Cola bilboard), I use to take (and believe is the best) on the left side of the road. On the right side, the bumb is so big that cars tend to jump / spin. Taking it on the left side of the road is way more safe. And in general, this is not the track where the "ideal line" is the best or quickest. Definitely completely crazy track. I come back to old Fuji often in AC.

[@ForzaPolska06]

I'll be honest This is propably my favourite classic track from what i've seen so far on KZbin For me it looks way more enjoyable than SPA or the Nurburgring

[@pkjmfineart1593]

Superb history lesson and content thank you all involved!

[@jimmytechnologies]

Great history lesson, well done excellent video as always

[@SinCityAMG]

Love this track!

[@holeshotshane6344]

Good work William good... friggin... work.👏👍

[@Caddynars]

The “Porknose” is such a fun car to drive. It’s got all the aesthetics of the late sixties with modern reliability.

[@JazzSaxUT]

This was one of my favorites to test out newly downloaded cars. Very fun do drive.

[@ZedNinetySix_]

Classic Fuji Speedway? More like a supersonic track for WipEout ships!

[@ElTio.45-70]

Just reading the massive book about Shadow Racing and people behind it by Pete Lyons. Don Nichols were doing business in Japan with car accessories, mostly Goodyear an Moon products, and had his hands in this Fuji speedway project. And yes, there were not enough funding to do the area flat enough for the oval, so, the consultant Stirling Moss suggested road course instead.

[@wabba67]

Back in the rFactor days, we did a league race here with the F1'71 mod. It was pretty scary.

[@drewp.weiner2473]

This track with modern f1 would be wild west wild

[@vrracer479]

This track in Assetto Corsa with the late 60s F1 Cars is fantastic in VR I love this track great feature for the uninitiated

[@gtrdriver27]

Andre Ribiero is Passed away Rest in Peace

[@MrMichkov]

I'd be interested in where you found the shape original oval layout. I've never come across any pictures of it and from description of it I always imagined it as a tri oval of the Daytona type

[@chriskelleher349]

Yellow and red " Rislone " decals. Synonymous with Bobby Unser.

[@LOliveiraBss]

Very nice! During the video I tried to count the engine "cups" thinking: wasn't this car a v8? Pork nose 312.

[@noorazfaruddin467]

Imagine if Formula 1, Super GT, or WEC racing in this circuit nowdays. Obviously, it was one of great circuits with one of great racing-series indeed.

[@tylerroberts1276]

Interesting how one could only imagine what racing on such a track would be like after always reading about it, but thanks to modern gaming and a dedicated community, I now know how that dive-in banking plays out in a race, and what made it so dangerous.

[@riderofthemark6661]

Jake not sure if you have it on or off but there’s an option in content manager called new flames textures or something like that, basically makes flames look much more realistic.

[@TPau65]

The Daiichi corner is just insane! But looks like a fun track for AC to drive on. 😀

[@mattrc1679]

I remember spending hours on this track in Rfactor (I think it was). It's one of my favorite circuits period.

[@Cien917]

OWESOME! Fuji was and is a owsome track!

[@duckheadgaming]

My god I've never seen a corner this crazy

[@sanny8716]

TL note: "daiichi" means "the first"

[@bobmcl2406]

Another one I have to try! Thanks Jake! I also love that USAC skin pack.

[@9nineofdiamonds]

This track looks so much fun

[@CheapskateMotorsports]

Modern Fuji is actually fun when reversed, it's a shame it isn't actually implemented that way in many games.

[@adr1uno638]

I remember reading the history of the track in GranTurismo, great memories

[@pricklypear300]

Reviewing the historical footage, its just mind-boggling. The 30 degree banking was never smooth, it always looked like 5-6 flat curves stacked on top of one another to try to make a wide banking corner, and the seams between those looked extremely bumpy and pronounced to be raced on safely. And at the 3/4 of the bank, there was a slight hump, or crest if you will, which must have felt like total loss of grip on all tyres for a split second, and that was taken at at least 130~150mph depending on cars. Even in rain. It was complete madness.

[@halloiamyou6450]

I think it would be cool to take a stock car around that layout

[@bob_._.]

This would be such an awesome track for Turn of the '70s endurance racing.

[@Skydrag.V60]

Did you replace the audio track for this Pessio? Sounds like a V12.

