Ten things you did not know, or care, about Sakon Yamamoto

Sakon Yamamoto has been called up to drive for the HRT squad at the British Grand Prix in place of the dropped Bruno Senna but what do we know about the Japanese star?

We spent a good ten minutes on Wikipedia before… we got bored and this is what we found out, so here are ten must know Sakon stats for you to savour.

1. Apart from being a Grand Prix driver, Sakon is also a much in demand club DJ. Quite possibly, though we cannot be sure, his favourite tune to slap on the decks is the medically creepy song ‘Turning Japanese’ by The Vapors.
2. In 2006 Nick Heidfeld called him a ‘Vanker’ when he mistook him for fellow countryman and mobile chicane, Takuma Sato.
3. The reason HRT signed Sakon up as a test driver at the beginning of this year was, and we quote; “So he could help Hispania develop the car” It had nothing whatsoever to do with money. Not at all.
4. The reason HRT dropped Bruno Senna on the eve of the British Grand Prix was because they thought he deserved a go and might be quite good. It had nothing whatsoever to do with money. Not at all.
5. Sakon is a big Harry Potter fan, actually we don’t know that for sure but he should be, as his hometown of Toyohashi is the base of the fictional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu.
6. Yamamoto’s surname is nearly the same as Yamato, the great World War Two Japanese battleship . The Yamato was moderately fast but unpredictable in the way it steered and had the capability of causing great damage to anything within it’s range. A bit like Yamamoto really.

Sorry, that’s only six facts of interest and we struggled getting that many as the inclusion of the Harry Potter one shows.

Tags: British Grand Prix, Bruno Senna, HRT, Sakon Yamamoto

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