Excellent results somewhat marred by loss of two Nissans in first lap dram

 Nissan claimed excellent second and fourth positions in today’s GT1 World Championship Qualifying Race, but the shine was slightly taken off the result after a first lap incident which instantly knocked two of the GT-Rs out of the race.  The all-German pairing of Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr lead the way home for Nissan in the no.23 JR Motorsports, while Enrique Bernoldi and Warren Hughes (no.20 Sumo Power GT) were a further two places back, replicating their results from Sachsenring three weeks ago in finishing fourth.

It was actually the perfect start for Nissan when Luhr, starting from second on the grid following the day’s earlier Qualifying session, stole a march on the first placed no.11 Corvette to lead the race going into turn one. However, only moments later the Nissan jubilation turned into despair when, jostling for position in a tightly bunched middle order, David Brabham (no.21 Sumo Power GT) clipped the no.8 Aston Martin, which in turn span and hit the no.22 JRM being driven by Peter Dumbreck. The collision was heavy enough to instantly end the races of all three cars.

If there was any solace to be gained from the early drama it was that Enrique Bernoldi, who found himself right in the middle of the action, somehow managed to escape the melee unscathed, and the Brazilian was to in fact greatly benefit from the incident, with the no.20 moving up from a starting position of seventh to sit fourth at the end of the first lap.

As the first half of the race progressed, Luhr was looking strong in defending his lead and racing line from the no.7 Aston Martin, whilst things were comfortable for Bernoldi, who had a six second lead over the ensuing no.4 Aston whilst himself trying to chase down the no.11 Corvette, which was now down in third.

These were the positions that were held as the all-important pit-window opened, and as has so often been the case this season, the pit stops were to prove vital to the final outcome of the race. A particularly quick stop by the no.7 Aston Martin brought the British marque out in front of the no.23, now being driven by Michael Krumm, whilst the no.20, with Warren Hughes at the helm, came out retaining its fourth position.

The second half of the race saw Krumm pushing hard to whittle down the 5.5 second gap that the no.7 had built up once the post-window order had been established, whilst Hughes also drove aggressively to make inroads on the Corvette in third position. However, despite the best efforts of both drivers, the gaps to the cars ahead were to ultimately prove unassailable.

Speaking afterwards, Lucas Luhr said: “I got a really good start that saw me go into first position after turn one, and then I found I’d built up a bit of a gap to second at the end of lap one. My plan was to conserve the tyres a bit having established a lead, but on lap two there was something slippery on the track, and I had to battle to keep the GT-R on track. After this the Aston Martin was close on my tail throughout my stint in the car.

“The car felt pretty good today, and there’s no doubt that on some parts of the track, such as at Copse and Becketts, we were dominating out there. We’ll be starting on the front row of the grid for the main race tomorrow, which of course gives us a really great chance of doing well again. Overall, it’s a good day’s work.”

Lucas’ team-mate in the no.23 JRM, Michael Krumm, added: “I tried everything I could to eat into the no.7 Aston’s lead, but it just wasn’t enough in the end. I think it’s fair to say that the race was won in the pits today – the Aston had an amazingly quick stop.

“The GT-R felt really quick out there, particularly in sector two, although there’s still room for us to improve. I’m driving first tomorrow – if I can get a start similar to the one Lucas had today then I think we’ll be in with a chance of the win.”

Commenting after clinching fourth place in the no.20 Sumo Power GT, Enrique Bernoldi said: “I had a nice start, although I was very happy to stay out of the chaos early on lap one. After establishing myself in fourth it was a case of maintaining my tyres, as I knew I couldn’t keep pace with the top three, but at the same time, I was still able to pull away from the rest of the pack. Fourth puts us in a strong position for tomorrow – with a good start and a bit of luck, we’ll be looking to place even higher in the Championship Race.”