2011 Suzuka F1 (A Retrospective)

Even before being accepted onto the JET Programme last year, I had convinced myself that I was going to attend the 2011 Japanese F1 Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit.  Obviously, living in Japan made that goal so much more realistic to achieve and so it was in August that I bought my tickets for the October race.  Shortly after my tickets arrived however, I discovered that the race is held on the same long weekend as the Hiroshima Sake Festival (another big event that I was super keen on attending with a great many other JETs from Tokushima).  Conflicted though I was, motorsports won out and it was with great excitement that Phil and I made our way from Awa to Tokushima City to Osaka to Nagoya to Suzuka and finally to the circuit to watch the race!


Having been to a number of Grand Prix' in the past, I thought I knew exactly how it'd work - turns out I didn't factor in the Japanese element though...  Vendors sold quality food to customers patiently waiting in single-file lines at regular retail prices.  People separated their trash into one of about 7 different types of rubbish bin according to the local City regulations.  Families laid down blankets in the shade, with parents taking turns on staying to watch the kids or sitting on the super-expensive bench-style grandstand seating watching the race.  But most surprisingly, NOBODY jumped the barriers to run onto the circuit at the end of the race!


I didn't get too many pics of the action - truthfully I was too busy watching it all unfold or lining up for more beer - but here are a couple of pics that I did take...