Impressive third place for Sumo Power GT at Navarra FIA GT1 World Championship - Round Six Report Navarra Circuit, Spain 2nd & 3rd July 2011
Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Brabham gave the Sumo Power GT team a well-deserved podium finish at Navarra this weekend, when they crossed the line in third place in Sunday's main Championship Race, round six of the FIA GT1 World Championship. Driving Nissan GT-R number 21, this excellent result added to their fourth-place in Saturday's Qualifying Race and was a much-needed boost to the team in what was essentially a hard two-days of competition.
Team mates Enrique Bernoldi and Nick Catsburg in car 20 did not fair quite so well, when an electrical problem forced them to retire in Saturday's race one and a drive-through penalty for a pit-lane infringement meant that 12th was the best they could hope for in Sunday's race two. However, the team was delighted with the pace of its two GT-Rs, which performed over and above their expectations on the tight and twisty track which was initially thought not to suit the Nissan, as it's a car which finds itself more at home on circuits with long, fast, sweeping corners.
Qualifying and Qualifying RaceQualifying took place on Saturday morning and, with temperatures well into the 30s, tyre management was to be an important issue in order to post a good qualifying lap. Both the Sumo Power GT GT-Rs made it through to Q2, but only car 21 progressed to Q3, with Campbell-Walter setting an impressive fifth-fastest time.
However, because of the five-place grid penalty picked up at Silverstone when Brabham made contact with another car, they started the Qualifying Race P10. This benefited Bernoldi and Catsburg who were elevated one place to P8.
In even hotter conditions, the afternoon's Qualifying Race saw Catsburg start in car 20 for his inaugural race with the team, with Brabham first to drive in car 21. The usual scenario of 16 cars trying to get through turn-one all at the same time saw both drivers having to brake and move off line far more than they would have liked in order to keep out of trouble, which meant Catsburg dropped to 9th and Brabham dropped to 13th by the end of the first lap.
However, both felt they had better cars then their positions suggested and Brabham was able to move up to 10th and right up behind Catsburg by the time the pit-stop window opened after 25-minutes of competition. A fantastic wheel-change carried out in a touch over 20 seconds meant that Campbell-Walter joined the race in sixth and then proceeded to catch and pass other cars ahead of him.
Bernoldi, who was now in car 20, was also moving up the field. However, the Brazilian's race was to come to an end on lap 27, when he noticed there was smoke coming from inside the car. It them became apparent that the cause was likely to be something electrical and he pulled off at the next marshal's post. Thankfully, the situation was quickly dealt with, although his GT-R was to go no further.
It was a bitter pill for the team, who then had to work into the small hours of the morning to restore car 20 back to perfect working order. But in contrast, with Jamie claiming fourth place with just a few laps to go, the team were upbeat about the potential of a good finish for Sunday's main race. First and second in Saturday's race were the All-Inkl team Lamborghinis, the Italian supercars proving to be best suited for the Navarra circuit.
Qualifying race results (PDF) <http://www.rpmpromotions.com/jrmotorsport/pdf/QualifyingRaceResultList.pdf
Championship RaceDue to the second-placed Lamborghini requiring an engine change - out of step with the Championship regulations' timetable - it meant that a five-place grid penalty was applied and consequently, Campbell-Walter moved up a place to start the Championship Race from P3 on the grid. Capitalising on his slightly elevated position, he made a perfect start and tucked his GT-R neatly on the inside of the first corner to take second place - much to the delight of the team. Bernoldi, who started from P12, had also made up places, but then became stuck in a convoy of cars and could do little to break free of the group.
As the first half of the race unfolded, not only did Campbell-Walter consolidate his position, he also pulled out a comfortable margin of four seconds ahead of the third-placed JRM Racing Nissan GT-R of Peter Dumbreck by the time the pit-stop window was open, half-way through the race. Unfortunately, both cars were to arrive in the pits together, which meant that 22 was so close to the front of 21, when it was time leave, Brabham - who was now behind the wheel - had to be pushed back a few feet to enable him to get round Dumbreck's stationary GT-R.
The resulting five-second delay meant that the Australian joined the race in third and was now behind the two Lamborghinis. Then suddenly, the opportunity of reclaiming second place came to light when, because of a pit-lane infringement for leaving his stand before the mechanics had finished, the leading car received a drive-through penalty. However, the Lamborghini was just far enough ahead to rejoin the race ahead of car 21 and Brabham remained in third.
It appeared that drive-through penalties were the order of the day when, after he had swapped with Bernoldi, Catsburg was instructed to perform one of them, having started car 20's engine before the air jacks had been lowered. The resulting delay dropped the Sumo Power GT debutant back to 12th place.
As the one-hour race drew to an end, it was apparent that Braham was closing on the two leading Lamborghinis, but it just wasn't quite enough to make an impression and, after 36 laps of the 3.933km circuit, he was pleased to take the chequered flag in third place. This was an excellent result on a track that was thought to be one of the least suitable for the GT-R in the calendar. But this was not the case for Sumo Power GT, who repeated the podium position it had achieved at Navarra last year.
The team now turns its attentions on round seven of the global sportscar series, which takes place at Paul Ricard in France on 16th & 17th July.
Championship race results (PDF) <http://www.rpmpromotions.com/jrmotorsport/pdf/RaceResultList.pdf
Team QuotesJamie Campbell-Walter (Car 21)"Our car felt good on Saturday, but was even better today (Sunday). I had a great start and was able to get into second place at turn one. It was a real shame that there was a problem with the pit stop - which was not the making of our team - as we dropped to third and I think that, with the way the car was going, we had a chance of winning the race. Still, third is an excellent result for us at this track."
David Brabham (Car 21)"After Silverstone, I'm very pleased with the way things have gone this weekend. We were able to keep out of trouble in both races. Other than the pit stop in the Championship Race, things have gone according to plan. Jamie did a great job in the first stint and I was able to push towards the end of mine, but there was little chance of catching the Lamborghinis ahead of us, so fourth in race one and third in the second is a good result to take away from the weekend."
Enrique Bernoldi (Car 20)"It was not the best of weekends for car 20. After the problem which stopped us in Saturday's race, the team did a great job to get the car ready and working perfectly for Sunday's race. I am just disappointed we could not have given the boys a better result, but there were a few things that went wrong with our pit stop that meant we did not score any points this weekend."
Nick Catsburg (Car 20)"As this was my first weekend with the Sumo Power GT team, it has been a big learning curve for me. There has been a lot of things to take on board and perhaps I concentrated too much on my pace in the car and making sure I did a good job. Maybe my enthusiasm meant I missed a few things, particularly in the pit stops. I have to say that it's been a privilege to work with such a professional team and to be amongst such great drivers."
Hiroki Furuse (Team Manager)"I think that to come away with a fourth and a third is a good outcome for us at this circuit. We did not come here thinking we would beat the Lamborghinis, but we almost did! The whole team has worked really hard this weekend to get the cars up to speed and keep them running and I'm delighted to see Jamie and David have a much more successful time of things."
Andy Barnes (Team Principal)"I am very pleased with Jamie and David's third place. However, it was one of those events when a number of unfortunate circumstances held back our cars from their full potential. If we can be blessed with a perfect weekend there is no doubt that we will see both GT-Rs on the podium, as they are dialled in and loaded to win. We just need to bring together the last few pieces of the picture to make that happen."
