Both of you were Mazda works' drivers in the past. Your greatest memory would obviously be Le Mans, wouldn't it?
Yorino Yes, of course. For me it is Le Mans. I drove there a total of eleven times. When racing at Le Mans our highest priority was completing the race. Therefore, drivers would be extremely nervous during the final hour. If a driver make only a tiny mistake that caused the machine to break, it would waste the efforts of the first 23 hours. It wasn't only mistakes we were worried about; but also whether we had enough fuel and other issues that consumed us. The last 30 minutes was really tough and seemed to last forever.
Ota I believe the role of a driver in a sprint race is different to that of one in an endurance event.
Yorino Yes, that's right. Only drivers with the experience of piloting the final stint know what it feels like. When Mazda won Le Mans in 1991, Johnny Herbert got seriously dehydrated, and was unable to stand on the podium.It's not only a matter of physical exhaustion, but the mental exhaustion is also severe. I had no idea the pressure of completing the race was that hard.
Ota Actually I never drove for Mazda at Le Mans (However, he did compete in a Ferrari on four occasions from 1993), but I attended the pre-event test at Dijon wit the team in 1989. I went there alone and remember being scared by lightning while onboard a small plane on a flight from Paris. To make matters worse, my baggage had been left in Paris. The test at Dijon was for three days. The day started at 8a.m., and including the time it took to maintain the cars, stayed there until the evening. The cars had lots of different problems, some things I'd never even imagined such as broken hose bands etc. On the track, there was a jump which, when taken at racing speed, hurt my lower back. Oh yes, we also had one wet day when my time was 10 seconds slower than Pierre's (Dieudonne). I had been on the racing line, but later found out that in the wet, one had to fundamentally be out-out in those conditions at that circuit.Once I adjusted my driving I soon improved, recording a time in line with Pierre's. He was really kind and gave me many tips. In the end I never went to Le Mans as a driver for the team. I went to the Circuit de la Sarthe every year and was always told "next season you're in," but as it turned out, Mazda ended up stopping their Le Mans programme before I ever got that elusive chance to drive for them.
I heard that Mr. Yorino recommended Mr. Ota to Mazda as a driver.
Ota When I was competing in the Fuji Grand Champion series (GC), Mr. Yorino once sat next to me in the drivers' briefing. He asked me my height and weight and many other things. At that time, the hierarchy between higher and lower-ranked drivers was very stark, and since Mr. Yorino was already a great driver, answering him caused me a great deal of anxiety.
Yorino He was also competing in F3000 at that time, and performing very well. However, issues with the tyres and the organisation of the team meant he wasn't able to record any good results. I was therefore very interested in him and recommended him to Mazda, saying, "he has huge potential." I'm 10 years younger than my brother (driver Yoshimi Katayama), and he's another 10 years younger than me, so for his age, I thought he was really good.
Ota I started my racing career quite late, after graduating from University in 1982. With about 5 or 6 years' racing experience, I joined Mazda. I remember when I met a Mazda staff member for the first time, he asked me, "Are you Japanese?" I answered, "Yes, I'm a typical Japanese" (laughs).
What did Mr. Yorino teach you?
Ota Well, first of all, he taught me about food! (laughs). He taught me a lot about many kinds of fine food. Shimonoseki fish and Matsuzaka beef… there are many amusing anecdotes about Mr. Yorino. Once, he took me to a famous Sushi restaurant in Sukiyabashi (Tokyo).
Yorino I taught him about good beer, too.
Ota Of course, I learnt a lot from him about racing, especially about professionalism. He was really tough on his mechanics - and also on himself. He was also very careful. ON car set-ups, he required accuracy down to the nth degree. In other words, Mr. Katayama was something of a genius. He always said what he felt - and that really annoyed his mechanics.
Ota I also learnt the pressure of responsibility that comes with being a works driver. At my first test I was quite confident, but at one point, ran the car into the gravel. Had I been in a formula car it would have been a non-issue - but being in a works' sportscar team, it was entirely different. The test had to be interrupted while the radiator was cleaned out, and over 50 people had to wait while that was being done.My one tiny mistake wasted part of the time we'd paid for the track, not to mention the hourly wage of the 50-plus staff members. It was then that I fully recognized the significance of my role. Up to that point I had thought that a works' team could well afford such a situation - but the reality was in fact exactly the opposite. The requirements of a works driver are not only his speed, but also to maintain the car in top condition. This is what I learnt about professionalism in the job.
Yorino He had been getting familiar with the machine and had started to build up his speed, but then Mazda decided to withdraw from racing. I felt so sorry for him. He was the last works driver among a group whose number was never very high.
Ota The last Mazda works' driver… sounds good. I'll take it! (laughs)
Are there any interesting incidents that come to mind?
Yorino It's long time ago now, but in one race when I was driving the Savanna RX-3, the car was quicker than Kiyoshi Misaki's works' Toyota Celica. However, Toyota protested against us because, according to them, I drove on the yellow line while we were battling each other. After the finish, they came to our pit with two people from the manufacturer and asked me, "Did you cross the yellow line?" So I said, "So what? Is it such a big thing that it's going to change the result?" In the end a 30-second penalty was imposed. It hadn't been a fight for the victory, only for 6th place. But as a works' team, they were loathe to lose to a privateer's RX-3 and I wasn't a works driver at the time. It really frustrated me. I understood that the people representing the manufacturer were also frantic. Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Miyoshi, and I told him the story. He gave me a bitter smile, and now we are good friends.
Ota In the past, the difference in tyre quality was obvious. Even when using the same brand, the quality given to top teams and those lower down was very different. While I was driving in the GC, I was the youngest driver and for a long time wasn't able to record a good result.
However one time, our mechanics secretly got hold of some second-hand tyres from a top driver (I hope enough time has elapsed for me to be mentioning this…) Right away, I set the fastest time with those tyres in testing. The following time I was the provided with good tyres and was able to set a decent time.
Yorino Well, we have been keeping that GC machine with the "Ito Ham" colouring in Hachioji, the last model with 3 rotors. We've been driving it once every year at Fuji. This year's run takes place in September.
Ota That's nostalgic. I read the report on the Macau GP and watched the video, and it made me want to drive there. My aim at 60 years of age is to compete at Le Mans, and I want to go to Macau before attempting that. Shall we go together, Mr. Yorino?
Next year is the 20th anniversary of Mazda's Le Mans victory, and Mazda people in Western countries are already getting excited.
Yorino We should have some kind of commemorative event. We must not allow our memories of Mazda's incredible achievement to fade away.
Ota Last autumn, I was invited to a safe driving event at Mazda's test course in Mine, and while there I hosted a Talk Show. They organized a driving day for Mazda owners and displayed some Mazda racing cars. It was really exciting. Being a driver, telling people about safe driving is like giving something back to society. We also have to have a campaign that enlightens and tells people what is interesting about cars. I believe that doing such things is our responsibility.
Yorino Well, we have to do something in the near feature, right?
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