Tag: sumo power gt

  • FIA GT1 World Championship Rounds Nine and Ten – Preview

    Round Nine – Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil: 26th – 28th November 2010
    Round Ten – Potrero de los Funes, San Luis, Argentina: 4th – 5th December 2010

    It’s the grand finale to what has been an outstanding first year for the Sumo Power GT team in the FIA GT1 World Championship, as they prepare for the last two rounds of the season. Held on consecutive weekends in South America, the first sees the team travel to Brazil and the legendary Interlagos circuit on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Then, following a 1600-mile journey southwest, the tenth and final round takes place at the unique Circuit Potrero de los Funes near San Luis in Argentina.

    The eight-points that are awarded for winning each of the two Qualifying races, coupled with the 25-points scored for each of the two Championship races, means there are 114 teams’ points still up for grabs. Therefore, with Sumo Power GT currently lying third in the Teams’ Championship, 28 points behind Reiter Lamborghini in second and 46 points away from Vitaphone Maserati in first, the only UK-based entrant in this global series has vowed to ‘give its all’ for the remaining four races that make up the concluding two rounds of the season.

    As for the team’s four drivers; Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck in car 23 are currently 10th in the Drivers’ standings, with Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter in car 22 lying 11th. Consequently, with 66-points still available for each, good results in South America could see all four drivers finish in the top five.

    In order to achieve this, the team has done all it can to prepare for the final two rounds, analysing its strategies, studying data and rehearsing its pit-stop procedures. Added to this, all of the drivers have practiced the tracks ‘virtually‘ on a racing simulator based in the UK.

    Having assessed the circuit layouts, the team is also hopeful that its two Nissan GT-Rs will be suited to the characteristics of the tracks, as history has shown that undulating topography coupled with fast sweeping corners, has suited the power-delivery and handling of its cars. However, even after achieving an impressive seven top-three finishes so far this year, the team is very aware that it is impossible to predict what the final outcome will be. It will therefore be doing all it possibly can to ensure the odds are stacked in favour of Sumo Power GT.

    Track Profiles:

    Interlagos
    The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, named after Brazilian driver Carlos Pace who died in a plane crash in 1977, is still better known by the area in which it stands; Interlagos. The track was built in 1937 and inaugurated in 1940. The current 4.97-mile (7.96km) circuit was constructed in 1990 and now famously hosts the Brazilian Grand Prix. It is one of the world’s few non-oval circuits that runs in an anti-clockwise direction.

    Weekend Timetable
    Friday 26th November
    Free Practice: 10.55 – 12.15
    Pre-Qualifying: 15.30 – 16.30

    Saturday 27th November
    Qualifying: 09.00 – 10.00
    Qualifying Race: 14.30 – 15.30

    Sunday 28th November
    Warm-up: 09.20 – 09.50
    Championship Race: 15.00 – 16.00

    San Luis
    Nine-miles from the centre of San Luis, capital of the San Luis Province in the Cuyo region of Argentina, the circuit Circuit Potrero de los Funes was originally constructed in 1987 by modifying the 3.9-mile (6.27km) road that runs around the perimeter of a volcanic lake. It was later rebuilt in 2008 and is now capable of hosting all categories of racing outside of F1, with the FIA GT1 World Championship the highest status series to visit the circuit.

    Weekend Timetable
    Saturday 4th December
    Free Practice: 09.00 – 10.20
    Pre-Qualifying: 12.05 – 13.25
    Qualifying: 17.15 – 18.15

    Sunday 5th December
    Qualifying Race: 09.15 – 10.15
    Championship Race: 13.25 – 14.25

    Follow the team’s progress with its latest news stories and blogs – plus watch all four of the races live at www.sumopowergt.com

