Man v boys: Japanese veteran Ryuji Kumita, 50, to line up at Macau Grand Prix F3 race
B-Max Racing Team driver and team principal from Japan will compete in the blue riband race meant to be the breeding ground for future champions
Japanese veteran racer Ryuji Kumita is set to become the oldest competitor ever in the blue riband race at next month’s Macau Grand Prix but not everyone will celebrate his age-defying feat.
Kumita, who goes by the pseudonym “Dragon”, will raise eyebrows when he starts on the grid in his Dallara Volkswagen for the 64th edition of the Far East classic aged 50.
He is by far the oldest driver in this year’s line-up and the oldest driver to take part in the event since it became a Formula Three race in 1984, the year the late, great Ayrton Senna covered himself in glory. Typically, the Macau Grand Prix is competed by up-and-coming teenagers, who are hoping to gain a Formula One seat such as newly crowned F3 European champion Lando Norris, who is just 17.
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Kumita is expected to irk some observers of the race – meant to be the breeding ground for future champions – as he will have dual roles as both racer and team principal of the B-Max Racing Team, who will start three cars in this year’s 26-car Macau line-up.
