Ralph David Firman Jr. (born 20 May 1975) is a British-born former racing driver who raced under Irish citizenship (his mother Angela is from Ireland) and an Irish-issued racing licence. Earlier in his career he raced under a British licence. His father, Ralph Firman Sr., co-founded the Van Diemen[1] racecar constructor with Ross Ambrose, father of V8 Supercars champion Marcos, then more recently founded RFR. He is married to Aldís Kristín Árnadóttir, an Icelandic UK-educated lawyer. Ralph's sister, Natasha, is also a racing driver.

Ralph Firman
Firman in 2008
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Republic of Ireland Irish
BornRalph David Firman Jr.
(1975-05-20) 20 May 1975 (age 49)
Norwich, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom
Formula One World Championship career
Active years2003
TeamsJordan
Entries15 (14 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points1
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry2003 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2003 Japanese Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2004
TeamsRacing for Holland
Best finishNC
Class wins0

Career

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Formula Three

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Firman driving for Paul Stewart Racing at Silverstone during the 1995 British Formula 3 Championship season.

Educated at Gresham's School between 1988 and 1993, Firman went straight into motor racing on leaving school. Despite leading much of the 1995 British F3 championship, he lost the title at the final round to Oliver Gavin. However, he continued in the championship in 1996 and captured the title at his second attempt.

Macau Grand Prix controversy

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Firman won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 1996 under controversial circumstances. At the end of round 1, Firman finished ahead of German Formula 3 champion Jarno Trulli. In round 2, he was overtaken by Trulli on the last lap. Firman was running with a broken front wing. Just as Jarno Trulli was on the way to victory, Firman crashed at the hairpin corner, blocked the track and caused a red flag. The race officials counted the results to the previous lap when Firman was ahead of Trulli, thus giving him the win.

Formula Nippon

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Firman then moved to Japan, culminating in the 2002 Formula Nippon championship, before returning to Europe.

Formula One

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Firman driving for Jordan at the 2003 French GP.

Firman secured a seat in Formula One for the 2003 season at the Jordan team,[2] alongside Giancarlo Fisichella. He participated in 14 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix. He scored one championship point, in the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix. This point was the first for a Republic of Ireland driver since Derek Daly in 1982. He was injured in a huge crash during practice for the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix which forced him to sit out that and the next race, in which he was replaced by Zsolt Baumgartner.

In November 2003, Firman drove a Jordan-Ford EJ13 at Macau's Guia Circuit as part of the Macau Grand Prix's 50th anniversary celebrations, the first time that a contemporary F1 machine had been seen in action around the tight and tricky Guia circuit. Firman clocked an impressive 1:59.4 seconds lap, 13 seconds quicker than F3 poleman Fabio Carbone managed on the same day.[3]

Post-Formula One

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Firman driving the Honda HSV-010 GT for ARTA at the 2010 Super GT Fuji 400km race.

Firman has also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was an official test driver for the A1 Grand Prix series in August 2004.

In August 2005, it was announced that he would be the driver for A1 Team Ireland. He had previously been seen to be in competition for the Great Britain seat.

In 2007, Firman, along with Daisuke Ito, won the Japan Super GT GT500 class championship with the Aguri Suzuki co-owned ARTA team. Firman and Ito won the championship before the final race of the season, a first in the series' competitive history.

Retirement from racing

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Firman retired from racing in 2013, and now runs a British engineering company.[4]