  • Sumo Power GT – Race 7 Preview

    14th September 2010
    Rye, East Sussex,  England
    FIA GT1 World Championship – Round Seven, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve – Preview
    After just a three-week gap between races, the Sumo Power GT team are in action again this weekend when they head to the Algarve for round seven of the FIA GT1 World Championship. Once again, Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck will drive Nissan GT-R number 23, with Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter behind the wheel of car 22.
    Following a weekend of mixed fortunes for both its cars in round six at Nürburgring the team has been seeking to overcome the issues that diluted its qualifying performance last time out. However, even with low-starting positions, car 22 managed to finish in the top-ten and consequently, a points-scoring position.
    With the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve a circuit which rises and falls with
    the terrain and includes a mixture of both fast and slow corners, it shares some of its characteristics to that of Nürburgring. Therefore, taking into account the information and data that was gained by the team in Germany, it is hoping that this and the warmer conditions may have a positive effect in Portugal, as one of the main factors for review has been the generation of heat and the management of tyres – teams only allowed to use four sets per throughout the whole weekend.

    Located near the city of Portimão in the Faro region of the Algarve, this relatively new circuit was opened in October 2008. A lap of the track is 4.692 kilometres (2,915 miles) long and is regarded by drivers as ‘challenging’, because of its undulations, blind crests and combination of bends.

    Sumo Power GT heads to Portugal lying 6th in the Teams’ standings, with Hughes and Campbell-Walter 12th and Krumm and Dumbreck 13th in the Drivers’ Championship.

    This weekend’s action starts at on Friday at 09.50 with Free Practice, followed by Pre-Qualifying at 14.35. Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 11.15, with the first hour-long race starting at 16.45 and the main Championship race, also one-hour long, scheduled for 15.30 on Sunday.
    The team had the following to say regarding the Algarve race:
    Michael Krumm – Driver Car 23
    “I’ve only driven the Algarve track whilst testing and not raced there before. It has lots of ups and downs which make it quite challenging, but this is what also makes it an enjoyable circuit to drive. It’s not as high-speed as Spa and probably closer to Nürburgring in its characteristics, so we can take what we learnt from Germany and this should make us stronger in Portugal, although to get a good result this weekend the whole team has to aim to do a perfect job.”
    Peter Dumbreck – Driver Car 23
    “I raced at the circuit a couple of months ago in the 1000kms of Algarve. It’s a rollercoaster of a circuit with a lot of blind crests, which makes it interesting. There are a lot of 2nd gear corners that may not suit our cars ideally, but we should be able to make up for that on the fast and challenging sections, which is where the Nissan GT-R excels. We know we have the car, team and drivers that are capable of fighting at the front at most circuits and, if we approach this weekend with our previous achievements in mind, then we can push for a good result.”
    Warren Hughes – Driver Car 22
    “I raced at the Algarve track in an LMS race in July, where I won the Le Mans class and finished sixth overall. The circuit’s undulations, high and low-speed corners and bumpy surface in places makes it very technical and rewarding to drive. Hopefully it will suit our cars better that Nürburgring, especially if the weather is warmer and we can overcome some of the tyres issues. We will also be focussing on a better qualifying result, as that will set us up for the whole weekend.”
    Jamie Campbell-Walter – Driver Car 22
    “I am the only driver from our team who hasn’t driven the circuit, but it sounds like it shouldn’t be a handicap, especially as Warren (Hughes) is a great team-mate and shares information.  It would be good for us to get a result this weekend, but we’ve got to make sure we get through Q1 and into Q2 or Q3, because it ruins your weekend if you don’t.”
    Nigel Stepney – Team Manager
    “Taking into account our performance at the Nürburgring – coupled to other recent events – we are approaching some of the ways we do things differently when it comes to set-ups. We have carried out a great deal of work back at base since the previous round and therefore, I’m looking forward to seeing how this equates to our performance in Portugal.”
    James Rumsey – Team Principal
    “I think the team could do well this weekend.  Everyone is working well together and we’ve done some good testing on our rig since Nürburgring.  As always, our focus will be to get both our cars into a points scoring position and to do that we need to improve our qualifying performance. We seem to have the race pace, so if we can nail some good grid positions we should be right up there.”

  • Sumo Power GT – Nurburgring Race Report 2

    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.”