Fans bid farewell to Toyota's F1 racing cars at Fuji Speedway+

NAGOYA, Nov. 22 Kyodo -
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 withdrawal (from F1) is quite regrettable as I had hoped for a good
performance next year and thereafter, but I'm glad I could see the last run,''
said Masanori Ii, 37, who came to the circuit from Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Prefecture, with his family.
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.
==Kyodo
2009-11-22 21:30:36