Left field

Tears as Toyota pull out of Formula One

Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina was in tears as the Japanese company announced it has withdrawn from Formula One with immediate effect.

Japan has deserted motorsport on mass during the economic crisis (Honda and Bridgestone to name just two).

Company president Akio Toyoda apologised for the team’s failure to record a single race victory since joining F1 in 2002 despite an estimated annual budget of around $300 million.

“It was a very difficult but unavoidable decision,” he told a news conference in Tokyo.

The departure opens the door for BMW Sauber’s new Swiss owners to take their place on the grid.

PHOTO: Toyota Motorsport Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina cries at a news conference at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo November 4, 2009 REUTERS/Issei Kato

Ice hockey-Japan’s ‘Bunnies’ boiled by economic crisis

I just love the headline on this one.

Japan’s Seibu Prince Rabbits have disbanded and pulled out of the Asia Ice Hockey League (AIHL) due to financial problems, Japanese media have reported.

I didn’t even know there was a pan-Asian Ice Hockey League but you can understand how the current climate would be bad for business. Seibu’s departure leaves only six teams in the AIHL and none in Tokyo. Three of the remaining clubs are Japanese with two from South Korea, along with the Shanghai-based China Sharks.

Amusing team names are great. What do Rabbits and Sharks have to do with ice?