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Sumo Power GT – Nurburgring Race Report 2

ashley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:55:53 +0000

29th August 2010

Nürburgring, Germany

FIA GT1 World Championship – Round Six, Nürburgring

Championship Race report

Both Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-Rs fought their way through the field in a tough round six of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Nürburgring. Car 22, driven by Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter, climbed from 16th on the gird up to animpressive eighth and car 23, driven by Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck, went from 20th to 15th, in a race that featured some hard, panel-beating action.

With the results of race one determining the grid positions for the main Championship Race, it was always going to be a tough call for both of the Sumo Power GT Nissans to claim

a top-ten place. The task was thought to be even harder following the morning’s warm-up session, with drivers reporting difficulty in getting the right amount of heat in the tyres.

Beginning the race from 16th on the grid, Hughes in car 22 made a great start and powered past four cars on the run up to the turn one. Four places further back, Krumm in car 23 was eager to keep out of trouble and avoid another first corner incident that put him and Dumbreck out of race one.

At the end of the first lap, Hughes was up to 12th and Krumm 18th, both cars making good progress – with Hughes even moving up another place on lap four. However, Krumm was now stuck in traffic and, unwillingly trading paint with the cars around him, was nudged into a spin and dropped back to 20th on lap five.

A combination of his Nissan handling well, coupled with others dropping out, saw Hughes climb into the top-ten and up to ninth before the mandatory pit stop to change drivers and tyres on lap 13. Even nursing a suspected slow puncture from one of the earlier clashes, Krumm was also overtaking and climbed to 17th before he pulled into the pits.

The stops for both cars were carried out in under 30 seconds, but unfortunately some of the team’s good work in the pits was undone as each of its Nissans re-joined the race in slower traffic. Once all the cars had stopped and the true positions we displayed on the timing screens, it was revealed that Campbell-Walter, who had taken over from Hughes, was in 10th and Dumbreck, who had replaced Krumm, was in 18th.

Campbell-Walter was happy with the pace of his Nissan and, on lap 19, went past the similar car of Henry Moser in one of his hallmark out-braking manoeuvres. This, coupled with a drive-through penalty applied to a car in front, moved the Sumo Power GT driver up to eighth place. He then spent the rest of the race ensuring that the pursuing Maserati did not get past and was pleased to cross the line in a top ten – and more importantly – a points-scoring position.

Once his tyres bedded in, Dumbreck also found himself making up places and, even as light rain started to fall, he was able to hunt-down slower cars ahead of him and get past, ending the race in 15th position. Although not the result he and Krumm were looking for, the speed of their car suggested that by starting higher on the grid, a top-ten finish would have been achievable.

Overall, the race saw a considerable amount of ‘contact’ between other cars and therefore, the Sumo Power GT team was pleased that both its Nissans came away relatively unscathed. First place went to Darren Turner and Tomas Enge, who took their Aston Martin to its second win of the weekend.

The outcome for Sumo Power GT means that it now lies 6th in the Teams’ standings, with Hughes and Campbell-Walter 12th and Krumm and Dumbreck 13th in the Drivers’ Championship. The team now turns its attentions to round seven, which takes place at the Portimao track in the Algarve on 18 & 19 September.

The team gave their thoughts on the result of the championship race afterwards:

Michael Krumm – Driver Car 23

“Even though I tried to keep out of the way, because I was overtaking I became involved with quite a lot of contact at the start of the race. I think this must have damaged a wheel or a tyre and from then on the car wasn’t 100%. It could have been a better weekend for us, but I know from our times that the car can be good, so I’m now looking forward to the next round in Portugal.”

Peter Dumbreck – Driver Car 23

“Once I was able to get some heat into the tyres I was pleased with the pace of the car and was able to start overtaking. Our lap times were consistent and, if it wasn’t for the low start position and the problems that come with that, I’m sure we would have finished in the top ten.”

