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FOTA’S F1 FUTURE, CRYSTAL BALL OR 8 BALL ?

18. March 2009

The long awaited FOTA statement was finally released on 5th of March detailing technical, commercial and regulations that have been agreed and will be implemented into future seasons of Formula 1 racing.   While it is encouraging to see all team principals participating and agreeing to cement their vision of the future of the sport, the current economic situation and the unsustainable use of resources provided have now forced their hands on the teams to agree to many technical regulation changes.  Most of which involve homologating and producing long life or single make components; thus reducing the fascination of and image of technical advancement of Formula 1 racing.   This however does indeed take Formula 1 back to its roots before regulations of major components being required to self manufactured became applicable.  However, it does not go as far back as off the shelf chassis as was the controversies over the last few years with the so-called customer cars.  This does indeed cut down costs associated with the running of the cars however I don’t believe the cost cutting measures have gone far enough.

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WHO IS EMMA BEARPARK & WHY DOES SHE HAVE A FAN CLUB ?

17. December 2008

For Super Aguri F1 team, Melbourne 2007 was the beginning of the maturity of the team. Anthony Davidson joining Taku as his team mate, the Arrows A23s finally pensioned off and replaced by Honda RA106s, and in Melbourne, Yusze and I were joined by our friend Mark Talbot from the UK, also known as the webmaster of   www.saf1.org.  For the most part, the weekend was a good time for us all.  We joined Emma and Ant at Melbourne zoo on Wednesday morning while they played with koalas, emus and kangaroos... And believe it or not Em introduced me to Ant and his wife Carrie as "our (SAF1's) biggest fan in Australia"... that's something special indeed... it's official...   Even more comical is the moment when Miss Emma Bearpark faced her fan club banner for the first time on Saturday morning. When we saw her walking towards the paddock when we’re in autograph alley we just yelled out "EMMA EMMA!!!" to get her attention and flipped out our "EMMA BEARPARK FAN CLUB" banner!!! We absolutely adored her facial expression as soon as she saw it!! She went WIIIIIIIIDE eyed and dropped almost to her knees and started bolting towards the media centre with her hand over her face and hid behind Matsumoto-san (Taku’s personal photographer) we were all ROARING with laughter as she did all of the above!!! Eventually she came out of hiding straight to us and gave me a bearhug and I gave her a kiss and greeted her. “

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AND ALL THAT (HONDA) JAZZ

24. October 2008

AND ALL THAT (HONDA) JAZZ

It is common practice for any person who has an idol of any kind to ask for their idol’s autographs. Sports fans especially would do that all the time; asking their favorite sportspeople to sign items of interest such as caps, programs, photos or similar memorabilia.  Motor racing fans in particular may even ask their favorite  drivers to sign some unusual items such as car parts… or if you’re like THIS “mad bastard”… ask them to sign a whole car… Perhaps one may wonder… what drove me to ask Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson to sign my 2006 Honda Jazz?

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TAKU FANS FROM MELBOURNE TO MONTREAL

3. October 2008

TAKU FANS FROM MELBOURNE TO MONTREAL

We are not alone. I came in contact with Yusze Tong at Melbourne 2003 and he was a Michael/Ferrari fan and I of course was caked in Jordan yellow, but we both have one thing in common: Takuma Sato fans based in Melbourne, Australia.  We decided to make a banner for Taku for Melbourne 2004 and our efforts were seen of course on TS’ official website and a tradition was started where we would make a banner for Taku every year for the AGP.  Yusze and I both also ended up posting a message on TS’ official forum whether if any fans are travelling to Melbourne for the race.  We had a group of about 10 from Japan join us at Melbourne as well as everybody else we met at the track over the course of the week… a rather formidable little army! There are many that were surprised that Taku had non-Japanese fans and even more so when they discover we’re Melbourne locals.  This started another tradition also where we would try to make as many friends as possible and be united as Takuma Sato fans without bounds or barriers such as language and communication difficulties.

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DOES HONDA NEED SATO MORE THEM SATO NEEDS THEM?

18. September 2008

DOES HONDA NEED SATO MORE THEM SATO NEEDS THEM?

New Formula 1 Grand Prix winners Scuderia Torro Rosso are hosting a test session at Jerez for Super Aguri F1 refugee Takuma Sato in his F1 comeback. For Sato, Scuderia Torro Rosso, or Minardi as we used to know it, is another small F1 team not dissimilar to Super Aguri. They have finally achieved their first win after over 2 decades of trying, and one really has to ask what if SAF1 was still in existence and whether their performance would be comparable to STR’s over the last few months.

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TAKING TIME WITH TAKU

17. September 2008

TAKING TIME WITH TAKU

Taku, as we all affectionately know and call him, was initially a name, which I came across on top timesheets and scorecards in the 2000 British F3 championship when I joined In Pit Lane in that rainy September in year 2000.  I became interested in his performances when I spotted him more frequently than not in F3 related articles and the praises that everyone was giving him.  When I saw some footage of his driving in the 2000 Macau F3 GP (unfortunately eventually crashing out) and over the course of 2001, when Ant was his teammate and the pair dominated the British F3 championship, my mind was set.  I enjoyed keeping myself up to date with his performances and especially enjoyed that win at the Macau F3GP in 2001. I was therefore overjoyed when Eddie Jordan hired Taku, and Ant became BAR Honda’s test driver in 2002.

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THE BIRTH OF AN OBSESSION

11. September 2008

THE BIRTH OF AN OBSESSION

When a person discovers his or her interest in something, be it an object, sport, or anything, chances are that they will pursue it further and develop a certain taste for that item of interest.  But when they discover there are many more people around them that share the same passion, they will connect and bond, and they become a group.  But when there is a considerable amount of people that are dedicated to the same cause, it becomes a movement and more than likely, it’ll gain momentum and attract more likeminded people to join the movement.  That I hope, describes most of us who enjoy watching F1 racing and especially, those of us who support Takuma Sato and Super Aguri F1 team during its existence.

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