The global economic crisis dealt a fresh blow to Formula One racing on Tuesday as Toyota Motor pulled out of hosting the Japanese Grand Prix at its Fuji Speedway circuit from next year.
The economic downturn has made it "extremely difficult" to continue to stage the event, Toyota-owned Fuji International Speedway Co, which operates the circuit, said in a statement.
The race track, in the foothills of Mount Fuji, hosted the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time in 30 years in 2007 and had been slated to host the 2010 race as the 16th leg of the 18-round Formula One series.
From this year, the Japanese race had been due to alternate between Fuji Speedway and rival Honda's Suzuka Circuit.
Hiroaki Kato, the president of Fuji International Speedway, said the decision to stop hosting the race was "heartbreaking". "I apologise deeply for being unable to live up to expectations," he said in a statement.
Fuji Speedway opened in 1965. It staged F1 races in 1976 and in 1977, when a spectator and steward died after a Ferrari driven by Gilles Villeneuve ploughed into the crowd. Suzuka staged the race for 20 straight years until 2006.
Toyota's decision to pull out as host comes as the global economic crisis forces Japanese automakers to slash costs.
Honda has sold its Formula One team while Suzuki and Subaru have withdrawn from the world rally championship. Motorcycle maker Kawasaki has exited the MotoGP and Mitsubishi is quitting the Dakar Rally despite a dozen victories.
Toyota overtook U.S. rival General Motors in 2008 as the world's top selling automaker but it fell into the red for the first time in the year to March with a net loss of 436.9 billion yen ($4.6 billion). It expects a bigger net loss of 550 billion yen this year.
The F1 move reflects Toyota's strategy to concentrate on profitable businesses, said Shigeru Matsumura, an auto industry analyst at SMBC Friend Securities.
"The cost of hosting F1 races is not significant enough to affect its business seriously but Toyota is now reviewing (its operations) without exception amid the industry's unprecedented slump."
Local media said it costs two to three billion yen, or about $20 million to $30 million, to host an F1 race.
Matsumura said it would be no big surprise if Toyota was considering withdrawing its team from F1 racing, although the automaker has given no indication that such a move may be on the cards.
Toyota Racing, Japan's last remaining Formula One team, warned in March of drastic budget cuts. The team has not won a grand prix since its 2002 debut.