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Ferrari take a corner - Source: Photosport -
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Toyota Motor Corp subsidiary Fuji International Speedway has given up the hosting rights for the Japanese Grand Prix in 2010 and beyond, citing cost-cutting needs amid the global economic downturn on Tuesday.
The circuit, majority held by the world's biggest automaker, had been scheduled to host the Formula One race in 2010, alternating each year with Honda Motor Co's Suzuka Circuit.
The Formula One race was estimated to cost the Toyota circuit about 2 billion to 3 billion yen (NZ$30-50 million), a source told said on condition of anonymity.
Toyota is expecting its operating loss to balloon to a record 850 billion yen in the business year to March 2010, forcing the company to put several projects on hold to save funds.
Fuji staged Japan's first Formula One race in 1976 but a crash involving Gilles Villeneuve which killed two spectators the following year resulted in its removal from the F1 calendar.
Suzuka then hosted the Japanese Grand Prix from 1987 to 2006 before a revamped Fuji Speedway returned in 2007 following an absence of 30 years.
