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The 1987 Japanese Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix (Nipponguranpuri XIII Fujiterebi Nihon GP in Japanese), was the fifteenth and penultimate round of the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Suzuka Circuit on the 1 November 1987.[1] The race, which was the first to be held at the Suzuka Circuit, would see Gerhard Berger claim victory for Ferrari, as Nelson Piquet secured his third World Championship title.[1]

Ultimately the fight for the Championship had been settled in practice, for Piquet's only title rival, Williams-Honda teammate Nigel Mansell, crashed heavily in the S curves and received heavy bruising to his spine.[1] The Brit was hence ruled out of the final two races of the season, leaving Piquet as the undisputed Champion.[1]

Piquet appeared to lose focus during qualifying without the need to chase the Championship, for he qualified relatively lowly fifth on the grid.[1] Pole position would instead go to Berger ahead of Alain Prost, while Thierry Boutsen and Michele Alboreto shared the second row.[1]

Berger would scamper away from the field at the start of the grid, leaving Prost, Boutsen and Ayrton Senna to scrap for second.[1] The rest of the field were then led by Piquet, while an early brush in the back of the pack saw Philippe Alliot go shooting off into the gravel.[1]

Prost's challenge for victory was ended during the opening tour, with the Frenchman having to limp into the pitlane with a punctured tyre.[1] Boutsen was hence charged with leading the anti-Berger cause, although the Ferrari would gradually ease ahead before the Belgian could seriously challenge.[1]

The race soon settled into a rather tame affair, the only action of note being a mid-race scrap between Senna and Piquet, that ultimately fizzled out when Piquet's engine dumped its oil on the circuit.[1] Berger, meanwhile, would continue to lead without challenge, although Stefan Johansson would threaten the Austrian during the second half of the race.[1]

Indeed, the Swede was able to latch onto the back of the Ferrari after the stops, although after one aborted attempt Berger was able to gradually ease away.[1] Johansson was left to run in a lonely second, only for his pace to completely collapse in the closing stages.

That left Johansson at the mercy of Senna on the final tour, who duly drove right around the outside of the Swede at the first corner.[1] The Brazilian ultimately claimed second behind Berger a minute and a half later, with Johansson just behind in third.[1]

With Mansell a no-show Piquet was officially declared as the Champion at the end of the race, while Jonathan Palmer was declared as the inaugural winner of the Jim Clark Trophy. That meant there was literally nothing to fight for at the final race of the season in Australia, with Williams-Honda and Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth having already been declared as the Constructors' and Colin Chapman Trophy Champions respectively.

Background[]

Victory for Nigel Mansell last time meant that the Brit still had a slim hope of taking the title, having closed to within twelve points of teammate Nelson Piquet. Yet, while Piquet was now only able to score eight points at the final two rounds, while Mansell could claim eighteen, the Brazilian could still win the title if Mansell failed to finish on the podium in Japan. Behind, Ayrton Senna was out of the fight in third, and was instead in a fight with Alain Prost to finish there.

Williams-Honda had already won the Constructors' Championship in Spain, meaning all of the attention was on the fight for second heading to Japan. Yet, there had been no movement in that fight last time out in Mexico, as both McLaren-TAG Porsche and Lotus-Honda had failed to score at all. That meant that the Anglo-German alliance could secure the runner-up spot in Japan, as long as Lotus-Honda finished behind them.

Jonathan Palmer was the leader in the Jim Clark Trophy chase with two races to go, and could win the title in Japan if he finished ahead of Philippe Streiff. Indeed, the Frenchman was the only man capable of defeating his teammate, and would have to claim at least one point in Japan, regardless of Palmer's result, just to keep the fight alive. Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth, meanwhile, had already won the Colin Chapman Trophy ahead of the trip to Japan, while Lola-Ford Cosworth had climbed into second in Mexico.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/3 TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
2 Sweden Stefan Johansson United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/3 TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell DG016 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell DG016 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW11B Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t G
6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW11B Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t G
7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT56 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT56 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
9 United Kingdom Martin Brundle West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 871 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t G
10 West Germany Christian Danner West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 871 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t G
11 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Camel Team Lotus Honda Lotus 99T Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t G
12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Camel Team Lotus Honda Lotus 99T Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t G
14 Brazil Roberto Moreno France Team El Charro AGS AGS JH22 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Leyton House March Racing Team March 871 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom USF&G Arrows Megatron Arrows A10 Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
18 United States Eddie Cheever United Kingdom USF&G Arrows Megatron Arrows A10 Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton Formula Ltd. Benetton B187 Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t G
20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Benetton Formula Ltd. Benetton B187 Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t G
21 Italy Alex Caffi Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1I Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 L4t G
23 Spain Adrián Campos Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M187 Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t G
24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M187 Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t G
25 France René Arnoux France Ligier Loto Ligier JS29C Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
26 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani France Ligier Loto Ligier JS29C Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari F186 Ferrari 033D 1.5 V6t G
28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari F187 Ferrari 033D 1.5 V6t G
29 France Yannick Dalmas France Larrousse & Camels F1 Lola LC87 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
30 France Philippe Alliot France Larrousse & Camels F1 Lola LC87 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
31 Japan Aguri Suzuki Italy MiddlebRidge-Trussardi Trussardi B186 Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
Source:[2]
  • Entries with a white background denote eligibility for the Jim Clark Trophy and Colin Chapman Trophy.

