Driver suffers horror 190mph crash after taking off like a plane at former F1 track

The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix gets underway at Fuji as drivers head into turn one — Photo: © IMAGO

Fuji Speedway

Driver suffers horror 190mph crash after taking off like a plane at former F1 track

Driver flips in the air after crash

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 2 August 2026 14:00

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A terrifying crash involving a driver led to a race being red flagged at the Fuji Speedway track that previously held Formula 1 grands prix.

Igor Fraga was competing in the fourth round of the Super GT, GT 500 class, on Sunday, driving the No.64 Modulo Honda Prelude before he was caught up in an incident at the start of the race with a rival.

Following four laps under the safety car at the start after drivers changed back to slick tyres to combat the track trying after pre-race rain, the incident immediately occurred at the start/finish line as racing conditions resumed.

Article continues under video

As Fraga and the No.23 driver by Akimasa Takaboshi hit full speed at the notoriously long Fuji straight doing approximately 190mph, Fraga, having started seventh, was clipped from behind by Takaboshi who was looking to overtake.

Given the safety car rules, Takaboshi was not allowed to pass Fraga, so was keeping his pace on the inside.

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Fraga flips in terrifying Fuji crash

However in doing so he made contact with the No.12 driven by Bertand Baguette. This initial incident is not seen in the video at the bottom of this article.

However, it caused Takaboshi to clip the rear side of Fraga, sending him into a spin. As his Honda faced the wrong way down the track, the rear wing did the opposite of generating downforce and instead acted like an aeroplane, generating lift and sending the car skywards.

After clearing a couple of metres high upside down, Takaboshi and Baguette passed on either side without incident before Fraga's car slammed down on the track surface on its side before reverting upright and skidding down the straight to a stop.

The race was immediately stopped with a red flag as emergency services rushed to the scene where thankfully Fraga was able to escape the crash without any serious injuries.

As drivers waited for the restart, Takaboshi and Baguette could be seen exchanging gestures over how the accident happened before visiting the pit garage of Fraga and talking to his team's manager Takuya Izawa.

Has Fuji ever hosted an F1 race?

Despite being a huge race track in Japan, Fuji lives in the shadow of the Suzuka circuit when it comes to the Japanese Grand Prix.

It's only ever held four F1 races, most famously for the first time in 1976 when James Hunt clinched the world championship from Niki Lauda following a downpour in a race won by Mario Andretti.

Hunt then won the following year in the final event for 30 years until it returned in 2007. Lewis Hamilton won another downpour for McLaren, with Fernando Alonso winning for Renault the following season.

From then Fuji was expected to take up alternate hosting duties with Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix, but quickly pulled out of the deal and F1 has not returned to the circuit since.