Warren Hughes – Driver Car 22

“We made a few changes to the car after yesterday’s race and it felt better. I was able to get a really good start and then catch and pass the cars ahead of me. Our race-pace doesn’t seem to be a problem. At the moment its our qualifying that needs work, so if we can get that right, I’m sure we’ll be running at the front again.”

Jamie Campbell-Walter – Driver Car 22

“Our lap times were not far off the leading cars in the end. I’m really pleased we’ve been able to get into the points again, which is good for us and the team. Although grip levels could have been a bit better, it was a good race and, if we can get on top of things for qualifying, then I think we’ve cracked it.”

Nigel Stepney – Team Manager

“There’s no doubt that both cars had the speed in the race, but fighting through from the back is always going to make things difficult. There’s more pace to come from the cars. We know what areas we have to work on and we’ve now got three weeks to do it.”

James Rumsey – Team Principal

“It’s good to finish in the points, with one car, but the pace of both was good. If qualifying and yesterday’s race had gone better for us then there’s no doubt the outcome would be different today. I’m pleased that it was another good all-round effort from the team.”

Sumo Power GT – Nurburgring Race One Report

ashley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:28:18 +0000

28th August 2010

Nürburgring, Germany

FIA GT1 World Championship – Qualifying and race one report

Nürburgring – 28 & 29 August 2010

With car 22 finishing 16th and car 23 retiring on lap one following a first corner incident, the outcome of the today’s race at Nürburgring was not the one the Sumo Power GT team had hoped for.

Having been pleased with the performance of its two Nissan GT-Rs in Friday’s practice sessions – in conditions that were either dry, wet or very wet – the team were optimistic about their chances for the qualifying session followed by the first of the weekend’s two hour-long races. But, with thetrack still damp from the overnight rain, grip was intermittent and therefore, getting tyres up to the optimum temperature was the major factor in posting a good time.

Car 23 achieved this, with Michael Krumm setting fourth fastest time and lining up Peter Dumbreck for Q2. In contrast, Warrren Hughes in car 22 was unable to get a clear lap with tyres at the right temperature and ended Q1 in 19th place. A similar fate then befe

ll Dumbreck and he missed a slot in Q3 by just 0.09 second, ending the session in ninth place.

This afternoon’s race began in dry conditions and, without an opportunity to take part in qualifying, Jamie Campbell-Walter started in car 22 having only driven in wet conditions. Dumbreck started in car 23 and, as the 23-strong field headed towards the first corner, he was pushed towards the inside of the track and had to take to the pit lane exit and then the grass to avoid a collision.

Having made up five places in the process, he then squeezed his way back onto the tarmac only to find the cars in front breaking heavily for turn one. But, with the pack all around him, he found he had nowhere to go other than into the back of Darren Turner’s Aston Martin. This sent the Nissan into a spin and, sat in the middle of the track, Dumbreck’s car was then hit by another Aston Martin.

After nursing it back to the pits, the team decided to withdraw car 23 from the race, although it was later found that fortunately, most of the damage was only cosemetic and confined to the bodywork, nothing mechanical.

In the meantime, Campbell-Walter was getting down to business and, within two laps had fought his way up to 13th place. He then closed on the Maserati of Alex Müller and for the remainder of his stint, trying everything he could to get past. But with Müller being extremely defensive, Campbell-Walter reported it would have been impossible to overtake without causing an accident.

After coming in for the compulsory pit stop to change drivers and tyres, Hughes joined the race in 11th place and set about getting into the top ten. But then, as it had done many times during the weekend, the weather changed and on lap 17 rain started to fall.

Initially Hughes found the Nissan behaved reasonably well on slicks and

therefore, as others pitted to swap onto wet-pattern tyres, he moved up the leader-board to sixth. As quickly as it came, the rain then stopped and, having started in 19th place, with nothing to lose the team opted to keep Hughes out on his dry-weather tyres.

