James Davies (F1RGP2C driver)
This page is about the F1RGP2C driver James Davies. For the driver who competed in F1RWRS, please visit James Davies (F1RWRS driver).
This page is currently under construction. |
James James Davies, more commonly known as just James Davies, is a British racing driver best known for his career in the F1RGP2C and being the 1992 Life GP champion, and his various feuds with fellow drivers. The most notable feuds Davies has had include John Zimmer, Daniel Moreno, and Martin McFry. He is also known for changing his name to incorporate a middle name midway through the 1998 season. He is no relation to the F1RWRS driver James Davies or his cousin Jordan.
When asked why he changed his middle name to James via deed poll, James responded "I figured that James sounded so good I might as well have people say it twice..."
Contents
Pre-LifeGP Career
Born in Monmouth, Davies got his first taste of racing at the age of 6, at a friend's birthday party. Despite not really having any exposure to motor racing prior to this, Davies won the kart race over his friends comfortably. Pleased at the ease of his win, he pestered his parents to take him karting whenever they could; Davies would regularly win, even against people twice his age. Eventually, his parents realised their son's skill and bought him a kart at the age of 13. Within 2 years he had promptly demolished anything even remotely resembling competition in the domestic kart scene, and was strongly being considered being moved straight to Formula 3.
LifeGP Career
However, the youngster managed to somehow acquire a Life GP chassis, and was somehow able to put a team together to enter the Life Grand Prix Series for 1991. As LifeGP lacked age restrictions, this made Davies at 15 the youngest driver in the series by far.
Any doubts over Davies' readiness for the series were quickly erased in the first race, as he dominated the race, only to lose out with a late-race car failure. This would be largely the story of Davies' season, as he would only finish twice all season before the team's money and his patience ran out after the 13th race. He then switched over to British F3, where the higher build quality ensured he was able to make good on his speed and win most of the time.
He then continued in British F3 for 1992, and was leading easily when he got a call from Good Call Racing, inviting him to return to Life GP in place of the very disappointing Evelyn Gomes with a substantial paycheck. Not keen to let unfinished business stay that way, Davies accepted the offer, and promptly sat on the pole for the first 4 races of his comeback, finally winning his second race in the series when the car actually held together for the duration at Mid-Ohio, with practically no opposition. He continued his form at the next two races, winning at Phoenix and Mine with ease, to make him a serious title contender by the time the season finale came along.
As in the 3 previous races, Davies qualified on pole, and proceeded to dominate in the rain, even as conditions grew more and more treacherous. This continued until Davies, unsighted, crashed into the back of his teammate, Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler. Voeckler had yet to pit for tyres, and so was leading at the time - as the red flag was thrown, it seemed that Davies' title challenge had crumbled into dust, as with only half-points being given out, he did not have enough to overhaul Dave Wilson. That was until the results were pushed back one lap in a controversial decision, allowing Davies the extra 2 points he needed to take the title by half a point.
F1RGP2C Career
Sauber
McLaren
F1RGP2C Results
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Broker Sauber Mercedes | Sauber C13 | Mercedes-Benz 2175B V10 | BRA Ret |
PAC Ret |
SMR 6 |
MON Ret |
ESP Ret |
CAN 3 |
FRA Ret |
GBR 6 |
GER Ret |
HUN 6 |
BEL Ret |
ITA 7 |
POR Ret |
EUR 10 |
JPN 8* |
AUS Ret |
14th | 7 | |
1995 | Malboro McLaren Mercedes | McLaren MP4/10 | Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10 | BRA 7 |
ARG Ret |
SMR Ret |
MON 3 |
ESP 6 |
CAN 9 |
FRA 6 |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
HUN Ret |
BEL 3 |
ITA 7 |
POR 6 |
EUR Ret |
JPN 8 |
PAC 6 |
AUS 6 |
9th | 13 |
1996 | Marlboro McLaren Mercedes | McLaren MP4/11 | Mercedes FO 110/3 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret |
BRA Ret |
ARG 3 |
LUX Ret |
SMR INJ |
MON INJ |
ESP INJ |
CAN INJ |
USA INJ |
FRA INJ |
GBR INJ |
GER INJ |
HUN INJ |
BEL INJ |
ITA INJ |
JPN INJ |
12th | 4 | |
1997 | West McLaren Mercedes | McLaren MP4/12 | Mercedes FO 110/3 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret |
BRA Ret |
ARG 1 |
SMR 2 |
MON 5 |
ESP 4 |
CAN Ret |
USA 6 |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 3 |
HUN Ret |
BEL Ret |
ITA Ret |
AUT 18* |
JPN 3 |
6th | 30 | |
1998 | West McLaren Mercedes | McLaren MP4-13 | Mercedes FO110G | AUS Ret |
BRA Ret |
ARG 2 |
SMR 1 |
ESP 1 |
MON Ret |
CAN 1 |
GBR 1 |
USA Ret |
FRA |
GER |
HUN |
BEL |
ITA |
AUT |
JPN |
1st* | 46* |