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 1:42.160 1:40.042
2 1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:42.496 1:40.652 +0.610s
3 20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:43.130 1:40.850 +0.808s
4 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 1:42.416 1:40.984 +0.942s
5 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:41.423 1:41.144 +1.099s
6 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:43.351 1:41.679 +1.673s
7* 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:42.616 +2.573s
8 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 1:44.026 1:42.723 +2.681s
9 7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:44.767 1:43.304 +3.262s
10 2 Sweden Stefan Johansson United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:43.612 1:43.371 +3.329s
11 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:46.399 1:43.618 +3.576s
12 11 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 1:45.898 1:43.685 +3.643s
13 18 United States Eddie Cheever United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 1:45.427 1:44.277 +4.385s
14 17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 1:44.768 1:44.626 +4.584s
15 24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:48.948 1:45.612 +5.570s
16 9 United Kingdom Martin Brundle West Germany Zakspeed 1:46.715 1:46.023 +5.981s
17 10 West Germany Christian Danner West Germany Zakspeed 1:49.337 1:46.116 +6.074s
18 25 France René Arnoux France Ligier-Megatron 1:50.542 1:46.200 +6.158s
19 30 France Philippe Alliot France Lola-Ford Cosworth 1:49.470 1:47.395 +7.353s
20 3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:48.902 1:47.775 +7.733s
21 16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth 1:49.814 1:48.212 +8.170s
22 23 Spain Adrián Campos Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:53.455 1:48.337 +8.295s
23 29 France Yannick Dalmas France Lola-Ford Cosworth 1:51.230 1:48.887 +8.845s
24 21 Italy Alex Caffi Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:49.017 1:50.902 +8.975s
25 26 France Philippe Streiff France Ligier-Megatron 1:51.554 1:49.641 +9.599s
26 4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:50.896 1:49.741 +9.699s
27 14 Brazil Roberto Moreno France AGS-Ford Cosworth 1:51.835 1:50.212 +10.710s
WD 31 Japan Aguri Suzuki Italy Trussardi-Megatron Withdrawn
Source:[3][4][5]
  • A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy.
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
  • * Mansell was unable to start the race after sustaining an injury in practice/qualifying.[6]
  • Suzuki's entry was withdrawn after Trussardi's registration as an entrant was rejected.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Gerhard Berger
Alain Prost ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Thierry Boutsen
Michele Alboreto ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Nelson Piquet
Teo Fabi ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Ayrton Senna
Riccardo Patrese ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Stefan Johansson
Andrea de Cesaris ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Satoru Nakajima
Eddie Cheever ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Derek Warwick
Alessandro Nannini ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Martin Brundle
Christian Danner ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 René Arnoux
Philippe Alliot ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Jonathan Palmer
Ivan Capelli ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Adrián Campos
Yannick Dalmas ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Alex Caffi
Piercarlo Ghinzani ______________
Row 13 ______________ 25
26 Philippe Streiff
Roberto Moreno ______________

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 51 1:32:58.072 1 9
2 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 51 +17.384s 7 6
3 2 Sweden Stefan Johansson United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 51 +17.694s 9 4
4 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 51 +1:20.441 4 3
5 20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 51 +1:25.576 3 2
6 11 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 51 +1:36.479 11 1
7 1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 50 +1 Lap 2
8 (1) 3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 50 +1 Lap 19
9* 18 United States Eddie Cheever United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 50 Out of fuel 12
10 17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 50 +1 Lap 13
11 7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 49 +2 Laps 8
12 (2) 4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 49 +2 Laps 25
13 26 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani France Ligier-Megatron 48 +3 Laps 24
14 (3) 29 France Yannick Dalmas France Lola-Ford Cosworth 47 +4 Laps 22
15* 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda 46 Engine 5
Ret 25 France René Arnoux France Ligier-Megatron 44 Out of fuel 17
Ret 21 Italy Alex Caffi Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 43 Out of fuel 23
Ret 14 Brazil Roberto Moreno France AGS-Ford Cosworth 38 Electrical 26
Ret 24 Italy Alessandro Nannini United Kingdom Minardi-Motori Moderni 35 Engine 14
Ret 9 United Kingdom Martin Brundle West Germany Zakspeed 32 Engine 15
Ret 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 26 Engine 10
Ret 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 16 Engine 6
Ret 10 West Germany Christian Danner West Germany Zakspeed 13 Engine 16
Ret 16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth 13 Accident 20
Ret 23 Spain Adrián Campos United Kingdom Minardi-Motori Moderni 2 Engine 21
Ret 30 France Philippe Alliot France Lola-Ford Cosworth 0 Accident 18
DNS 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda
WD 31 Italy Emanuele Pirro Italy Trussardi-Megatron
Source:[6]
  • A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy with numbers in brackets indicating their finishing position in that class.
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Cheever and Piquet were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.[6]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

With Nigel Mansell out injured Nelson Piquet had effectively won his third World Championship crown before the race, although it was only after the chequered flag fell that his title was officially confirmed. Mansell was hence left to fight for second, although with the injuries sustained in his practice accident it seemed unlikely that the Brit would drive at all in Australia. That would hence allow Ayrton Senna to potentially nip into the runner-up spot at the season finale, although he would have to finish second or higher to do so.

