Fuji Grand Champion Series

The nihongo|Fuji Grand Champion Series|富士グランドチャンピオンレース ran from 1971 to 1989. It was a drivers' championship in Japan and was originally for 2 litre Group B6 cars.

History

In the 1970s, cars elibigle to start included the March 74S,Alpine A441 Renault, Chevron, Lola and GRD. A change in 1979 however, saw single Can-Am sportscars eligible to race.

Another change came 8 years later in 1987; the maximum engine size limit was increased to 3 litres. A year later, the series changed its name from Fuji Grand Champion seies to Grand Champion series because some races added into the championship were not held at Fuji.

The late 1980s saw attendance dropping, and after 1989 the series folded.

The series tragically had fatal accidents involved.

At the start of the second race of the second round of the 1974 series, two cars were racing for the lead. They collided and Hiroshi Kazato and Seiichi Suzuki crashed into them, causing a fire. Both Kazato, 25, and Suzuki, 37, were killed. The race was immediately abandoned.

In 1983 in the second race, Famiyasu Sato was killed in practice. Later in the series, Toru Takahashi was killed when his car spun, and the aerodynamics of the car caused it to fly through the air, head first into a wall, also killing a spectator.

Resources

* [http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/gc/nf_gc_home.html Fuji Grand Champion Series results]