Whilst this could have been the right decision at the time, as it transpired, the water on the track surface did not drain away and, for the rest of the race, Hughes drove superbly to keep the car on the track. However, with others making the most of their wet-weather tyres, the Nissan driver was relieved to cross the line in 16th place. The race was eventually won by Darren Turner and Tomas Enge in their Aston Martin.

The team members gave their afterthoughts on the days proceedings.

Peter Dumbreck – Driver Car 23

“I had a good start and got alongside the cars head of me, only to be pushed off the track. Therefore, when I rejoined there were cars all around me braking hard for the first corner and I just couldn’t slow down quick enough. It’s a great shame as I think we would have had a chance of a top three place.”

Michael Krumm – Driver Car 23

“There’s nothing worse for a driver than not being able to drive, so it’s disappointing for me and the team that we didn’t get very far. But this was a racing incident and all we can do now is look forward to tomorrow’s main race.”

Jamie Campbell-Walter – Driver Car 22

“Although I hadn’t driven the car in the dry before the race, it felt good straight away and I was easily able to catch cars ahead of me. But the Maserati would not let me past and I’m not very happy with the way I was stopped from overtaking. So of the moves were far too aggressive.”

Warren Hughes – Driver Car 22

“Wow. That was tricky – staying on slicks in the rain – but although we had very little grip the car felt controllable so it was worth a try. It would have been interesting to know if we could have finished higher having changed onto wet tyres, but at least we start in a higher position tomorrow than we did today.”

Nigel Stepney – New Team Manager

“Jamie and Warren did the best they could given the grid position and the decision to keep going on slicks. It was worth a gamble, but with the track not drying out did not work as we’d hoped. As far as car 23 is concerned, in racing as competitive as it is in this championship, a first corner incident is always a possibility. It’s just a shame that we were involved. At least we have saved our tyres for tomorrow’s main race! ”

James Rumsey – Team Principal

“It wasn’t the day we were hoping for, but all of the drivers have reported that without problems the cars are capable of getting closer to the front. However, to do that tomorrow it’s going to be a case of fighting our way through, which we’ve done before. It will be an interesting race, that’s for sure.”

Sumo Power GT – Nigel Stepney takes over

ashley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:05:06 +0000

27th August 2010

Rye, East Sussex, England

Sumo Power GT have officially announced that Nigel Stepney has been appointed their new Team Manager. The highly experienced race engineer takes over from Allen Orchard and will lead the team for the remaining five rounds in this year’s FIA GT1 World Championship.

The move comes at the season’s mid-way point following Mr. Orchard’s resignation from Sumo Power GT’s holding company JRM-Group earlier this week. Executive Director and Team Principal James Rumsey said: “We are disappointed to lose Allen, but I understand his wish to further his career in other areas of motorsport. I would like to thank him for all the work he has done during his time with us and wish him every success for the future.”

“I am delighted that Nigel has accepted the position of Team Manager and see this as a significant step in the progression of Sumo Power GT. I am sure that with the experience he brings with him, we will be able to build on the considerable success the team has already achieved.”

Mr. Stepney takes over ahead of this weekend’s round six of the global GT Championship at Nürburgring in Germany. He has worked with NISMO (Nissan Motorsports International Co. Ltd.), the team’s partner in the GT1 project, since its specially constructed Nissan GT-Rs started racing in 2009.

He then Joined Sumo Power GT when it acquired the cars in January this year.

A former F1 Chief Mechanic, having worked with drivers such as Ayton Senna and Michael Shumacher, Mr. Stepney possess a wealth of technical knowledge and hands-on experience at the highest level in the sport. Having accepted the offer to move from his previous role as Chief Engineer to Team Manager he said: “The GT programme has been a new challenge for me and I’m therefore delighted to be offered the Team Manager’s position. I look forward to continuing to develop the cars and the team as a whole and to build on the success we’ve already achieved in what is a relatively short space of time.”

