NAGOYA —

Fans of Formula One racing gathered Sunday at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture for an event to bid farewell to the F1 racing cars of Toyota Motor Corp. as the nation’s top automaker withdrew from F1 racing at the end of the 2009 season. Many fans applauded and took photos of Toyota’s two F1 cars as they roared around the circuit.
   
‘‘We are sorry that we could not meet your expectations’’ in F1 racing, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at the opening ceremony of the event. Toyoda later drove the Lexus LFA on the circuit before the debut of the premium two-seat sports car at the end of next year.
 
The Aichi Prefecture-based automaker joined F1 in 2002 to enhance its technological capacity and boost its image in Europe, and had said it would remain until 2012. But it announced its withdrawal from F1 on Nov 4 as it anticipates remaining in the red for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2009 through next March.

© 2009 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

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  DeepAir65 at 03:53 PM JST - 23rd November

  are there any Japanese manufacturers left?

  Honda out. Toyota out. Bridgestone out.

  Maybe they should scrap the Japan Grand Prix too. Must add unnecessary expense to the season.

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