It's been one hell of a year for the Mazda RX-7 factory team and their lone driver Tank. Whilst they have tried to consistently compete, the car was far from complete. They missed the first preseason event at Cape Ring due to not meeting safety regulations.
At Monaco the RX-7 team managed 2nd in qualifying and in the first race, until engine failure kept them out of the rest of the event. At Grand Valley East the team had failed to complete tuning before the first event and finished dead last. In the next race, their strategy was ruined by two collision into the Stadium that was entirely the other parties fault. They finished 2nd from last. The team's management could see how distraught Tank was, but despite their best efforts, the young driver was unable to perform in the final sprint, coming home ahead of only the drivers whom had been the unfortunates in collisions during the race.
After this string of poor results, the team's backing company "Nymeria" pulled out all funding for the team. The team board was in complete disarray. They tried to initiate talks with "Team RoB." They even donned the colours at the next event Tsukuba. The team went into the event nervous that something else would ruin their plans. Lucked had seemed to not be on their side. They also had a rookie driver whom may not have had the maturity to keep his head above the water during this torrid time.
However, Tank was revitalised after summiting Mt. Fuji during race preparations in the week before Tsukuba. He took a 2nd row position in qualifying. Then, with beautiful strategy, took a convincing 2nd place. Repeating his strategy in the 2nd race seemed like folly to some in the team, as he was now starting at the back. However, not to be deterred, he went ahead and used the clear track available to him, whilst others were fighting each other tooth and nail to once again finish 2nd. Again, starting from the back for the sprint, Tank now got good drive from the grid start and was 3rd within half a lap. After many incidents, Tank came through for a 3rd in a battered car. 3 podiums in one race weekend was no easy feat. Even if for but a fleeting moment, the team were jubilant.
However, in the background, talks broke down with "Team RoB." Again a sombre mood filled the paddock. The team decided to make the 300 mile trip to Suzuka. They came with their own livery. The weather seemed to match the mood of the paddock. None the less, in the light of Timera the team managed to qualify on the 2nd row. The team managed to keep 4th in the initial race, until a black flag stopped the race. After a pair of disqualifications, the stewards promoted the team to 3rd.
As the paddock seemed to lighten up, so did the weather. The last two races were even dry. However, after going off at the Casio whilst attempting an overtake, Tank struggled home to 8th. In the 3rd race, the GVE luck seemed to have returned. A collision at the Degner on the first lap and at the Casio on the 2nd destroyed all hopes of a good finish for the team.
All hope was fading, would the team find any financial back? Would the team ever make it to the grid with Tank? Dared they dream of the prospect of a 2 car team?
I'll figure the banner out before Saturday. In the meantime, I said sleep about 10 posts ago, and I meant it.
THEY'RE CLOSE GENUG/GENOEG. I had to...
I thought "hey, it'd be cool if we all had the option to upload a portion of a race."