Sumo Power GT – Nurburgring Race One Report

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

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

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.”