Firman Ralph(United Kingdom, 20/05/1975)

Website: www.ralphfirman.net

Ralph Firman (Ralph David Firman Jr.), born on 20 May 1975 in Norwich (Norfolk, England), is a former British-Irish racing driver who often competed under an Irish licence and built the strongest part of his career between Europe and Japan, including a spell in Formula 1 in 2003.

After starting in karting, Firman progressed rapidly through the single-seater ranks: in 1993 he won the Formula Vauxhall Junior championship, then stood out in British Formula 3, claiming the 1996 British Formula 3 Championship (along with victory at Macau that same year, an event remembered also for sporting controversy). After this European phase, he chose Japan as the centre of his professional path, developing season by season to the top of the national series.

The peak of his Japanese single-seater career came with Nakajima Racing: in 2002 he won the 2002 Formula Nippon Championship (now Super Formula), a result that reopened doors in Europe and allowed him to seize a Formula 1 opportunity the following year.

His World Championship chapter unfolded with Jordan in the 2003 season. Firman debuted in Australia and contested 14 Grands Prix as a race driver. His most notable result was eighth place at the Spanish Grand Prix, which earned him his only point and represented one of the team’s few points finishes that year. The season was also marked by an accident during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which forced him to miss that event and the following race, leading to a temporary replacement.

After Formula 1, Firman returned permanently to Japan, finding continuity and success in touring car and prototype racing. In Super GT (GT500 class) he achieved the most successful phase of his career: in 2007, with ARTA/Honda, he won the 2007 Super GT Championship alongside Daisuke Ito, in a season remembered for being mathematically decided before the final race. He remained in the category until retiring from racing at the end of 2013.

Outside the cockpit, family history has always been central: his father Ralph Firman Sr. was co-founder of constructor Van Diemen. In more recent years Firman Jr. has been associated with revival and development initiatives linked to the Van Diemen brand and engineering projects connected to track-day activities and customer racing cars.

GP Results

GP/Points Graph

Year	Team	Chassis	Points
2003	Jordan	EJ13	1

* World Championships with at least 1 point won (since 2001)

Year	Team	Teammate	Win
2003	Jordan Ford (EJ13)	Fisichella G.	0 VS 15
Total			0 VS 15

Grand Prix	Team	Chassis	Pos.
Spanish GP 2003	Jordan Ford	EJ13	8
Malaysian GP 2003	Jordan Ford	EJ13	10

* Grand prix finishes in the top 10 (since 2001)

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