2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix

Following two tremendous accidents in 2002 and 2003, safety has been a concern at the circuit's 130R, a 130 metres (427 ft) radius turn starting past the Crossover which has been compared to Spa's Eau Rouge. In 2002, Toyota F1 driver Allan McNish suffered a high-speed crash through the bump, which sent him through a metal fence; fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

Track officials revised the 130R, redesigning it as a double-apex section, one with an 85 metres (279 ft) radius, and then a second featuring a 340 metres (1,115 ft) radius, leading to a much closer Casio Triangle (chicane), with the chicane becoming a "bus stop" type for motorcycles.

However, the problem continued for the new revised section. During the 2003 MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan, the track's first major event since the revisions, MotoGP rider Daijiro Kato was killed when he crashed in the new section, on his way to the braking zone for the Casio Triangle. MotoGP has not returned to Suzuka since the incident.

2012 F1 season | Japanese GP

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