Ralph David Firman Jr. (born 20 May 1975) is a British and Irish former racing driver who last raced under an Irish licence. His father, Ralph Firman Sr., co-founded the Van Diemen racecar constructor with Ross Ambrose, father of V8 Supercars champion Marcos, then more recently founded RFR. Firman won the 2002 Formula Nippon Championship, as well as the 2007 Super GT Series. He was also runner up in the 2002, 2005 and 2009 Super GT Series. He is married to Aldís Kristín Árnadóttir, an Icelandic UK-educated lawyer. Firman's sister, Natasha, is also a racing driver.
Career
Formula Three
thumb|left|Firman driving for [[Paul Stewart (racing driver)|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
Firman won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 1996 despite crashing out of the race. 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 after breaking his front wing. He then crashed at the hairpin corner, blocking the track. The race was stopped as a result, and the results declared at the end of the previous lap, when Firman was ahead of Trulli, thus giving him the win.
Formula Nippon
Firman then moved to Japan, culminating in the 2002 Formula Nippon championship, before returning to Europe.
Formula One
thumb|left|Firman driving for [[Jordan Grand Prix|Jordan at the 2003 French GP.]]
Firman secured a seat in Formula One for the season at the Jordan team, 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.
Post-Formula One
thumb|left|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
Firman retired from racing in 2013, and now runs a British engineering company.
Racing career
Career summary
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"
! Season
! Series
! Team
! Races
! Poles
! Wins
! FLaps
! Podiums
! Points
! Position
|-
! 1993
|align=left nowrap| Formula Vauxhall Junior
|align=left nowrap| ?
| ?
| 9
| 11
| ?
| ?
| ?
| ?
|-
! 1994
|align=left nowrap| Formula Vauxhall Lotus
|align=left nowrap| ?
| ?
| ?
| ?
| ?
| ?
| ?
| 4th
|-
! rowspan=4| 1995
|align=left| British Formula Three Championship
|align=left| Paul Stewart Racing
| 18
| 9
| 6
| 4
| 9
| 176
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" |2nd
|-
|align=left| Masters of Formula 3
|align=left| Paul Stewart Racing
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| N/A
| 10th
|-
|align=left| Macau Grand Prix
|align=left nowrap| San Miguel Paul Stewart Racing
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| N/A
| NC
|-
|align=left| Formula One
|align=left| Marlboro McLaren Mercedes
| colspan="7" |Test driver
|-
! rowspan=3| 1996
|align=left| British Formula Three Championship
|align=left| Paul Stewart Racing
| 15
| 4
| 3
| 4
| 8
| 188
| style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|-
|align=left| Macau Grand Prix
|align=left| San Miguel Paul Stewart Racing
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
| N/A
| style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|-
|align=left| Masters of Formula 3
|align=left| Paul Stewart Racing
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| N/A
| NC
|-
! rowspan=3| 1997
|align=left| Formula Nippon Championship
|align=left| Team TMS
| 10
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 12
| 8th
|-
|align=left nowrap| All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
|align=left| Team TMS
| 4
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 4
| 24th
|-
|align=left| Macau Grand Prix
|align=left| San Miguel Paul Stewart Racing
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| N/A
| NC
|-
! rowspan=1| 1998
|align=left| Formula Nippon Championship
|align=left| Team Nova
| 9
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 2
| 13
| 8th
|-
! rowspan=2| 1999
|align=left| Formula Nippon Championship
|align=left| Team Nova
| 10
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 21
| 4th
|-
|align=left| All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
|align=left| Team Taeivon Ralliart
| 7
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 2
| 42
| 6th
|-
! rowspan=2| 2000
|align=left| Formula Nippon Championship
|align=left| Team Taeivon Ralliart
| 10
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 9
| 9th
|-
|align=left| All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
|align=left| Toyota Team Sard
| 7
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 25
| 12th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2001
|align=left| Formula Nippon Championship
|align=left| Nakajima Racing
| 10
| 1
| 2
| 1
| 3
| 29
| 4th
|-
! rowspan=2| 2002
|align=left| Formula Nippon Championship
|align=left| Nakajima Racing
| 10
| 2
| 4
| 1
| 8
| 62
| style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|-
|align=left| All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
|align=left| Nakajima Racing
| 8
| 0
| 3
| 0
| 3
| 74
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" |2nd
|-
! rowspan=1| 2003
|align=left| Formula One
|align=left| Jordan
| 14
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 19th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2004
|align=left| 24 Hours of Le Mans
|align=left| Racing for Holland
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| N/A
| NC
|-
! rowspan=1| 2005
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 8
| 0
| 2
| 0
| 1
| 61
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" |2nd
|-
! nowrap| 2005-06
|align=left| A1 Grand Prix
|align=left| Ireland
| 16
| 0
| 0
| 2
| 1
| 68
| 8th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2006
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 9
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 2
| 68
| 7th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2007
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 9
| 0
| 3
| 0
| 4
| 91
| style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|-
! rowspan=1| 2007-08
|align=left| A1 Grand Prix
|align=left| Ireland
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 8
| 6th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2008
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 9
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 3
| 49
| 8th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2009
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 9
| 0
| 2
| 0
| 5
| 81
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" |2nd
|-
! rowspan=1| 2010
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 7
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 29
| 11th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2012
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 8
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 12
| 16th
|-
! rowspan=1| 2013
|align=left| Super GT
|align=left| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri
| 8
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 31
| 11th
|-
!colspan="10"|
|}
Complete British Formula 3 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! DC
! Pts
|-
| 1995
