BRIEFLY•••
The crowds for the Suzuka 8 Hour are no longer what they
once were. At one time the drop was due to local ordinances
restricling ticket sales to 100,000, an ordinance created to
ensure that race fans who stayed until the end of the race on
Sunday night could get out of the track and be on their way home
at a reasonable hour. Prior to the law, gridlocked traffic lasting
beyond midnight after the race was not unheard of. But for several years attendance has been well below 100,000. Typical reported attendance figures a
