Sodegaura Forest Raceway

The Sodegaura Forest Raceway is a 1.49-mile (2.39-km) road course sitting in the Kantō Plain, near the eastern shore of the Tokyo Bay, on a one-hour road trip away from downtown Tokyo, Japan. Its name comes from its location in the middle of a pine forest, which is easily noticeable by the tall threes standing around the racetrack. The layout rests on the contours of a sloped plain with the impressive vertical gain of 325 feet (99 meters) from the lowest to the highest point. Sodegaura is home to local clubs and driving schools hosting several motorsports events a year. The temperate climate of Tokyo bay is ideal for outdoor activities like racing year-round.

The Sodegaura Forest Raceway starts on its longest straight, an uphill segment where racers develop up to 160 km/h (99 mph) before entering turn one. This 90-degree corner makes drivers downshift for a couple of seconds only to upshift again for the fast-paced sweeper number two. The track goes downhill for a seemingly endless right turn consisting of corners three and four, going back uphill from there through turns five, six, and seven. Racers reach the hillcrest at eight, plunging into the kink at nine, the wide turn ten, and the even tighter right-hander number 11. Corners 12 and 13 are barely noticeable, but the big wall besides turn 14 is impossible to miss, as racers return to the front straight at full throttle.