 Full Circuit (1990–present) | |
| Location | Kamitsue village, in Hita City,Ōita Prefecture,Japan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°2′13″N130°58′22.9″E / 33.03694°N 130.973028°E /33.03694; 130.973028 |
| FIA Grade | 2 |
| Owner | Kawasaki Motors (2005–present) Hazama Ando (1995–2004) Tomonori Tsurumaki (1990–1994) |
| Operator | Autopolis Co., Ltd. |
| Opened | November 1990; 35 years ago (1990-11) |
| Construction cost | ¥47 billion |
| Architect | Yoshitoshi Sakurai |
| Major events | Current: Super GT (1999, 2003–2009, 2011–2015, 2017–2019, 2021–present) Super Formula (1991–1992, 2006, 2009–present) Super Taikyu (2012–present) MFJ Superbike (2002–2015, 2017–present) Ferrari Challenge Japan (2023, 2025) Former: TCR Japan (2019–2021) FR Japan (2020) Asia Road Racing Championship (2009–2014) Formula V6 Asia (2007) Asian Touring Car Series (2003–2005, 2007) World Sportscar Championship (1991) |
| Website | autopolis |
| Full Circuit (1990–present) | |
| Length | 4.673 km (2.904 mi) |
| Turns | 19 |
| Race lap record | 1:26.960 ( Naoki Yamamoto,Dallara SF19,2020,Super Formula) |
| Main Circuit (1990–present) | |
| Length | 3.022 km (1.878 mi) |
| Turns | 12 |
Autopolis (オートポリス,Ōtoporisu) is a 4.673 km (2.904 mi) international racing circuit located nearKamitsue village inŌita Prefecture,Japan on the 30 km (19 mi) northeast ofKumamoto.[1] Opened in 1990, it hosts a range of domestic and international motorsport events throughout the year. The track is noted to have a high standard of facilities and infrastructure. Due to the circuit ending up in financial difficulties, it has changed hands several times but still operates to this day.
The circuit, located withinAso Kujū National Park, was built at a cost of $500 million by the wealthy real-estate developer and investment bankerTomonori Tsurumaki who made headlines in 1989, when during aParis auction, he successfully bid aPablo Picasso paintingLes 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.[2]
The circuit was designed byYoshitoshi Sakurai who was the project leader of theHonda F1 team during the 1960s.[3]
Tsurumaki ordered 30Buick powered US built single seater race cars called "Sabre Cars" for a race to take place on his circuit's grand opening, in November 1990 consisting of a mixture of invited USCART drivers such asStan Fox,Johnny Rutherford,Dick Simon,Gary andTony Bettenhausen, against local Japanese drivers. After the grand opening, Tsurumaki planned on a series with the cars, known asFormula Crane 45. A few races were run in 1991, with only a handful of cars competing.
The only major international race held at Autopolis was the final race of the1991 World Sportscar Championship season, the1991 430km of Autopolis, which was won byMichael Schumacher andKarl Wendlinger in aMercedes-Benz C291 fielded bySauber.
To promote the venue's intention to host a Formula One race, it sponsored theBenettonFormula One team in 1990 and 1991. The cars featured prominent Autopolis logos. Visitors to the WSC event criticized the track for being too remote to the hotels which required a several hours bus ride and felt that it was unsuitable for anF1 race.
Following the bankruptcy and collapse of Tsurumaki's companyNippon Tri-Trust in 1993 (the year the track was supposed to hold an F1 race),[4] the circuit and other assets he owned ended up in the hands ofHazama who was responsible for the construction of the race track.[5] Ultimately, the track's F1 event slot for the Asian GP on11 April 1993 was given toDonington Park, andTI Circuit Aida would host a second Japanese race in Formula One calendar in1994, but suffered from the same location-related criticism and was removed at the end of thefollowing season.[6]
By 1995, the company offered the site for sale at 10% of its build cost which consisted of threehotels,swimming pools and anartificial ski slope. Some of Tsurumaki's assets, such as paintings, remained in abank vault waiting to be sold.[7]
Autopolis first hosted aSuper GT race in1999, the season-ending exhibition race, which was won byTom Coronel andHidetoshi Mitsusada in aHonda NSX-GT fielded byNakajima Racing. After a three-year absence, the circuit has regularly been hosting races in the series since 2003, although with some exceptions. Autopolis first held aSuper Formula race in2006, and with some exceptions, the track has regularly been part of the series since then.
Autopolis was purchased byKawasaki Motors in 2005.[8]
The circuit currently holds events for theSuper GT as well asD1 Grand Prix,Super Formula,MFJ Superbike andSuper Taikyu.
In March 2019, the circuit was added to the video gameGran Turismo Sport through a game update.[9] It has also been featured inNeed for Speed: ProStreet,Need for Speed: Shift,Shift 2: Unleashed, andGran Turismo 7.
The circuit is located in an upland area of the island which means the air is thin with low atmospheric pressure, similar toAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez inMexico City. It has an elevation change of over 50 m (160 ft) with the first section generally downhill and the latter part of the course runs uphill.[1] The start/finish straight is located at an altitude of 820 m (2,690 ft).[10]
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As of September 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Autopolis are listed as:[11]