Williams-Honda had had a rare non-score in Japan, although that was of little concern given that they had already won the Constructors' Championship. McLaren-TAG Porsche, meanwhile, had almost secured second, but would need to score at least two points in Australia to prevent Lotus-Honda sneaking ahead. Elsewhere, Ferrari had effectively claimed fourth ahead of Benetton-Ford Cosworth, while Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth and Lola-Ford Cosworth were both in the top ten.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Brazil Nelson Piquet 73 (76)
2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 61
3 Brazil Ayrton Senna 57
4 France Alain Prost 46
5 Sweden Stefan Johansson 30
6 Austria Gerhard Berger 27
7 Italy Teo Fabi 12
8 Belgium Thierry Boutsen 12
9 Italy Michele Alboreto 11
10 United States Eddie Cheever 8
11 Japan Satoru Nakajima 7 ▲1
12 Italy Riccardo Patrese 6 ▼1
13 Italy Andrea de Cesaris 4
14 France Philippe Streiff 4
15 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer 4
16 United Kingdom Derek Warwick 3
17 France Philippe Alliot 3
18 United Kingdom Martin Brundle 2
19 France René Arnoux 1
20 Italy Ivan Capelli 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Honda 137
2 United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 76
3 United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 64
4 Italy Ferrari 38
5 United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 24
6 United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 11
7 United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 10
8 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 8
9 France Lola-Ford Cosworth 3
10 West Germany Zakspeed 2
11 France Ligier-Megatron 1
12 United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

Jim Clark/Colin Chapman Trophy[]

A sixth class victory in the Jim Clark Trophy in Japan was enough to see Jonathan Palmer become the inaugural Champion with a race to spare, moving twelve clear of second placed Philippe Streiff. Indeed, the Frenchman was left in second ahead of the trip to Australia, with Philippe Alliot a very distant third. Likewise, Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth once again extended their huge lead in the Colin Chapman Trophy, leaving Japan with 160 points to their name.

Jim Clark Trophy
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer 86
2 France Philippe Streiff 74
3 France Philippe Alliot 43
4 Italy Ivan Capelli 38
5 France Pascal Fabre 35
Colin Chapman Trophy
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 160
2 France Lola-Ford Cosworth 43
3 United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth 38
4 France AGS-Ford Cosworth 35

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 'Japanese GP, 1987', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr451.html, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  2. 'Japan 1987: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/mexique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  3. '1987 Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1987/races/525/japan/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  4. '1987 Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1987/races/525/japan/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  5. 'Japan 1987: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/japon/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 'Japan 1987: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 '15. Japan 1987', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/japon.aspx, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 '1987 Japanese GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1987&gp=Japanese%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 06/04/2019)
V T E 1987 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Tyrrell • Williams • Brabham • Zakspeed • Lotus • AGS • March • Arrows • Benetton • Osella • Minardi • Ligier • Ferrari • Lola • Coloni
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Honda • Megatron • Motori Moderni • TAG • Zakspeed
Drivers Prost • 2 Johansson • 3 Palmer • 4 Streiff • 5 Mansell • 5 Patrese • 6 Piquet • 7 Patrese • 7 Modena • 8 De Cesaris • 9 Brundle • 10 Danner • 11 Nakajima • 12 Senna • 14 Fabre • 14 Moreno • 16 Capelli • 17 Warwick • 18 Cheever • 19 Fabi • 20 Boutsen • 21 Caffi • 22 Tarquini • 22 Forini • 23 Campos • 24 Nannini • 25 Arnoux • 26 Ghinzani • 27 Alboreto • 28 Berger • 29 Dalmas • 30 Alliot • 32 Larini
Other Drivers Dumfries • Hoshino • Schlesser
Cars Williams FW11B • McLaren MP4/3 • Lotus 99T • Ferrari F1/87 • Benetton B187 • Tyrrell DG016 • Arrows A10 • Brabham BT56 • Lola LC87 • Zakspeed 861 • Zakspeed 871 • Ligier JS29 • AGS JH22 • March 87P • March 871 • Minardi M187 • Osella FA1I • Coloni FC187
Tyres Goodyear
Races Brazil • San Marino • Belgium • Monaco • Detroit • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Austria • Italy • Portugal • Spain • Mexico • Japan • Australia
See also 1986 Formula One Season • 1988 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Japan Japanese Grand Prix
Circuits Fuji (1976–1977, 2007–2008), Suzuka (1987–2006, 2009–present)
SuzukaCircuit2005
Races 197619771978–1986 • 19871988198919901991199219931994 • 19951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
See also Pacific Grand Prix
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
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