30 years ago today Ralf Schumacher won the Formula Nippon title despite retiring two laps into a rain-lashed race.

Schumacher arrived at the final race at Fuji Speedway just two points ahead of team mate Naoki Hattori. But Schumacher spun out two laps into the rain-hit race (see 3’50 in the video below).

That left Hattori on course for the title, which looked increasingly secure as the laps ticked down. But conditions worsened, and seven laps from home he spun out too, handing Schumacher the 1996 title. Schumacher made his F1 debut the following year for Jordan (now Aston Martin).

Katsutomo Kaneishi won ahead of future Formula 1 driver Pedro de la Rosa. Another future F1 driver, Shinji Nakano, took fourth place behind Masahiko Kageyama. Just seven of the 26 starters were running at the finish.

Formula 1

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