Driving the famous Suzuka Circuit in Japan can be challenging for even the most experienced of drivers, so for James Pull to come away with two podiums on his circuit debut was no mean feat.
Tackling the ‘most difficult track’ he’d ever driven on head on, James along with team mate Jack Bartholomew qualified in P2 for Race 1 and P3 for Race 2. Getting away from the line cleanly, James’ teammate put in a excellent first stint, handing over to James with the car in P2. James hopped in the car for the second stint of the race, and wasted no time chasing down the lead car. A safety car somewhat halted his progress, but James was still within touching distance of the win towards the end of the race and he crossed the line in second place, 0.7 seconds behind the race winner.
On Sunday in Race 2 James was once more given the opportunity to show why he was recently selected to be a part of the Lamborghini Young Driver’s programme. Despite starting from P3, Pull had no intentions of staying there and executed a jaw-dropping overtake of his team's sister car round the outside of the famous Suzuka 'S' Curves to take second place. He then set about chasing down the lead car, all whilst managing the gap to the car behind him.
James was confident that he had ‘put the car in the perfect place to win’, and things were looking promising, as he set a lap only one tenth off the fastest in the race. But at the driver swap their sister car, the championship leader, pitted later and put in a monster out-lap to just jump ahead of Jack on track to make up for having been overtaken by James on lap one. Finishing the race in third, added yet another podium to their tally in what was a highly impressive weekend.
“I was happy with my performance in that race, and we ended up getting third,” Pull commented.
“We are second in the championship and we’ve closed the gap to the championship leader. I feel that Jack and I, as a pairing, are working very well together and our pace is very good.
The championship will next head to Fuji, where, with just eleven points to make up to take the lead in the standings, James is hoping to be challenging for victory.
“It’s a big positive going into Fuji, because we’re only 11 points behind, so I’m feeling confident that we have the potential to try and go for wins and battle for the championship.”
For any further enquires about James, please contact Fraser Sheader using the details below.
fraser@addmanagement.co.uk
+44 (0) 7825 322695