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Formula Sprint 2
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka International Racing Course
Tuesday 2nd of April 2024 19:00:00
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April 27, 2011
Published on tags: Superleague
As the GPVWC teams send their crew and equipment on the long journey from Shanghai to Kyalami, the brief lull in racing is a perfect opportunity to reflection on the opening races of the season. Arguably one of the toughest starts to the season has befallen one of the new teams ?Nijo Racing.

Having secured some good sponsorship deals and having shown much promise in pre-season testing, the signs were good for Nijo going into the main season itself. However, we're now 4 rounds into the season and the Cheshire-based team are struggling a little and are one of only two teams yet to have scored Superleague points this season. The team has also been plagued by technical problems that have seen the car cross the finish line on only two occasions.

For such a new team this could be considered an ominous sign for many, yet this view is not shared by team manager Chris Williamson. “It's certainly been a difficult start to the season for us, but it wasn't entirely unexpected and I strongly believe that things will improve as the season goes on. We are in a solid financial position and after a rewarding testing session at Fuji, we have now opted to take a more aggressive approach to car development in the hope that we can gain some ground on our rivals, some of whom are reported to be financial trouble already”.

When pushed on the issue of recent poor form in the team, Mr Williamson was a little more reserved, but again highlighted the positives. “Certainly our season plans suffered an early blow with the loss of Ashley Walsh, who had to withdraw due to personal commitments. The Superleague team had somewhat been built around him, so some compromises had to be made which saw myself and Tom Parker lead out the team in Australia. It was a bit of a baptism of fire, but we did a credible job and we were both unlucky not to finish that race. After that things have slowly improved and has led to the signing of newcomer Abdel Damghi and ex-TDR driver Ben Warren. Both of them have have worked hard with me and Tom to help us to build a much more competitive package. The fruits of this are starting to be realized as the last race at Shanghai saw the team enter Q2 for the first time and also saw Abdel come very close to scoring points.”

It should also be mentioned that the Supercup wing of the team is enjoying a much better start to the season. The team has already had a podium and several solid points finishes for both Jundt and Williamson, which mean that Nijo Racing is very much in the hunt for a high overall position and aren't too far behind the leaders at this time.