Goodyear's final race in Formula One is also its most critical. With only four points between the leaders, Goodyear has been working all-out to develop tires that will give Ferrari drivers, Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine every possible opportunity for a 1-2 finish at Suzuka. This would ensure Goodyear its ultimate goal of having a car equipped with Goodyear tires win the Drivers' World Championship and, providing no McLaren finishes in the points, the Constructors' title as well. Third and fourth places in the Constructors' Championship are still undecided and a strong performance from both the Williams and Jordan teams would enable Goodyear cars to also claim these two Constructors' Championship places.

Development work since the Luxembourg Grand Prix has been non-stop and will see the introduction of new tires specifically designed for the Japanese Grand Prix. Suzuka is a unique circuit, because its "figure-of eight" design provides a combination of both left and right hand low and high-speed corners. The dry-tire package that has been developed will feature new constructions and compounds designed to optimise tire performance on the Suzuka Grand Prix circuit. A new wet-weather tire will also be introduced, which has demonstrated a significant improvement in wet- weather performance, during recent testing. Wet or dry, Goodyear is confident that it has a very competitive tire package to help its teams maximise their points in the last race of the season.

"This year's Japanese Grand Prix will mark the seventh time the Drivers' World Championship will have been decided at Suzuka. It will also be one of the most critical Formula One races in Goodyear's 34 years of involvement in the sport, said Perry Bell, Goodyear's operations manager for F1 racing.

"It marks the culmination of our non-stop aggressive development program. Goodyear's goal of winning the World Championships has been our driving force and we can still do it. Whatever the result, we feel proud that Goodyear has played a significant role in one of the greatest "fight-backs" in the history of Grand Prix motor racing. We are also justifiably proud of the tremendous effort and hard work put forth by our engineers, production workers and tire fitters throughout our final Formula One season," he said.

"The new developments in constructions and compounds are specifically designed to handle the unique combination of left- and right-hand turns on the "figure-of-eight" Suzuka circuit. Since Luxembourg we have been testing in Barcelona, Silverstone, Magny-Cours and Mugello, in some cases flooding the track to simulate wet conditions, to find the best possible tire package for our final race. We are confident in wet or dry conditions that Goodyear will have a very competitive package for the Japanese Grand Prix. Last year, Goodyear had a very successful race at Suzuka, which many consider our competitor's 'back yard,' we plan to do the same again this year."

Goodyear will be taking 1,650 tires to the Japanese Grand Prix, made up of approximately 800 dry-weather tires, the remainder being wets. Half the dry tires will be 'Primes' and half 'Options.' Three specifications of wet tires will be brought. These consist of the wide intermediate front wet, and two full wet tires.

A HISTORY OF GOODYEAR IN FORMULA 1

Although Goodyear tires were used in Formula 1 as early as 1959, the official F1 development program did not start until 1964. Dan Gurney was the first to race the Wolverhampton, England-built tires in an F1 race in South Africa driving a Brabham on New Years' Day 1965. But it was fellow American Richie Ginther who scored the first win for Goodyear that same year in Mexico driving a Honda. Success followed success and 1966 saw the first double -- the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships -- won by Jack Brabham in his own Repco Brabham. This started a virtually unbeatable run of victories spanning more than three decades with Goodyear, the majority of the time in competition with other tiremakers, clocking up 368 Formula 1 wins.

Among the many milestones:

* Ronnie Peterson won Goodyear's 50th victory at Monaco in 1974;
* Niki Lauda made it 100 in 1977 when his Ferrari won the German GP;
* Rene Arnoux in a Ferrari took the score to 150 in 1983 at the Canadian GP;
* The double century was yet another Ferrari success when Gerhard Berger won at Australia in 1987;
* Legend Ayrton Senna brought up 250 in his home race in Brazil in 1991 driving a McLaren; and
* Three years later Damon Hill's Williams took the score to 300 in Spain.

The last milestone win was also with a Williams in Spain when Jacques Villeneuve took Goodyear's 350th victory last year. The scoreboard also covers 26 Constructors' World Championships and 25 Drivers' World Championships.

Technology played a vital role in tire performance development and among the key steps were Goodyear introducing 'slick' tires in 1970 and then radials in 1978 as well as many other innovations. Technology transfers has always been a vital goal for the company that has used racing as a test bed for new materials, constructions and tread patterns. Many features that are found today on street tires were first pioneered on the race track.

Over the 33 years Goodyear has been contesting the Formula 1 World Championship, eight other tire manufacturers have competed and of the 629 races which have been run, Goodyear-shod cars have won 368 -- the closest competitor has won just 83.

In 1997, more than 300,000 race tires were built of which about 30,000 were used in Formula 1. Research, development and production take place at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Technical Center in Akron, Ohio.