Sumo Power Race Preview

ashley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:35:41 +0000

24th August 2010

Rye, East Sussex, England

FIA GT1 World Championship – Round 6 preview

Nürburgring, Germany: 28 & 29 August 2010

The Sumo Power GT team, the only British team participating, will be back in action next weekend, when it heads to Germany for round six of the FIA GT1 World Championship at one of the

world’s most infamous racing circuits: Nürburgring. And, with the technical nature of the track similar to that of Spa, if its two Nissan GT-Rs perform as well as they did in round five, then a top result is on the cards this time round.

Although the results in Belgium were not a true reflection of the pace of its two cars, the team was delighted that both set front-running lap times, with car 23 holding second place and challenging for the lead – even with 50-kilos of success ballast on board. However, with a drive train problem forcing it into retirement with two laps to go and with car 22 involved in clashes with other cars, the team unusually finished out of the points in both races.

Therefore, with the experience gained at Spa, added to further progress made during a successful test at Snetterton last week, the team is extremely upbeat about its chances of gettin back into the top three this weekend. Further helping the team’s aspirations to get both of its cars on the podium this weekend, will be the loss of ‘Balance of Performance’ ballast: car 22 running with none and car 23 having its allocation reduced to 10 kilos.

Out of the ten races (two per round) held so far, Sumo Power GT has scored an impressive five podium finishes, with a first, a second and three third places – results that see it third in the teams’ points table at the season’s half-way point. In the drivers’ standings, Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck in car 23 are ninth and Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter in car 22 are tenth out of fourty two drivers, both are also only a few points behind their closest rivals.

As usual, weather and track conditions will also play a significant part in performance and strategy this weekend, together with the all-important management of tyres, championship regulations which impose a limit of four sets of slicks per car to cover qualifying and both one-hour races.

Of the 12 teams, 24 cars and 48 drivers that make up the FIA GT1 World Championship grid, most are familiar with the 3.23-mile (5.2-kilometre) German Grand Prix circuit and, in particular, two of the Sumo Power GT drivers. For Michael Krumm, this is his home track and one where he began his career, winning his very first Formula Ford race at the ‘Ring. Jamie Campbell-Walter also has good memories of the track as, driving a Lister Storm, he notably won the last FIA GT race held here in 2001.

The weekend timetable sees the Sumo Power GT Nissans first take to the track on Friday at 11.00 for Free Practice, followed by Pre-Qualifying at 16.30. Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 09.00, with the first hour-long race starting at 14.15, with the main Championship race, also one-hour long, scheduled for 15.15 on Sunday.

The members of the team gave their thoughts prior to race day.

Michael Krumm, from Reutlingen, Germany – Driver Car 23

“As I won my first ever race at the Nürburgring and have driven there many times I know the circuit quite well, although there have been a number of changes over the years. I think that some parts of the track will suit our cars, but maybe not as well as Spa. Overall we should perform well and, with this being my home track, it would be great if Peter and I could take our first GT1 win this weekend.”

Peter Dumbreck, from Kirkcaldy, Scotland – Driver Car 23

“We have a good base set-up for the car and understand it a lot more than we did at the start of the season. We nearly came away with second place at Spa and, as car 23 will be carrying less ballast this time, I am expecting to be fighting for a podium position again.”

Warren Hughes, from Newcastle, England – Driver Car 22

“Having raced at Nürburgring a few times, like Spa, it’s a circuit where weather and track surface conditions can play a big part, so tyre management will again be very important. Because of its corners it’s a technical circuit – which is fine by me – and, as we now seem to be competitive on most types of tracks, I see no reason why we shouldn’t be in the running for another good result.”

Jamie Campbell-Walter, from Oban, Scotland – Driver Car 22

“My most vivid memory of Nürburgring was winning the FIA GT race in 2001 when I was driving for Lister. I also finished second there in a round of the LMS a few years ago, so it’s a circuit I like. At the start of the season I would have questioned how competitive our cars would be on this track, but after recent performances I think we stand a very good chance of being at the front.”

Allen Orchard – Team Manager

“Our cars performed really well at Spa and, although the results didn’t reflect that, we came away having learnt a great deal about set-ups for that type of circuit. Our shake-down at Snetterton last week can only be described as perfect and therefore, the whole team is really looking forward to this weekend.”

