FIA GT1 World Championship -Round Three - Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão7 & 8 May 2011
This weekend sees the third round of the FIA GT1 World Championship takeplace at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve near Portimäo, where the Sumo Power GT team is not only adamant that it will bounce back following its double non-finish in round two in Belgium last month, but will be aimingfor a repeat performance of its win at the Portuguese circuit last year.
After a strong showing in round one in Abu Dhabi in March, the team could not hide its disappointment following the start-line accident that claimed both its Nissan GT-Rs in the Championship Race at Zolder four weeks ago. However, the two cars are now fully repaired and ready for the fast andundulating 4.692 km (2.915 mile) circuit in the Algarve.
Unfortunately for Ricardo Zonta and Enrique Bernoldi, they start their weekend on the back foot, as they are penalised five grid places for this weekend's Championship Race for car 20's involvement with the Belgium incident. However, that won't stop the Brazilians from doing what they do best: driving to win!
For the Anglo-Australian combination of Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Braham in car 21, they too will be on the warpath for points this weekend.Whilst Jamie drove at the Algarve circuit last year, the venue is completely new to David. But with the Nissan GT-R proving to be highly competitive here in 2010, he is eager to raise the spirits of the team with a good result.
The team's Algarve weekend starts on Friday with Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying. Competition commences on Saturday with Qualifying at 11.15, followed by the first of the one-hour races at 17.15. The main' Championship' race gets the green light on Sunday at 15.15. Both races can be watched live on the team's website: sumopowergt.com
Team Quotes
Enrique Bernoldi (Car 20)"Although we have had some very bad luck in the first two rounds, the potential for top results is definitely there. We now have some good ideas of where we can improve things and I'm really optimistic about this weekend in the Algarve and the next few races, so I am confident we will be fightingfor the win again."
Ricardo Zonta (Car 20)"We have to put Zolder behind us and focus on the next races. This will be my first time at Portimäo. I hear that it s good circuit and could suit theNissan GT-R. Whatever happens, Enrique and I need to score points, so we are getting ourselves as best prepared as we can to make this happen."
David Brabham (Car 21) "Although the records don't show it yet, we are getting stronger with each race, so I'm optimistic the results will come from now on. I haven't been to the Algarve circuit before, but I am told the car will be competitive there.Even though it's a new track for me, the objective is still to win, as both Jamie and I are now really working well together."
Jamie Campbell-Walter (Car 21) "We didn't have the best of runs in Portugal last year. We fell victim of a turn-one accident in the Championship Race and had to retire with bent steering. However, our team-mates won the first race and so we know theNissan GT-R can go well at the circuit. Therefore, if we can make it off the start line and round the first corner, then I really think we can get a good result and score some points."
Hiroke Furuse (Team Manager) "It's been quite an eventful season so far. We have already moved on from Zolder and we are now due for some good luck. I really hope that it comes this weekend, as the whole team deserves a boost, especially having worked so hard over the past few weeks to get the cars back to 100%."
Andy Barnes (Team Principal) "We know that our cars can win in the Algarve, as we proved last year, so we'll be looking for a podium and a strong points finish this weekend. Wehave a few challenges to overcome after Zolder's legacy, but I'm confident that we can pull it together and get back to where we need to be - at the front!"