Racing career

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Poles Wins FLaps Podiums Points Position
1995 British Formula Three Championship Paul Stewart Racing 18 9 6 4 9 176 2nd
Masters of Formula 3 Paul Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th
Macau Grand Prix San Miguel Paul Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
Formula One Marlboro McLaren Mercedes Test driver
1996 British Formula Three Championship Paul Stewart Racing 15 4 3 4 8 188 1st
Macau Grand Prix San Miguel Paul Stewart Racing 1 0 1 0 1 N/A 1st
Masters of Formula 3 Paul Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
1997 Formula Nippon Championship Team TMS 10 0 0 0 1 12 8th
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Team TMS 4 0 0 0 0 4 24th
Macau Grand Prix San Miguel Paul Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
1998 Formula Nippon Championship Team Nova 9 0 0 0 2 13 8th
1999 Formula Nippon Championship Team Nova 10 1 1 2 3 21 4th
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Team Taeivon Ralliart 7 0 0 0 2 42 6th
2000 Formula Nippon Championship Team Taeivon Ralliart 10 0 0 0 1 9 9th
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Toyota Team Sard 7 0 0 0 1 25 12th
2001 Formula Nippon Championship Nakajima Racing 10 1 2 1 3 29 4th
2002 Formula Nippon Championship Nakajima Racing 10 2 4 1 8 62 1st
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Nakajima Racing 8 0 3 0 3 74 2nd
2003 Formula One Jordan 14 0 0 0 0 1 19th
2004 24 Hours of Le Mans Racing for Holland 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
2005 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 8 0 2 0 1 61 2nd
2005-06 A1 Grand Prix Ireland 16 0 0 2 1 68 8th
2006 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 9 0 1 0 2 68 7th
2007 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 9 0 3 0 4 91 1st
2007-08 A1 Grand Prix Ireland 2 0 0 0 0 8 6th
2008 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 9 0 0 0 3 49 8th
2009 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 9 0 2 0 5 81 2nd
2010 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 7 0 1 0 1 29 11th
2012 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 8 0 0 0 0 12 16th
2013 Super GT Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 8 0 1 0 1 31 11th
Sources:[4][5][6]

Complete British Formula 3 results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Pts
1995 Paul Stewart Racing Mugen SIL
1

1
SIL
2

1
THR
1

Ret
THR
2

2
DON
Ret
SIL
2
SIL
3
DON
1

Ret
DON
2

1
OUL
9
BRH
1

1
BRH
2

1
SNE
Ret
PEM
1

1
PEM
2

7
SIL
1

DSQ
SIL
2

12
THR
7
2nd 176
1996 Paul Stewart Racing Mugen SIL
1

4
SIL
2

2
THR
3
DON
DNS
BRH
1

1
BRH
2

1
OUL
1
DON
2
SIL
2
THR
2
SNE
1

6
SNE
2

C
PEM
1

13
PEM
2

5
ZAN
1

5
ZAN
2

4
SIL
4
1st 188

Complete Formula Nippon results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1997 Team TMS SUZ
Ret
MIN
4
FUJ
15
SUZ
6
SUG
2
FUJ
13
MIN
Ret
MOT
5
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
11
8th 12
1998 Team Nova SUZ
12
MIN
Ret
FUJ
Ret
MOT
14
SUZ
Ret
SUG
2
FUJ
C
MIN
4
FUJ
3
SUZ
7
7th 13
1999 Team Nova SUZ
Ret
MOT
3
MIN
2
FUJ
9
SUZ
Ret
SUG
6
FUJ
10
MIN
9
MOT
8
SUZ
1
4th 21
2000 Team Nova SUZ
Ret
MOT
11
MIN
Ret
FUJ
6
SUZ
7
SUG
2
MOT
10
FUJ
13
MIN
5
SUZ
Ret
9th 9
2001 Nakajima Racing SUZ
5
MOT
Ret
MIN
2
FUJ
6
SUZ
Ret
SUG
Ret
FUJ
7
MIN
8
MOT
1
SUZ
1
4th 29
2002 Nakajima Racing SUZ
1
FUJ
2
MIN
Ret
SUZ
1
MOT
9
SUG
1
FUJ
2
MIN
2
MOT
1
SUZ
3
1st 62
Source:[4]

