Honda squad Dandelion scored its first victory in two years in final month’s season finale at Suzuka, as rookie Kakunoshin Ota beat Liam Lawson to spherical off his first season on the highest step of the rostrum.
However the first a part of the season proved robust for the Kyoto-based outfit, as Makino didn’t crack the highest 5 till he scored a podium within the fifth spherical at Sugo, whereas Ota completed his first 5 races out of the factors.
The in-season check at Fuji in June proved the turning level for Dandelion, as Makino scored pole and completed second behind Lawson when the collection returned to the observe the next month, whereas Ota scored his first factors after qualifying third.
Ota’s sturdy kind continued by to the tip of the yr, as he turned solely the fourth completely different race winner of the season at Suzuka and the one one from outdoors Crew Mugen and TOM’S.
Dandelion boss Kiyoshi Muraoka admits that he was nervous that the workforce’s early struggles may consign his workforce to a interval within the wilderness, and put its turnaround all the way down to Makino’s efforts to steer the workforce out of its early-season stoop.
“At first, we didn’t get it proper with the brand new automotive, and we had been the one prime workforce that was struggling,” mentioned Muraoka. “I believed it would take us two or three years to get again on prime.
“At the moment, Makino led the workforce and contributed to its rebuilding. That actually took form when he received pole at Fuji, and instantly the workforce was getting into the suitable course once more.
“Usually when you get it incorrect with a brand new automotive, getting again to the highest inside a yr is fairly good, however I used to be so resigned to struggling that I instructed the sponsors, ‘please be affected person for 2 or three years’.
“The actual fact we had been in a position to get again to the highest so shortly is all the way down to Makino main the workforce. Then within the in-season check, Ota was in a position to perceive the automotive correctly, which is what allowed him to get this win.
“Since then [the Fuji test] it has been an in depth battle between Makino and Ota, and we’ve been in a position to make use of the info from each automobiles. So Makino’s contribution was actually massive.”
Whereas Ota received the ultimate race of the season, Makino struggled within the season-closing Suzuka double-header as he was pressured to take a brand new chassis after the Motegi crash.
Trying again on the in-season check that rotated Dandelion’s fortunes, the 26-year-old admitted that he was involved the workforce’s poor kind would proceed till discovering a breakthrough that allowed him to set the second-fastest time on the primary day.
“I went into the check with the intention of attempting completely every part doable,” mirrored Makino.
“Actually, after the morning session of the primary day, I used to be nearly prepared to surrender. We could not discover something that labored, and I used to be considering, ‘that is hopeless’.
“However after that, by attempting quite a lot of issues, together with some we had by no means performed earlier than, lastly we discovered one thing that made us suppose, ‘ah, perhaps this might work’.”
Ota’s victory within the last spherical at Suzuka allowed Dandelion to beat Inging to 3rd place within the groups’ standings by 1.5 factors.