James Rumsey – Team Principal

“Considering we’re only at the season’s half-way point, I am very pleased with the way things have gone so far. We have made even more progress with the development of our cars recently, so it will be interesting to see how well they perform at a circuit as technically demanding as the Nürburgring.”

Rotorstock 7 Report

ashley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:21:54 +0000

Rotorstock 7 started out grey and overcast but as they day went on the weather brightened up providing us with some great entertainment on track with the HKS Drag Series and RWYB and elsewhere around site including the new sprint track.

View more photos on the Rotorstock 7 Gallery page.

Despite some threatening looking weather the track opened to the first few eager Run What Ya Brung (RWYB) participants on time with some HKS racers also taking advantage of the early track time for some testing before their first qualifying session.

The Show n Shine started off relatively slowly but after a quick scout round of the club areas we soon had it populate with some top quality cars which led to some tough de

cisions being made in the judging for the top 3 cars in the show. With the pictured Toyota Supra the eventual winner.

This very clean Suzuki Swift was one of the first cars to turn up and the owners put a great deal of effort into cleaning the car itself, and they were very unlucky to miss out on second place. When the sun came out the Cosmic Black Metallic Pearl paintjob really caught the eye.

As ever the RWYB competition was fiercly fought between all those taking part with the leaders changing throughout the day.

The cars of the HKS Drag Series were the ones to watch throughout the day and although there were some big names missing, those that were here had some excellent battles in all of the classes. We even saw an excellent 7.53 second pass from Leon Green in his Pro Toyota Supra and an equally impressive 9.8 second run from Rob Shadwell in his Street class Skyline. The full race report will be published at www.japdragseries.co.uk.

Toyota Supra - Winner of the Show and Shine Contest

For the first time ever, there was a HKS Academy competition which acts as a feeder class for the HKS Drag Series, intended for those who would like to try out racing in a competition format before comitting and investing in upgrading their cars and equipment and it proved to be a huge success.

The sprint track made its debut at Rotorstock 7 and what great addition it was to the show! The track was continuously busy from start to finish, and with just under 40 people entering the competition was tough. All were battling it out to claim trophies for the top three fastest times of the day and the inter-club competition prize.

The track was a mixture of fast sweeping right hander’s, 90 degree left and rights and hairpins; perfect as it didn’t favour any one type of car. There was great variety of vehicles from, of course, the newest RX8’s, to Lotus’s, to drifting Nissan Skyline’s. One for the more usual cars was Tony Kirk’s Tiger Avon fitted with a modified RX8 engine. The car, which looks like a Caterham, flew round the track and was holding the top spot for the majority of the day.

Honda Civic - Winner of the HKS Drag Series

Other notable entries were Umar Masood in his Mazda RX7, who started very steadily at around 52’s per lap but by the end of the day posted a very respectable time of 41.84, just 1.7 seconds off the eventual winner.

Leroy Anderson also entertained in his Mitsubishi Evo 3 by launching off the line in spectacular fashion and four wheel drifting around the track.

The day though belonged to Robbie Kazandjian who had studied the track by walking it first thing and worked out how to get his yellow RX8 around the track the quickest. He posted the fastest time on his very last run of the day which dropped Anthony Kirk down to second and Mark Nash, in his very fast Lotus Elise Turbo (fitted with a very good handbrake!) to third. Robbie also claimed the inter-club competition win for the RX8 Owners Club.

Sumo Power Takes Delivery Of RAYS Wheels

ashley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:47:16 +0000

Sumo Power are now an official distributor for Rays wheels and have just taken their first large stock delivery with Impreza, Lancer Evo, Skyline and Toyota fitments, along with European fitments such as Porsche and BMW among others.

One of the most exciting wheels is the new lightweight TE37SL which is 400 grams lighter than the older TE37 but ALSO cheaper!

