The weather is set to play its part this week, with a surprise in store for many when comparing with the wet weekend at this circuit in 2007. Heavy downpours are due in the early part of the week, but much drier as we move into the event itself.
The first downpour of the week occurred on Sunday, while the teams were arriving and beginning to unpack their crates full of the equipment that is so necessary to put on the show.
Another lengthy deluge is expected on Tuesday afternoon and evening with heavy rain, as the remnants of tropical depression Higos cross Japan. The ex-tropical depression has now fizzled out, and will not be a factor in Japan's weather for the race weekend.
The trend is for an improvement in the weather from Wednesday onwards. Wednesday and Thursday should be largely dry - possibly even with some sunshine. Friday will start off dry and reasonably bright with partly cloudy skies, but during the day cloud will increase, with rain expected sometime in the afternoon as the temperature reaches 19 degrees Celsius. The rain will continue through the evening and become heavy for a time, gradually sliding away eastwards in the early hours of Saturday morning.
With the track surface having been washed cleaned by Friday night's rain, we move into two very good weather days at Fuji with no rain expected.
Saturday is set to be mainly cloudy with the sun breaking through briefly now and again. The temperature will reach 21 Celsius with a solid cloud base keeping temperatures up.
Raceday looks very good indeed, and has been predicted for the last week to be dry with plenty of sunshine and partly cloudy skies - just like the 1977 event following on from a wet 1976 race. The bright conditions will translate to a slight drop in air temperature, especially as the Fuji circuit is situated approximately 570 metres above sea level. The mercury will peak at only 16 degrees Celsius, meaning tyre temperature will again become a crucial factor during the 67-lap race.
Some slight changes are expected in the forecasts for Friday, but confidence is currently high regarding the weather for Saturday and Sunday.
