The Nissan GT-R achieved its first GIA GT1 Victory today at Silverstone. Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughe were the two Sumo Power drivers that brought the Nissan GT-R onto the podium’s first position even though the car finished third.
The cars that finished ahead of the Nissan GT-R were two Aston Martins who got penalised due to technical infringement and taking too long to come in for a drive through penalty. So as you see it is not only about the car’s performance, and the names of the two Nissan GT-R drivers will be listed on the Tourist Trophy list next to legendary figures like Stirling Moss, Tazio
Nuvolari and Graham Hill.
Warren Hughe said "We were happy with third and then we
were told it might be second so to get the call to say we won is
incredible."
Nissan press release :
Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes took the first ever FIA GT1 race
victory for the Nissan GT-R at Silverstone today. In an astounding turn
of events the two Sumo Power drivers actually took third place in
today’s race but now find themselves the proud winners of the RAC
Tourist Trophy which is historically awarded to the winners of the
Silverstone round.
The two cars that finished ahead of the Nissan GT-Rs were penalised
after the chequered flag fell. The winning Aston Martin of Darren Turner
and Tomas Enge was excluded for a technical infringement and the second
placed Aston Martin of Fred Makowiecki and Thomas Accary received a
time penalty for taking too long to come in for a drive through penalty.
This result means that Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes’ names
will be forever listed alongside names such as Stirling Moss, Tazio
Nuvolari and Graham Hill on the Tourist Trophy.
Hughes got a great start in today’s race, moving up to fourth place
straight away. Michael Krumm didn’t fare so well as he was pushed wide
and had to drop back to ninth to avoid an accident. The Swiss Racing
Nissan GT-Rs also lost out at the start with Seiji Ara running in 14th
and Karl Wendlinger in 19th. At the end of lap two the Safety Car came
out while a stricken and burning Corvette was removed from the side of
the track. This held the cars at a steady pace until the start of lap
seven when the Safety Car came in and racing resumed.
By lap 10 Hughes was still running strongly in fourth place, Krumm was
up to eighth after passing a Corvette and Ara and Wendlinger were also
making good progress.
Just before the pit stop window opened, Krumm was locked into a great
battle with Andrea Bertolini’s Maserati. The pair were having a good
fight but then Oliver Gavin’s Corvette joined in and three-into-one just
wouldn’t go. The net result was Krumm and Gavin going off into the
gravel at Vale.
“At the start I was pushed wide onto the grass by Bernoldi so I had to
lift to avoid an accident,” said Krumm. “I then couldn’t make up any
positions as we were behind the safety car for a long time. Once we
were racing again I was having a good fight with Bertolini in the
Maserati. I knew that Gavin was behind us but I was concentrating on the
Maserati. The next thing I knew I was in the gravel. It’s a shame as
the car is really quick now. Hopefully we can show this at Brno.”
Hughes then dived into the pits to hand over to Jamie Campbell-Walter,
who was immediately pitched into battle with a Maserati.
“My stint was pretty exciting,” said Campbell-Walter. “We pitted quite
early so I went out into a load of traffic. I had a great fight with a
Maserati; we were swopping places so much it was like a rollercoaster
ride. Once I got past him for the last time I set off after Kechele in
the Lamborghini. We were well matched over the whole lap and I decided
that the only place I would be able to pass him was into Copse, as he
kept braking early there. I went for it, I don’t think we touched but
it was pretty close.”
The Swiss Racing team endured a difficult weekend but salvaged a top ten
finish in this afternoon’s championship race. Soon after the pit stops
Henri Moser went off at the fastest part of the track, resulting in a
lot of damage to the No.3 Swiss Racing Nissan GT-R and a trip to the
medical centre for Henri.
“It’s hard to know what happened really,” he said. “I was passing a
Lamborghini at the end of the Hangar straight and suddenly I’m spinning
off into the tyres. It’s a shame as the car was perfect. My stint had
been tricky up to that point as I was in a lot of traffic. I knew once I
was past the Lamborghini I would have a clear track in front of me and
would be able to go a lot quicker. It was a clean move so it’s
disappointing to end up in the barrier.”
“That was a very hard weekend for Swiss Racing Team,” said Technical
Director Erich Kolb. “The race was not too bad for Seiji and Max
though. Max joined the race in a lot of traffic, which immediately put
him under pressure but he quickly settled into a rhythm and started to
put in very good lap times. It was very good to see him take a top ten
finish after such a difficult weekend. Henri’s accident caused a lot of
damage to the car but luckily Henri is okay. All in all it was a tough
weekend but we’re happy we have started to score points and happy for
Sumo for their fantastic result.”
The final word has to go to Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes, the
winners of the RAC Tourist Trophy and the men who took the first FIA
GT1 win for the Nissan GT-R.
“That’s amazing!” said Hughes. We were happy with third and then we
were told it might be second so to get the call to say we won is
incredible. I was actually giving the trophy envious glances during the
press conference, thinking it would be nice to have my name on there,
so this is a great result for us. I’m genuinely delighted to have the
win as this is a great result for the championship.”
“For a British driver it’s a massive honour to win the Tourist Trophy
and to be the guys who take the first FIA GT1 win for Nissan is
incredible,” said Campbell-Walter. “I have to express my condolences to
Darren and Tomas though as they did a great job today and it can’t be
nice to have this taken away from you as a driver. When I won the FIA
GT race in 2000 here at Silverstone I was presented with the Tourist
Trophy but my name was never engraved on it as it wasn’t an official
Tourist Trophy meeting. I feel like I’ve won it for a second time now
but this time my name will go on there so that’s great. This is a
fantastic result for Nissan and for the Sumo Power team.”