! nowrap| Paul Stewart Racing
! nowrap| Mugen
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SIL<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SIL<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| THR<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| THR<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DON<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SIL<br />
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SIL<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DON<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| DON<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| OUL<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BRH<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BRH<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SNE<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| PEM<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PEM<br />
|style="background:#000000; color:#ffffff"|SIL<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SIL<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| THR<br />
!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 176
|-
| 1996
! nowrap| Paul Stewart Racing
! nowrap| Mugen
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SIL<br />
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" | SIL<br />
| style="background:#FFDF9F;" | THR<br />
| style="background:#FFFFFF;" | DON<br />
| style="background:#FFFFBF;" | BRH<br />
| style="background:#FFFFBF;" | BRH<br />
| style="background:#FFFFBF;" | OUL<br />
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" | DON<br />
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" | SIL<br />
| style="background:#DFDFDF;" | THR<br />
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SNE<br />
| style="background:#FFFFFF;" | SNE<br />
| style="background:#CFCFFF;" | PEM<br />
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" | PEM<br />
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" | ZAN<br />
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" | ZAN<br />
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SIL<br />
|
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 188
|}
Complete Formula Nippon results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! DC
! Points
|-
| 1997
! nowrap| Team TMS
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SUG<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
! 8th
! 12
|-
| 1998
! nowrap| Team Nova
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SUG<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
! 7th
! 13
|-
| 1999
! nowrap| Team Nova
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SUG<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUZ<br>
! 4th
! 21
|-
| 2000
! nowrap| Team Nova
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SUG<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
! 9th
! 9
|-
| 2001
! nowrap| Nakajima Racing
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUG<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUZ<br>
! 4th
! 29
|-
| 2002
! nowrap| Nakajima Racing
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUG<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| FUJ<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MIN<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| MOT<br>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SUZ<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 62
|-
!colspan="14"|
|}
Complete Formula One results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! WDC
! Pts
|-
|
! nowrap| Jordan Ford
! nowrap| Jordan EJ13
! nowrap| Ford V10
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| AUS<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MAL<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BRA<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SMR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ESP<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| AUT<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MON<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| CAN<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| EUR<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FRA<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GBR<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER<br />
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| HUN<br />
| ITA
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| USA<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| JPN<br />
! 19th
! 1
|-
!colspan="22"|
|}
Complete World Series by Nissan results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! DC
! Pts
|-
| 2004
! nowrap| Gabord Reyco
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|JAR<br>1<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|JAR<br>2<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"|ZOL<br>1<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"|ZOL<br>2<br>
|MAG<br>1
|MAG<br>2
|VAL<br>1
|VAL<br>2
|LAU<br>1
|LAU<br>2
|EST<br>1
|EST<br>2
|CAT<br>1
|CAT<br>2
|VAL<br>1
|VAL<br>2
|JER<br>1
|JER<br>2
! 30th
! 0
|-
|}
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
!
|align="left" nowrap| Racing for Holland
|align="left" nowrap| Tom Coronel<br> Justin Wilson
|align="left" nowrap| Dome S101-Judd
| LMP1
| 313
| DNF
| DNF
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! 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
|-
| nowrap| 2005–06
!rowspan=2| Ireland
| GBR<br>SPR
| GBR<br>FEA
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GER<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GER<br>FEA<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| POR<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| POR<br>FEA<br />
| AUS<br>SPR
| AUS<br>FEA
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MYS<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MYS<br>FEA<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| UAE<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| UAE<br>FEA<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RSA<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| RSA<br>FEA<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| IDN<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| IDN<br>FEA<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MEX<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MEX<br>FEA<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| USA<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| USA<br>FEA<br />
| CHN<br>SPR
| CHN<br>FEA
! 8th
! 68
!
|-
| nowrap| 2007–08
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NED<br>SPR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NED<br>FEA<br />
| CZE<br>SPR
| CZE<br>FEA
| MYS<br>SPR
| MYS<br>FEA
| ZHU<br>SPR
| ZHU<br>FEA
| NZL<br>SPR
| NZL<br>FEA
| AUS<br>SPR
| AUS<br>FEA
| RSA<br>SPR
| RSA<br>FEA
| MEX<br>SPR
| MEX<br>FEA
| SHA<br>SPR
| SHA<br>FEA
| GBR<br>SPR
| GBR<br>SPR
|colspan=2|
! 6th
! 94
!
|-
!colspan="27"|