Overtake! Episode 8 Review

Making the Jump to Belsorriso

Overtake! Episode 8 began with quite a twist. Haruka Asahina is now a driver for Belsorriso — at least temporarily. I have a feeling he won’t be driving for them at the end of the season. But, for now, he’s moved on from Komaki Motors.

In Episode 7, we learned that Satsuki Harunaga probably won’t be getting back in the car this season. And, we also learned that neither of Belsorriso’s reserve drivers are as good as Toshiki is. Toshiki was able to keep up with Satsuki. But these drivers can’t keep up with Toshiki.

Haruka is the solution to Belsorriso’s problem. They’ve seen what he can do in a bad car. So, they figured he’s their best shot at having a second driver who can keep up with Toshiki. But, where does this leave Komaki Motors?

Without Haruka, Komaki Motors will cease to be an F4 team. Their team only consisted of three people. There’s the team owner, the mechanic, and the driver. Without the driver, they can’t race. And, it’s unlikely that Komaki Motors would try to find a replacement. Haruka was their whole reason for existing.

Komaki Motors wasn’t an F4 team until Haruka came along. They were (and still are) a mechanic shop. So, while losing Haruka sucks, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, Komaki Motors won’t have to continue spending money on racing. In that sense, losing Haruka is a good thing.

But, the real reason Haruka moving to Belsorriso is good is that it’s going to allow him to grow as a driver. Everyone acknowledges that Komaki Motors is what’s holding Haruka’s racing career back. They simply don’t have the resources to give him a car capable of winning. Belsorriso can.

From Hunt to Lauda

Because I’m such a genius, last week, I predicted that Satsuki was going to be more like Lauda than Hunt. He liked to think of himself as someone who made his own luck, like James Hunt. But, as I pointed out, his arc is more like Niki Lauda’s.

And, with that in mind, we can assume that Satsuki won’t be winning the Japanese F4 championship this year. Lauda lost the championship in 1976 after his crash. But, he came back to win it the following year.

That’s the path Satsuki is now on. Though, it should be noted that Lauda did return to racing later that same year. So, we might still get to see Satsuki back in the car at some point. And, that may be the catalyst for Haruka returning to Komaki Motors from Belsorriso.

Okay, so it’s clear that Satsuki’s arc is mimicking Lauda’s life. But, if that’s the case, who’s supposed to be Hunt in this situation? Hunt won the 1976 world championship in large part due to Lauda’s crash. So, whoever represents Hunt in this series has to be someone who benefits from Satsuki’s crash.

Could it be Toshiki? He seems like a pretty obvious choice. Thanks to Satsuki’s misfortune, Toshiki got the chance to prove himself as the team’s #1 driver. And, since he’s been driving for Belsorriso all season, he’s likely to be the one to win the championship now.

However, Haruka could also represent Hunt. Like Toshiki, he too benefited from Satsuki’s crash. It gave Haruka the opportunity to race for a top team. But, I doubt he’ll end up winning the championship because of it. Haruka’s current goal is smaller than that. He just wants to win a single race.

Toshiki’s New Teammate

Surprisingly, Toshiki was rather welcoming to Haruka becoming his teammate. I would have thought Toshiki would be against it. After all, Toshiki blames Haruka for the fact that Satsuki was chosen as the number one driver over him.

But, I guess now that Toshiki is the number one driver of the team, his beef with Haruka doesn’t matter. However, there are likely some other factors, as well. For example, if Haruka’s in a better car, he won’t be a mobile chicane. And, Haruka may be able to support Toshiki better than the other Belsorriso drivers.

There’s just one problem, though. It looks like Toshiki underestimated Haruka’s skills. He acknowledges Haruka is better than the reserve drivers, and doesn’t have an issue with that. But, what he wasn’t expecting was for Haruka to be fast enough to challenge him.

Because Toshiki has never been the number one driver, he’s never had to deal with the pressure that comes with it. As the saying goes, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” When you’re on top, you have to worry about everyone who wants to dethrone you.

During their practice, Haruka wasn’t even trying to overtake Toshiki. And yet, Toshiki was getting thrown off by the fact that Haruka was so close behind him. Racing might be a team sport, but there’s always the chance your teammate could pass you. And if they do, they may prove that they’re more worthy of being the number one driver.

Of course, at this stage, Haruka wants to show Belsorriso that he can be a team player. But, what about if a race win was on the line? If Toshiki was in first and Haruka was in second, would Haruka hold back or go for it?

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Overtake! Episode 8? Were you surprised to see Haruka driving a Belsorriso car at the start of the episode? Do you think Satsuki or Haruka is supposed to represent James Hunt in this series? And, are you expecting Haruka to finish out the season with Belsorriso? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 9 is available now.