Complete JGTC/Super GT results

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Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
1997 Team TMS Porsche 911 GT2 GT500 SUZ
13
FUJ
7
SEN
13
FUJ
13
MIN SUG
DNQ
24th 4
1999 Team Taeivon Ralliart Mitsubishi FTO GT300 SUZ
2
FUJ
Ret
SUG
5
MIN
Ret
FUJ
3
TAI
8
MOT
7
6th 42
2000 Toyota Team SARD Toyota Supra GT500 MOT
10
FUJ
Ret
SUG
6
FUJ
2
TAI
Ret
MIN
8
SUZ
16
12th 25
2002 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX GT500 TAI
1
FUJ
11
SUG
Ret
SEP
1
FUJ
12
MOT
14
MIN
6
SUZ
1
2nd 74
2005 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX GT500 OKA
4
FUJ
12
SEP
2
SUG
6
MOT
16
FUJ
8
AUT
1
SUZ
12
2nd 61
2006 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX GT500 SUZ
3
OKA
7
FUJ
8
SEP
1
SUG
8
SUZ
6
MOT
15
AUT
11
FUJ
14
7th 68
2007 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX GT500 SUZ
12
OKA
1
FUJ
9
SEP
6
SUG
1
SUZ
2
MOT
12
AUT
1
FUJ
8
1st 94
2008 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX GT500 SUZ
14
OKA
3
FUJ
Ret
SEP
11
SUG
15
SUZ
13
MOT
2
AUT
3
FUJ
12
8th 49
2009 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX GT500 OKA
3
SUZ
14
FUJ
3
SEP
3
SUG
14
SUZ
12
FUJ
1
AUT
4
MOT
1
2nd 81
2010 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda HSV-010 GT GT500 SUZ
Ret
OKA
6
FUJ
11
SEP
11
SUG
12
SUZ
1
FUJ
C
MOT
7
11th 29
2012 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda HSV-010 GT GT500 OKA
6
FUJ
Ret
SEP
12
SUG
Ret
SUZ
7
FUJ
9
AUT
11
MOT
13
16th 12
2013 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda HSV-010 GT GT500 OKA
9
FUJ
8
SEP
8
SUG
1
SUZ
12
FUJ
8
AUT
14
MOT
15
11th 31
Sources:[6][7]

Complete Formula One results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
2003 Jordan Ford Jordan EJ13 Ford V10 AUS
Ret
MAL
10
BRA
Ret
SMR
Ret
ESP
8
AUT
11
MON
12
CAN
Ret
EUR
11
FRA
15
GBR
13
GER
Ret
HUN
WD
ITA USA
Ret
JPN
14
19th 1
Sources:[5][8]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2004   Racing for Holland   Tom Coronel
  Justin Wilson
Dome S101-Judd LMP1 313 DNF DNF
Sources:[5][9]

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points Ref
2005–06 Ireland GBR
SPR
GBR
FEA
GER
SPR

9
GER
FEA

6
POR
SPR

19
POR
FEA

3
AUS
SPR
AUS
FEA
MYS
SPR

7
MYS
FEA

9
UAE
SPR

4
UAE
FEA

Ret
RSA
SPR

4
RSA
FEA

Ret
IDN
SPR

6
IDN
FEA

Ret
MEX
SPR

Ret
MEX
FEA

Ret
USA
SPR

5
USA
FEA

6
CHN
SPR
CHN
FEA
8th 68 [10]
2007–08 NED
SPR

8
NED
FEA

6
CZE
SPR
CZE
FEA
MYS
SPR
MYS
FEA
ZHU
SPR
ZHU
FEA
NZL
SPR
NZL
FEA
AUS
SPR
AUS
FEA
RSA
SPR
RSA
FEA
MEX
SPR
MEX
FEA
SHA
SPR
SHA
FEA
GBR
SPR
GBR
SPR
6th 94 [11]
Source:[4]

References

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  1. ^ RFR – In development: the 2010 RFR F2000/FC – Ralph Firman Racing
  2. ^ "Firman set to join Jordan F1". Irish Examiner. 3 February 2003.
  3. ^ "Firman breaks Macau lap record". Crash Net. 14 November 2003.
  4. ^ a b c d "Ralph Firman". Motor Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Ralph Firman Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Ralph Firman jr". Driver Database. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Complete Archive of Ralph Firman". Racing Sports Cars. pp. 2, 3. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Ralph Firman – Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Ralph Firman". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Ralph Firman – 2005 A1 Grand Prix Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Ralph Firman – 2007 A1 Grand Prix Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by British Formula 3 Championship
Champion

1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by Macau Grand Prix
Winner

1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by Formula Nippon
Champion

2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by Super GT
GT500 Champion

2007
With: Daisuke Itō
Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by McLaren Autosport BRDC Award
1993
Succeeded by