France was in darkness, but it was still daytime far away in the East. Soon, all the top executives of the racing department arrived at the conference room.
In the conference room, it was still morning in country R. The sun hung diagonally in the sky, casting a bright light on the conference table.
"Sakata-kun, may I ask what you called us here for?" kanδん
After everyone was seated, a man in a suit and tie, who appeared to be of high status, asked Sakata Ichiro, who was at the head of the table, with a serious expression.
The man was very polite and bowed deeply to Sakata Ichiro before speaking.
Upon hearing this, the other executives present also turned their gazes towards Sakata Ichiro at the head of the table, clearly unaware of why he had urgently summoned them.
Including Sakata Ichiro, there were six people in the conference room: the executives in charge of research and development, marketing, and racing departments, among others.
Sakata Ichiro was a fat man in a gray suit, wearing a red tie. His face, full of flesh, was tense, and he wore a solemn expression as he surveyed the executives.
After looking around, the large mole near his mouth twitched, and he said in a slightly low voice.
"The matter I've called you here for today is very serious. Our Suzuki has been blacklisted from the 24-hour endurance race. I've gathered you all here to see if you have any ideas, as this is the first time we've ever been treated this way."
Sakata Ichiro spoke while looking at the executives, his eyes filled with authority.
Towards the end, Sakata Ichiro's tone became more serious. He was right; this was the first time their Suzuki had been blacklisted from a race, and there had been no precedent for such an occurrence before.
"Blacklisted? What's going on?"
"I don't know. This is the first time I've heard of Suzuki being treated like this."
"......"
As soon as Sakata Ichiro finished speaking, the room began to buzz with hushed conversations. After the murmurs subsided, the man who had first asked Sakata Ichiro spoke.
"Sakata-kun, may I know the specifics of this incident? Why has Suzuki been blacklisted?"
The man was somewhat confused, as being blacklisted from a race was a very serious matter. As the head of the racing department, he understood this very well.
Upon hearing the question, Sakata Ichiro recounted the specifics of the incident.
After his words, the executives below began to discuss again.
"Sakata-kun, based on what you've said, I suspect this incident was likely caused by Ducati pressuring the race organizers."
"Sakata-kun, I agree with Kamei. Under normal circumstances, even if the situation was a bit serious, the endurance race organizers wouldn't blacklist us. It must be that the other party pressured the organizers."
After a brief discussion, the executives from the marketing and racing departments offered their opinions. The others remained silent, merely nodding, indicating that their opinions were the same as these two executives.
At this moment, they had a doubt: Ducati was too ruthless, pressuring the race organizers to deal with them.
Some things, they wouldn't understand until they happened to them, just like now.
"I also suspected this. It is indeed our Suzuki's fault. I have already disciplined the team. I've called you here today to discuss how to get us removed from the blacklist. This is the top priority."
Removed? The people present exchanged glances. The man in charge of the racing department, named Kamei, lowered his head in thought. He was very displeased with what Ducati had done, questioning their approach of reporting them when they couldn't win.
"Sakata-kun, can we pressure the race organizers like Ducati did?"
After a long pause, Kamei spoke. As the head of the racing department, he was the primary responsible person for this matter, as the team participating in the endurance race was led by his people.
"It's probably difficult. If I'm not mistaken, the other party threatened the race organizers with withdrawing from the competition. This is something we probably can't replicate. Perhaps we should try to leverage our connections to see if there's any room for maneuver, as race organizers are sometimes not so rigid."
The executive from the marketing department denied Kamei's suggestion and instead proposed leveraging connections.
Sakata Ichiro looked at the two men in the room and touched the large mole on his mouth.
Seeing his expression, the people below fell silent, as they understood him too well. That gesture from the boss meant he was making a decision.
Soon, Sakata Ichiro straightened his posture, clearly having come up with an idea.
Although they were at fault, they were also very displeased with Ducati's conduct. Sakata Ichiro wanted revenge, but he didn't have the courage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have admitted it was Suzuki's fault in the earlier discussion.
Sakata Ichiro glanced at his executives again, his gaze stopping on the head of the marketing department, as if he had made up his mind.
"We still need to pressure the race organizers. Let's follow their methods for this matter. I will discuss it with my superiors, as it's just a scare tactic for the race organizers. I believe the higher-ups will give me some face. However, we still need to work on our connections."
"Tatsuta-kun, you are the head of the marketing department and have extensive connections. I'll entrust this matter to you. I believe, given your loyalty to the organization, you will definitely handle it well."
Sakata Ichiro looked at the man who had spoken with Kamei earlier. This man, like Sakata Ichiro, was portly with a large belly and a greasy face, clearly someone who frequently socialized and drank.
Upon hearing Sakata Ichiro's words, the man called Tatsuta-kun stood up abruptly.
"Yes! Your subordinate guarantees the mission will be completed!"
Seeing his solemn reply, Sakata Ichiro waved his hand, instructing him to proceed, as time was of the essence.
After the marketing department head left, Sakata Ichiro gave a few more instructions to his subordinates, then announced the adjournment of the meeting, but asked Kamei from the racing department to stay behind.
"Sakata-kun, may I ask why you asked me to stay..."
Kamei still didn't understand the significance of Sakata Ichiro asking him to stay.
"Come here, I have something important to discuss with you."
"Yes!"
.................................................................
France, Le Mans International Circuit, Race Organizing Office Building.
It was already two o'clock in the morning, but the largest director of the race organizing committee in France had not yet slept. Instead, he had rushed to the race site without stopping.
He first dealt with the person in charge here, the old man, with lightning-fast methods, and also reprimanded Quinn. Although these two were the highest responsible persons here, the final decision-making power still rested with the board of directors.