When you think about the magic of cricket, the first thing that tends to come to mind is a batsman hitting a boundary at Lord’s. Over the years, the stadium has seen its fair share of change. The competitors have changed, the fans cheering from the stands have changed, the colour of the ball has changed and even the colour of the jerseys has changed. Amongst all this, two things have remained constant – the cracking sound of the bat pushing the ball towards the boundary and the beauty of the applause that follows. For the last two-hundred and fifteen years, the Lord’s Cricket Ground has seen era after era pass by but the magic and the essence of the sport still remains the same till date.
The magic of Formula One
In the very same manner, the magic of Formula One can be found approximately 8,000 miles away from the Lord’s Cricket Ground in an industrial city on the Ise Bay of Japan – Suzuka. In 1962, this city was gifted with its biggest attraction by Japanese automotive giant Honda, who were looking for a new test track. With the intention of providing Honda the perfect facility to test all its vehicles for the future, the Suzuka International Racing Circuit was developed. At that time, little did anyone know that this circuit was to become one of the most iconic places in all of motorsport.
Over the years, almost everything in an around Suzuka has changed – the cars, the drivers, the fans and even the people running the sport. However, just like Lord’s, the sight of watching the fastest cars in the world swoop past the esses and onto the Dunlop curve and the spine-tingling feeling of seeing drivers tackling the fearsome 130R corner with all their might has never changed and that is what captures the magic of the sport so well.
A timeless classic
Generations of enthusiastic fans and iconic drivers have come and gone. Greats such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have all graced the tarmac at Suzuka with their incredible ability to push a racing car to its absolute limit. Being a flowing, old-school ‘driver’s track’ with no shortage of enticing undulation, every year, new drivers head to this race knowing that this could be their most challenging, yet enjoyable race of the entire calendar year. The fact that all this hasn’t changed since 1987 makes Suzuka the special place that it is today.
What the race means to the fans
While Japan has now transformed into a global economic powerhouse over the last three decades, the kind of emotion that the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka generates within the fans is unparalleled. With their atypical but refreshing hats and the bright smiles on their faces, the Japanese fans always welcome the sport with open arms and great warmth. The sheer prospect of over 100,000 ecstatic fans flocking into the stands to watch their favourite driver tackle one of the, if not the most delightful racetrack in the world, is one that makes you look forward to the race and that is one of the most outstanding things that Suzuka can do.
The emotional connect
For the last three decades, this uniquely demanding circuit has stirred a wide variety of emotions from the millions watching on every time Formula One arrives in town. Suzuka has left us in a state of amazement after showing us what a determined Kimi Raikkonen can do on his day. Suzuka has left us shocked after showing us how two greats of a generation in Senna and Prost can create one of the biggest sporting controversies of all time through a small collision and finally, Suzuka has also brought a tear in our eyes after showing us that sometimes, the dangers of motorsport can claim even the youngest and most promising of drivers of the time in Jules Bianchi.
In a way, Suzuka has managed to take us through a journey of emotions over the course of its thirty-one years of hosting the historic Japanese Grand Prix and that in itself, makes it a racetrack etched into the hearts and minds of everyone involved in the sport. The last thirty three years have seen the Formula One calendar consistently feature the Japanese Grand Prix and out of those, 2019 will mark the 31st time that the Grand Prix comes home to Suzuka.
Not many racing circuits are able to achieve this remarkable feat. There is just something about Suzuka that captures the magic of Formula One and that little something, that just can’t be replicated, spellbinds us into falling in love with Suzuka every single year!
None of the images used in this article belong to me. Credits belong to the rightful owners.
