Political motives have always proved to be a mockery of this great nation. The same notion applies in the world of automotive motorsports, namely the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC ). The JGTC series has become the largest racing series in Japan in terms of vehicle participation with six races taking place in Japan and one in Malaysia. To fully understand what goes on behind the scenes is to understand the inter-workings of its committee and the controversial politics that enable it to run a competitive show. It is known that all motorsports events in Japan are governed by the Japan Automobile Federation, otherwise known as JAF. The JAF uses its political clout to determine what is best for the drivers, teams, and official events of the JGTC series. If you ask the Takata Dome NSX Team exactly how they feel about the JAF and their constant rule changing, you'd be surprised. Constantly ostracized and penalized with numerous weight penalties within their class, the Takata NSX Team has unwillingly taken a back seat to what was once a series dominated by the NSX.
Round two in a best of seven series event was held on May 23, 2004 at Sportland Sugo racetrack. On lap 70 with less than 11 laps to go, Ryo Michigami, piloting the Takata Dome NSX, lost control on the rain-slicked track and violently spun off the tarmac. Earlier in the race, fellow driver Sebastien Philippe of France started in the middle of the pack, in the 13th grid, and progressively made his way up the line to the 5th spot. Just before transitioning to Michigami as the secondary driver, a hail of torrential downpour blanketed Sugo racetrack. Word of the spinout had reached the Takata pit, and the crew called Michigami back into the pits for a full tire change. Screeching to a halt, the oversized, slotted and ventilated Alcon water-cooled rotors blazed a bright red hue as a thick cloud of steam vaporized from the Alcon 6-Pot calipers. The air jacks quickly lifted the NSX off the ground and the crew bolted on a fresh set of Bridgestone Potenza 310/30R18 in the front and 330/40R18 on the rears, all rolling on a set of Volk Racing rims. With the crew refilling the fuel cell from the rear entry twin fuel-inlets, and making a quick adjustment to the double wishbone, pushrod and import dampers on the front and rear, Michigami let loose on the 6-speed Hewland sequential gearbox, and the 500-hp, C30A V6 twin turbo engine roared to life. In less than 20 minutes, the checkered flag ended the race; the Takata team had placed a disappointing 33rd out of 44 cars. With heads hung low, the crew and staff packed their belonging and headed back to the office.
Failure is completely new to Takata Dome Racing, as the team's demise seemed to happen gradually over the past year. In 2000 Michigami brought Honda and their NSX their first championship title while the Castrol NSX dominated the GT500 series, taking the checkered flag for the season. Once again the NSX was the car to beat in 2002, and the Mugen Dome NSX kicked its competitors ass in GT500, overwhelmingly capturing the championship points series. From 2003 and on, many of the rules within JGTC and the GT500 series have undergone a full revision, under the collaboration of the JAF committee. Even today, many will argue these rulebook changes were intended to cripple the Honda NSX's dominance.