FJR restructures itself for the final three races

After a disappointing season where they currently sit 6th in the Teams Championship with just 21 points on the board, FJR have taken the desperate decision to replace both Nigel Mansell and Heinz-Harald Frentzen in favour of 1993 champion, Alessandro Zanardi, and Finnish newcomer, Mika Salo, for the final three races of the season.

Despite some strong qualifying performances, neither driver has been able to extract the most out of what has proven to be a difficult car in race trim. According to team boss James Brickles, Mansell’s performances this season have been “disappointing for a driver of his calibre” despite three podiums finishes including a brilliant win at Barcelona. In particular, Brickles alluded to his off days in certain races such as Aida, Hockenheim, and more recently at Estoril where he squandered a points finish in the closing stages by spinning at the first corner. Brickles also noted that Mansell had been “whingeing a lot.” As for Frentzen, he has had his fair share of bad luck this season with potential points scores lost through no fault of his own at Aida, Monza, and particularly at Hockenheim where he ran 2nd in the early stages. Speaking about the German, Brickles is hoping to “provide a much more manageable car for Frentzen if he still wants to drive for me next season.”

FJR’s two new drivers have different backgrounds. After Zanardi’s dramatic title win in 1993, he moved to North America to race in the Fantasy Auto Racing Teams (FART) championship. However it has been a frustrating campaign for the Italian as whilst he has taken three pole positions and a couple of fastest laps, his Newman/Haas vehicle has proved unreliable. With the FART season having just finished at Laguna Seca, Zanardi leapt at the chance to return to FF1M although he will be without the number 1 attached to his car due to an arcane AFIA rule.

As for Salo, who makes his FF1M debut in Jerez, the Finn has spent 1994 driving in the Japanese FF1M-3000 championship and FJR will be hoping to make use of his experience of Suzuka when the championship visits for the penultimate round of the season.

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