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Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
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By
Fred Varcoe
Japanese Grand Prix
Takuma Sato guns for Suzuka glory
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In May, The Sunday Times in Britain ran a column titled,
"The Top 10 Sporting Optimists." It was basically
about sporting no-hopers such as Olympic "swimmer"
Eric the Eel from Equatorial Guinea and the Jamaican bobsled
team made famous in the movie Cool Runnings. Number six on
the list was "Japanese Formula One Drivers,"
whom the article pointed out "have been in there trying
since 1974, usually towards the back of the grid and almost
never getting as far as the podium. … This history
of ineptness is a roll of dishonour that shames the world's
most technically adept nation." The article goes on
to suggest that Japanese drivers don't have enough
aggression because their diet "does not produce very
much adrenaline."
All very scientific, no doubt, but a little premature seeing
how BAR-Honda driver Takuma Sato's aggressiveness this
year has irritated more than a few drivers. Sato is, arguably,
the most exciting driver on the circuit. He may have a history
of crashes behind him, but many are tipping the Japanese to
go on to great success within the sport (although one or two
drivers are keen for the 27-year-old star to take up another
sport). But who does that remind you of? The last person to
get similar press was the young Michael Schumacher. Britons
certainly have always found it difficult to get over the fact
that Schumacher, a) is German; b) drives an Italian car; c)
speaks better English than they do. In his early days, the
German was regarded as a reckless assassin whose only pleasure
in life was driving into Nigel Mansell.
Sato's main problem this year has been less driving
into people than driving his car into the ground. The machine
has clearly struggled to keep up with his aggressive style.
Sato's failed to finish in seven races, and most of
those were for blown engines. In the nine races he did finish,
he failed to score points on only two occasions. He's
managed a third, a fourth, two fifths and two sixths. But
perhaps the food myth as reported by The Sunday Times isn't
all wrong; Sato does, after all, live in England, where the
diet has plenty of adrenaline. The 163cm Japanese has a good
chance of becoming the first Japanese driver to win a grand
prix. If he does, he'll become sporting royalty in
Japan. And he would love to do it at the Japanese Grand Prix
on October 10.
"All the Japanese BAR Honda fans are looking forward
to seeing us get a good result in Suzuka, and it would obviously
be great for a Japanese driver to win our home race,"
Honda R&D F1 Project Leader Takeo Kiuchi told Metropolis.
"For the team, the Japanese GP is one of the most pressured;
everybody wants to get the best result in front of our home
fans and local staff, and we will be pushing very hard."
Fortunately for Sato, who's managed to finish five
of his last six races, his car appears to be getting used
to him at last. "Overall, we've done a good job this
year and got some good results. Unfortunately, one of the
compromises/consequences of having such a strong and well-performing
engine is sometimes you have problems and failures,"
Kiuchi said.
The Honda boys will be bending over backward to make sure
Sato gets his chance in Suzuka. With Schumacher off the boil
in China-having won the championship and with no obvious
need to drive into anybody-the field is wide open.
Sato's main rivals will be Schumacher's teammate
Rubens Barrichello and his own BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button,
who finished first and second, respectively, in China last
month.
Or will the local sushi shop rob Sato of his stamina?
The Japanese Grand Prix takes place
at Suzuka International Racing Course in Mie on October 10.
See listings for details.
Photo
credit: Honda F1 Press Office
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with METROPOLIS readers at http://forum.japantoday.com
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