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Tsukuba Circuit

Coordinates: 36°09′6″N 139°55′17″E / 36.15167°N 139.92139°E / 36.15167; 139.92139
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Tsukuba Circuit
LocationShimotsuma, Ibaraki, Japan
Time zoneJST
Capacity8,500
Broke ground1966
Opened22 June 1970; 54 years ago (1970-06-22)
Major eventsMFJ Superbike
Tsukuba 1000
Tsukuba Time Attack
Car Circuit (1970–present)
Length2.045 km (1.271 miles)
Turns12
Bike Circuit (1990–present)
Length2.070[1] km (1.286 miles)
Turns13
Home straight of Tsukuba Circuit

Tsukuba Circuit (Japanese: 筑波サーキット, Tsukuba Sа̄kitto) is a motorsport race track located in Shimotsuma, a neighboring city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, about 60 km (37 mi) north of central Tokyo. It is 2.045 km (1.271 mi) long, with 32 pit garages and a 437 m (0.272 mi) long back straight.[1] There is a small chicane used only for motorcycle racing that increases the track's total length to 2.070 km (1.286 mi).

The track was established in 1966 with the aim of attracting young people to participate in motor sports, but was not actually completed until 1970.[2] At the present time, an event is held every week.[3] The track has a large variety of corners, ranging from wide sweepers to hairpins.[2] The circuit accommodates 8500 spectators on the track, 3000 in the stands, 5000 on lawn seats, and 500 standing over the pits.[2]

The illustration of the course guide shows that there are various courses other than the main course.

  • Course 1000

In 2001, the minibike course that had been called the "East Course" was completely renovated and opened as Course 1000 (TC1000), which is almost 1,000 meters in circumference. The TC1000 is a safe course that is open to cars and motorcycles, and features excellent visibility, making it ideal for beginners.

  • Gymkhana track

The trapezoid-shaped area just outside the last corner of the main course is the Gymkhana track. Gymkhana is a popular motor sport in Japan, and the All Japan Gymkhana Championships are held by JAF. Practice sessions and Gymkhana competitions are held at the Gymkhana track.

  • Oval Course

The Oval Course, located between the first corner and the second hairpin of the main course, is a course for training Auto Race drivers. Auto Race is a unique form of public gambling motor sport in Japan.

Admission is free on weekdays and ¥500 on weekends, but only when there are no scheduled events. Visitors are allowed to drive on the track with a license. Tsukuba Circuit is not convenient to public transportation, so it is best accessed by a private car. The nearest station can only provide access via lengthy taxi ride.

A satellite image of Tsukuba Circuit in 1990

Time Attack

Tsukuba's "Time Attack" event (alternatively known as Super Lap or Tuner Battles) originated in Japan when the tuning media organized the event on race circuits such as Tsukuba, as a proving ground for street tuned cars built at a large budget by highly respected tuning companies. As a result of the quick rise in popularity, tuners developed specialized cars to beat the competition,[4] including the purpose-built HKS CT230R Lancer Evolution with a body made entirely out of carbon fibre.

Unlike other timed motorsport disciplines such as sprinting and hillclimbing, the car is required to start off under full rolling start conditions following a warm-up lap, where they will have to accelerate out as fast as possible to determine how fast they enter their timed lap.[4] Commonly, as competing cars consist of modified road-going models, they are required to wear tires authorized for road use. In all, drivers are allocated to three laps in a final event run; warm-up, timed and cool-down.[4]

Rankings

The following is a table of best Time Attack times, last updated 11 April 2022:

Pos Team Car Best lap (sec) Top speed (km/h)
1 HKS with Nobuteru Taniguchi Toyota 86 TRB-03 (slicks) 49.445 238.253[5][6]

[7]

