FNippon Drivers Lineup

[Stephen Rowe]

Here's the projected line-up for the 2001 season of Formula Nippon:


PIAA Nakajima Racing: Tsugio Matsuda, Ralph Firman, Jr.


Team 5Zigen: Naoki Hattori, maybe Yuji Ide


Morinaga Nova: Andre Couto, maybe Daisuke Ito


Team Cerumo: Maybe Seiji Ara and Masahiko Kageyama


Mooncraft Racing: Ryo Michigami and Hiro Miyamoto


Team Impul: Satoshi Motoyama and Narain Karthikeyan


Team Le Mans: Alex Yoong and maybe Yudai Igarashi


ARTA: Juichi Wakisaka and Takeshi Tsuchiya


Dandelion Racing: Hideki Noda and Jaroslaw Wierczuk


Kondo Racing: Yuji Tachikawa


Takagi B-1: Tetsuji Tamanaka


Team Leyjun: Shinsuke Shibahara, Osamu Nakajima

[Marshal]

So that's what Karthikeyan is doing this year, I have to admit I'd missed that.

Is Team Impul any good, or will Ralph Firman have it all his own way in the Nakajima Reynard? I recognise a few of the local drivers but who is the tip for the top?

[Stephen Rowe]

I would say that Firman is the best bet to win the championship, but Satoshi Motoyama's going to give him a very good run. Motoyama is very quick and got a few poles last year. Team Impul's one of the best teams, but had some awful luck last season. I think Yoong will have some good runs, and Karthikeyan will improve as the series revisits some of the tracks.