[@GPLaps]

good ear!

[@scalmj]

Any chance to see the October Fuji 200 exhibition race during the Richie Axelson's 1966 season?

[@hrtdoubledcofe4564]

Hello What a great video!! Where i can found the panel with position/lap like you. Tanks a lot and continue your wonderfull video

[@GPLaps]

Thank you! you can find the pitboard here: www.racedepartment.com/downloads/classic-pitboard.16328/

[@Hilmanpanjifirdaus]

Dear good sir, where did you find the original plan nascar fuji speedway layout, with the two 1 mile straights? I fail to find the layout anywhere, but the one that looks like a watermelon which Mr Moneypenny intended to make before looking at the site.

[@GPLaps]

I don’t believe it exists for any sim

[@Hilmanpanjifirdaus]

@@GPLaps I am not expecting a track mod of that particular layout. I simply desire pictures, or any sort of visual information, if you don't mind to share.

[@GPLaps]

Ah sorry I misunderstood your question! I made the trackmap myself taking the profile of the corner and guessing what the oval may have looked like. I have not see any plans either

[@Hilmanpanjifirdaus]

@@GPLaps never mind. Your portrayal of the supposed 2.5 mile layout does make a lot of sense, since it comprises two 1 mile straights, and two bankings, around 0.25 mile long each, therefore in total it stretches into an exactly 2.5 mile long speedway. But I remember seeing a picture, more like a drawing of how the fuji speedway was supposed to look like. It was like the daytona speedway, but with the pit straight situated on the actual straight. But I never see that picture again, nor the copy of it. However, right after I watch your video, I began searching once more, and then I found this: www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/uncategorised/stirling-moss-shadowman-tokyos-nightlife-the-creation-of-fuji-speedway It turns out that Mr Moneypenny brought his own design of the speedway before surveying the site himself. It looked like a watermelon. He was shocked to find out that the land was not level, but sitting on a mountain side. That's part of the reason why Nascar pulled out the plug with the project.

[@canon1753]

GPL had the oval

[@uclafalcon]

It’s the ultimate realism mod for the classic Atari arcade game Pole Position! Same Fuji track, right?

[@Racecarlock]

Ok, hear me out. Avus rennen but in 1998 CART indycars.

[@Villoresi]

I'm having difficulty finding consistent information on that USAC race, and based on the info I have tended to find, I honestly lean toward thinking USAC also ran the shortened course. It's either that, or all sorts of numbers and figures out there are clearly wrong. I mean, generally, the fastest average lap speed figure I find is ~118 mph, which is low for this layout. Also, a number of places list the race distance as only 200 miles, whereas if it was on the full course, it would be pushing rather closer to 300 miles. So yeah, I'm just trying to make sense of all this. I quite enjoyed the video though, and the mod does look great.

[@dasraffnix9471]

Imagine going through there is a modern F1 car... that would be crazy

[@dani02_mmd]

I would love to see it and I reckon it could be possible with a corner to slow cars down before it. It would require so much work though, safety on the banking, resurfacing, renovations, etcetera would cost so much money. Kinda a dream of mine.

[@dasraffnix9471]

@@dani02_mmd no not irl but like going through the thing in the sim y'know flat out

[@BD12]

Ahhh, the Seuppuku Grand Prix

[@andymac3565]

Looks great

In my opinion, these cars are insane to drive, like today

[@hexgraphica]

the 2005 reshape is more a redesign since most of the layout was already there since the '80s

[@Official_MikeyT]

It is pretty much the only time in his life where Tilke didn't completely ruin a circuit.

[@hexgraphica]

@@Official_MikeyT Well I hate the Tilke version. I remember on GT4 not able to see the track limits and eventually wandering off the track at each corner

[@Official_MikeyT]

@@hexgraphica Yeah I used to have the same problem with it until I put in a lot of online races in GT300s. It is still the best track with Tilke's name on it though. Way better than train-wrecks like Yas Marina and Red Yas Marina (COTA.)

[@emmanuelmonge6965]

make it so, number one!

[@81casperflip]

Can't believe this track didn't have SAFER barriers

[@thomascarlyle8015]

What is the background music at the start? sounds great!

[@ryklatortuga4146]

If you can see Fuji-san then it will be a good day. Just not a Goodyear, Maybe a Bridgestone or a Dunlop though.