2 Escort Drag Racing Service Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 50.342 ---.--- [8]
3 Scorch Racing with Under Suzuki Nissan Silvia (S15) 50.366 245.622[9]
4 Top Fuel Drag & Street Shop Honda S2000 (AP1) 51.762 233.080[10]
5 Garage G-Force Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII 52.391 223.927
6 Racing Factory AutoBahn Toyota Soarer (JZZ30) 52.454 248.447[11]
7 Vibrant Performance with PZ Tuning Honda Civic (FG4) 53.071 237.781[12]
8 Esprit Honda NSX (NA1) 53.474 239.734[13]
9 Car Shop Dream KJM with Voltex Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) 53.489 225.894
10 HKS Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX CT230R 53.589 228.xxx[14]
11 Revolution Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) 53.673 225.894[15]
12 Friends Racing Nissan Silvia (S15) 53.821 223.602
13 Kyushu Danji Honda NSX (NA2) 54.101 222.635[16]
14 DLanguage Subaru Impreza (GRB) R205 54.115 225.282
15 Admix Racing Service with Seyamax Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32) 54.118 221.584[17]
16 Autech Tsukada (ATTKD) Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32) 54.145 232.909[18]
17 Sakamoto Engineering Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) 54.252 225.282[19]
18 Sun Automobile with Garage HRS Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII CyberEVO 54.392 ---.---
19 M Speed Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR34) 54.481 229.348
20 Endless Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) 54.483 212.014[20]
21 Top Fuel Racing Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) 54.585 224.439

Tsukuba Circuit has appeared in numerous video games, including iRacing, Forza Motorsport, 2, 3, and 4, Gran Turismo 4, PSP, 5, 6, 7 and Sport, Tourist Trophy, Enthusia Professional Racing, rFactor, and D1 Grand Prix.

The track is commonly used for tuner events and has appeared in the final installment of the Shuto Kousoku Trial series, SKT Max. The circuit has also gained popularity because of its use by Best Motoring to test and race a variety of vehicles.

References

  1. ^ a b "Tsukuba Circuit". Moto Racing Japan. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  2. ^ a b c "Go! Go! Speed Racer!". Ibaraki Prefecture. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  3. ^ "What is the Tsukuba Circuit?". She Japan. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  4. ^ a b c Time Attack FAQ's Archived 2007-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ 谷口信輝の筑波スーパーラップ & 駆動別乗り方 レクチャー / Nobuteru Taniguchi's Tsukuba Super Lap Lecture V-OPT 289 ①【ENG Sub】. VIDEO OPTION. 2020-04-01. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "New Record Set by HKS TRB-03 in Tsukuba Circuit Course 2000 | NEWS | HKS".
  7. ^ HKS TRB-03 Tsukuba Record Break!. HKS Co., Ltd. 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2022-01-14 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ -Attack Tsukuba 2022-「ファイヤー安藤//ESCORT Evo9」CT9A. Attack Official Movie Channel. 2022-02-19. Retrieved 2022-04-11 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ UnderSuzuki@Scorch ADVAN SILVIA. たけむらまさひろ. 2017-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ 2016/2/2 Tsukuba TOP FUEL S2000. TheDaidai2211. 2016-02-02. Archived from the original on 2021-07-17. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ 52.454sec 2019/12/15 ZUMMY super lap. 坂東邦彦. 2019-12-15. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Attack Tsukuba 2019-0223「William Au-Yeung//Vibrant Civic」FG4. Attack Official Movie Channel. 2019-03-07. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ エスプリ NSX 筑波 53秒474 2019/03/14. Sugimori Takuya. 2019-03-19. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ HKS CT230R hypermax in Tsukuba ¨0.53.589¨. TheMarcelodmr. 2012-05-14. Archived from the original on 2020-12-27. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Revolution FD3S RX-7 laps Tsukuba in 53.6 (HD). Yokohama Australia. 2010-12-12. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ Attack 2016（アタック筑波）0227「T.hannita//kyushu-danji NSX-T☆Tomiyoshi R」NA2. Attack Official Movie Channel. 2016-11-17. Archived from the original on 2021-03-28. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ seyamax GTR スピードサウンドトロフィー　54秒118. seyamax. 2017-12-05. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ 筑波スピードXサウンド・トロフィー２０１６　Sタイヤver. ATTKD Attackers. 2017-02-05. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ 54秒252！サカモトエンジニアリング RX-7 FD3S 筑波サーキットコース2000. サカモトエンジニアリング. 2018-03-18. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ 【Attack筑波】ENDLESS ADVAN RX-7 54秒483. Atsushi Shimaya. 2019-02-25. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via YouTube.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tsukuba Circuit.

36°09′6″N 139°55′17″E / 36.15167°N 139.92139°E / 36.15167; 139.92139

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