- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Late in 2014 I had the great fortune of being able to sit with Japan’s pre-eminent Formula One hero Aguri Suzuki, to chat about the past, present and future of racing.
Suzuki-San – astute as ever – predicted the rise of technology partners and ‘privateer’ teams in Formula E, but little did we know that a fleeting reference to the recent past would have such resonance this season.
I asked Suzuki-San what his feelings were like when Takuma Sato overtook Fernando Alonso at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix (in a McLaren no less) to steal sixth for Super Aguri – their biggest and final points haul before winding up operations.
“A very special feeling” he replied – the grin on Suzuki-San’s face adding the required parenthesis for his short response.
Super Aguri Honda punched well and truly above their weight that year. Yes, it may have been courtesy of a factory Honda power-plant and a 2006-aero package that proved superior to a factory team experiencing its competitive nadir, but it owed just as much to the technical savvy of one Mark Preston.
Sixteen years later and Preston and co are on the threshold of executing another giant-killing effort with Techeetah (formerly Team Aguri) with a Renault power-plant that has already given their French suppliers a scare.
Jean-Eric Vergne’s lap time of 1:29.196 was eventually eclipsed on the final day of testing by Sebastien Buemi’s 1:28:910 – setting a new lap record for Donington.
The time might leave us without a full picture of how the season could pan out. Fastest man on the wide open layout of Donington Park is unrepresentative of the inner city calendar, but the lap set a benchmark that forced Renault e.Dams into showing more of their inner sleeve than probably intended.
I’ll be watching eagerly to see if history is set to repeat itself, albeit on a much grander scale. I hope Suzuki-San enjoys the ride watching from the sidelines.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.