Rockingham Circuit, England (Apr 22, 2007)
Rounds 3 and 4 of the British Formula Renault Championship were held at Britain's only oval track, and 18 year-old Ryuji Yamamoto, contesting the series through a Nissan/NISMO scholarship did well to pass seven cars ahead of him after starting 15th in the first of a pair of events to finish 8th. The second race of the afternoon saw the young Japanese improve two positions from his ninth-place start to take 7th. Yamamoto's performance shows he's already proving his pace on European circuits.
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| Copyright © Nissan |
Two hours north of London, Rockingham is located not far from where Yamamoto lives, in Northamptonshire. Similar to Tochigi prefecture's Twin Ring Motegi, Rockingham sports both an oval and a road course facility, and has in the past, hosted Champ Car events. The Formula Renault races were held on the 1.949-mile road course in sunny conditions.
At 10:40am, Yamamoto headed out for the start of the first race. On the second lap, he made his first pass, then cleanly got by two other rivals on laps 4 and 5 to move up to 12th. While a number of others fell into retirement after suffering mechanical failures and crashes, Yamamoto in the final three laps fought his teammate Riki Christodoulou (car #4). He eventually overtook the British driver on the inside of the first corner on the final lap. Yamamoto took the checkered flag in 8th place.
The second race began at 3:30pm, Yamamoto immediately jumping up to seventh on the opening lap. He was then harried by race one winner Jeremy Metcalfe (car #6), the Brit eventually getting by at the first corner on lap 4. Ryuji took back the position at the same spot on lap 13, but Metcalfe, with three years' experience in the series, kept up the pressure, forcing Yamamoto to work very hard to avoid being passed.
The pursuit continued until Metcalfe spun, Yamamoto managing to hold onto the position. Ryuji now had his eyes trained on those in front, and set about reeling in the #5 car of Adam Christodoulou, cousin of his teammate Riki. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, the remainder of the race wasn't long enough for him to complete his mission and he finished 7th.
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| Copyright © Nissan |
In Europe, the key to success and moving up to the next level seems to lie in how well one masters the skill of left-foot braking. Yamamoto, through his experience of four races, may already have mastered this crucial point. The next event, Rounds 5 and 6 at Thruxton, are where Yamamoto shone in testing, setting the fourth-fastest time.
Yamamoto, in a laid-back though very confident mood, said: "I'm getting better every race. Today I was 7th, so my next target is to finish 6th. Maybe it will do me good."
Ryuji Yamamoto:
"During qualifying for the first race, I was rather confused after testing various set-ups and watching the data.For the race, it was better that I focused on driving to overtake the cars in front of me.In this series, it is very common for three cars to go into the corners together making the battles very tough-though the level of the racing doesn't seem to be that high.I feel that the more experience I have in the races, the more I'll improve."
Nissan Drivers Developing Program (NISSAN D.D.P.)
In 2006, Nissan, Toyota and Honda launched Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ), a new formula car series started in order to raise young drivers who will be competitive around the world. Nissan, along with the two other manufacturers, have introduced a scholarship program to a couple of selected drivers. In 2006, Nissan supported four drivers.
Yamamoto was ranked 2nd in the Championship, losing only by the number of victories. This season, he has been given the opportunity to participate in the Formula Renault UK Championship with Nissan's unique 'Advanced Scholarship' .
The series uses Italian-made Tatuus chassis-based formula cars with Renault inline 4 cylinder 2000cc production engines. It is one level below Formula 3 in the hierarchy, and categorized as a 'middle formula' like FCJ.
Nissan/NISMO continues to support four young drivers with scholarships and in their entry to FCJ.
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