They also have the new Gram Light 57 U which is a more affordable price than the te37 and still very light. It also looks super-cool in the matt-metallic grey option…

Special wheel and tyres packages are available, with either performance road or trackday tyres which can be provided and fitted at their East Sussex workshop. Nitrogen fills on tyres are available on-site and if you have a trackday in mind they can also offer full geometry checks and adjustment as well the normal workshop services.

Call Sumo Power direct on: 01797 222281 or sales@sumopower.com

www.sumopower.com

RCM Launch New ‘Track Attack’ Catch Tank

ashley — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:10:32 +0000

Current Time Attack Champions Roger Clark Motorsport has added another track tested product to their collection; their new 1.5 litre ‘Track Attack’ Catch Tank.

Each tank is hand-fabricated in RCM’s own development workshops from lightweight aerospace grade aluminium and balances an unusually large capacity with a slim body profile, allowing it to be fitted in a huge variety of positions.

The tank utilises Dash 8 fittings throughout and can either be blanked off to allow ventilated oil to be collected in the catch tank or routed back to the sump if preferred to maintain oil capacity. By using the RCM tank, owners venturing out onto the track or driving hard on the road can expect to prolong engine life thanks to improved levels of lubrication and protection.

Despite its brilliant levels of construction and unparalleled material choice the RCM ‘Track Attack’ tank costs just £275 + VAT.

Making your own car video

dave — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:12:48 +0000

Since the launch of the camera phone, car owners across the globe have gone mad for video, making hundreds of thousands of small video clips and uploading them to sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. Video has become an increasingly popular topic across a range of different age groups and by the looks of it will continue to grow at an unbelievable rate, YouTube is now the 2nd biggest “search engine” in the WORLD and attracts millions of users each week.

You can actually make your own video by using your camera phone and edit it using the software provided with your phone. If you are looking to make a more professional video for uploading to YouTube or sharing with friends you can use what they call an action camera. These are video cameras which have been designed for outdoor use and come in a variety of different models, some of which are even waterproof and can be used during water sports.

Here at Maxxd we have tested a number of action cameras, these include the GoPro Motorsport, GoPro Helmet Hero from GoPro UK, the Action Sports Cam and more recently a brand new camera from HD POV.

After many trials, tests, heated discussions and more tests we cannot come to a decision on which one we like the best. However we do feel its a toss up between the GoPro and HDPOV, they both have their uses and benefits and both fall within similar price brackets….

We shall see what happens in the next six months and keep our eyes peeled for more reviews

Capturing Those Car Show Memories

ashley — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:33:24 +0000

Car shows are every major car enthusiasts dream, a chance to show off all the hard work put into your car, and spend hours chatting over open bonnets. Many car shows host track competitions, sometimes referred to as ‘track days’ or the most notable event at Santa Pod Raceway, ‘Run what ya brung’.

These are great chances to show off exactly what your car can do performance wise, and have some real fun along the way. However these days are sadly over very quickly and confined to the memory.

There is though, a perfect way to capture the memories of speeding round a track like a pro in your very own car, which you can watch again and again, motorsport cameras! Motorcam.co.uk is a website dedicated to the sale of motorsport cameras, including HD cameras, and related accessories.

These cameras are perfect for mounting on your car, motorbike, or helmet, so you can get a perfect, crisp, high definition video of your runs around the track, which you can then watch again for the memories, and post it online for others to see your run from a great perspective.

With great quality cameras starting at £129.98, along with mounts for the perfect positioning and memory cards so you can capture endless videos, you will not find a better motorsport camera site with as much expertees as motorcam. So get your cameras fitted, get out on the track, and record some amazing motoring memories.

USC 2010 – Ultimate Street Car

olstar — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:45:14 +0000

The Maxxd team visited Santapod again this year and were graced with good weather, and lots of automotive PORN!

We’re pleased to present to you these pics (Thanks to Garage Awesome!) Enjoy!

Discuss this event in the Maxxd.com Modified Car Forums