Home  Journal Mark in Melbourne
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Written by Mark Talbot
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Friday, 23 March 2007 |
Where to start, hmm. Well, all was almost set for me to travel to Malaysia – but I was having trouble getting excited. F1 should be exciting, but having done the same trip for the past few years meant that I was almost in ‘automatic’ mode. Not good.
So when Yusze put up the thread “Anyone coming to the Australian GP?” and James made an offer of accommodation, I was very tempted – and excited by the prospect of visiting the GP I thought might always be too far away.
The five days there would see me stricken by food poisoning; Tony and Antonietta having a baby; and Yusze and James looking after me like a king. Takuma would start highest than SAF1 had ever started before, and Anthony would show his turn of speed just a few laps too early…
I arrived to be greeted by James and Tony – both beaming a smile that made me feel very welcome indeed. Funny thing, Takuma’s fans always make you feel welcome, and offer help when they can. Off to Tony’s house for a beer trying not to be too noisy as we discussed the various merits of Kimi, Hamilton, and others. Then off to James’ place for the night (via the sign-writer’s house to collect three banners).
Early Friday morning we struggled to get to the track despite Melbourne’s Finest (the tram drivers) trying to keep us in the city centre. Melbourne likes to promote public transport during the GP, so all the trams are free – a great move, well done Melbourne. The fact that people are treated like children is not so good. Each tram stop comes with specially commissioned marshals to act as doors before the real doors can close and trap (kill? Probably not … probably just bruise) people. Hmm. Similar to a school crossing.
Taku arrived by London Cab – a car driven down from Sidney and painted up in Virgin Atlantic colours. This was a big hit with fans and press alike.
The Friday practice sessions showed some nice work from the team as the track went from wet to moist, and then back again. Both Taku and Anthony showed great skills considering this was effectively the shakedown of a brand new car.
Then came the track marshals. Our banners had been spotted and they were coming to remove them. I will write more about this and other things in another article later, but it interrupted our day and dulled the sense of excitement.
After the events at the track ended, we headed off into Melbourne to update the website and check emails –as you do. Sadly, my stomach chose now to become very upset. I spent the next 36 hours uncomfortably unwell.
So here was Saturday – first qualifying session of the year, and I was stuck at James’s house to watch it. Channel 10 is the Australian commercial channel that takes the F1 franchise. Their commentators are worse than ITV, except for one noticeable difference. Murray Walker. I grew up listening to Murray and it was a body-blow when he left British TV … but here he was chatting to me via Channel 10. Excellent.
I watched with disbelief as both Taku and Ant soared up through the numbers in the final practice session. Ant put in a time almost too good to be true and finished the session 4th! Fourth? Am I seeing things? He can’t be 4th in a Super Aguri, there must be a timing error. Nope, it was true. Fourth. Incredible.
So as the qualifying approached, James called “Hey Mark, you okay?” he opened. I had almost forgotten that I was ill such was the anticipation. “Can we make the second round?” he asked … I said we can make the final round if Ant drives like that again!
And so it was … all around the world, Super Aguri fans watched as their heroes did heroic things. Ant made the first cut and almost the second – he had peaked a few laps too early and was bumped right at the last moment. 11th place was his – and it was the highest a Super Aguri had ever started. But it wasn’t going to be the highest if Taku could help it. He started the final shoot out with the other nine cars. He couldn’t bump any of them, so it was 10th for Taku. What a hero! He would now start the race higher than any other Super Aguri car had started before and his team mate was in the very next spot.
I had written a few weeks ago that the team needed a championship point to legitimise itself. I was wrong. This starting grid showed the entire F1 world that Super Aguri F1 Team has arrived. Kudos was being heaped onto the team from all ports. Murray Walker’s voice was now two octaves higher than when talking about anyone else. The Red Bull publication “Red Bulletin” gave a two page spread to Taku’s achievement. The team has made an enormous effort, and for once everything lined up nicely and the true rewards were reaped.
During the TV commentary, a couple of references were made to the dispute that Spyker have made against SAF1 – that the chassis is too similar to that of Honda. Murray summed it up… “If the cars are so similar to the Hondas, why are they so much quicker?”.
So James returned home, having done some celebrating judging by the look of him (wink) and we talked about the feats of the day.
There was no way I was going to miss Sunday. So bright and early we set off for Albert Park and we joined a large hoard of people waiting at “Autograph Alley” for Taku to arrive. Some drivers came and spent a good time with the fans (most notably Coulthard and Schumacher – well done, both) and some just arrived, waved and went straight into the pit lane (Alonso, Raikenen and others) but then came Ant and Taku. Ant beamed with pride as we all showered him with praise. Then Taku came into range and I called out a huge congratulations… “Ah Mark, are you better?” … I could not believe my ears! Taku had heard I was ill and had cared enough to ask if I was better. Now just how many other drivers care like that? I have never seen it in all my years – before Taku arrived on the F1 scene. Taku is always popular at a signing opportunity, but today was frantic. Everyone there seemed to want to congratulate him – it was awesome.
After Saturday’s achievements, Sunday’s race might seem as an anticlimax. Any other year a car starting in 10th would finish 5th or 6th due to drop-outs – but not this year, everyone was going to finish. Personally I blame new engine regs for that. Taku drove a faultless race and unfortunately a rear right nut problem, and passing Spyker car, held his pit stop a few extra seconds. Tenth became twelfth but that is life. On the up side, it was a massive achievement for the team to get two brand new cars to the finish line. This was the first time the cars ran more than ten consecutive laps, and the both held up well.
2007 might be the year that Super Aguri F1 Team leaves the back of the grid forever. If so, I can say that I was there to see the first steps. Even as a lifetime fan of F1, there have seldom been such moments for me.
Midfield garage spots cost thousands of hours of sweat and determination – and SAF1 has opened their account.
The fans of Super Aguri F1 Team continue to add their hours, and display proudly our support for the whole team from around the world. We may be few in numbers yet – but watch the sea of SAF1 caps grow…
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Last Updated ( Friday, 23 March 2007 )
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