East Sussex based Sumo Power GT raced in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship at Abu Dhabi last weekend. The team, which uses Nissan GT-Rs, is the sole UK team in the championship. The team was formed in January and it has been a busy few months for the outfit. Team focus: Sumo Power GT.

Background

Sumo Power launched in 2002 as a performance car parts supplier for Japanese based cars. The company became specialists with Nissan’s Skyline and GT-R models in particular. Last year, Sumo Power was acquired by the JRM-Group, a Mitsubishi based race and rally car preparation business.  With extensive work to Nissan models, a link was formed with the Japanese giant.

Sumo Power GT formed in January 2010 when the motorsports arm of Nissan (NISMO) announced its intentions on entering the new FIA GT1 World Championship with Sumo Power being its partner.

The car

Sumo Power GT use the Nissan GT-R (R35 model).

The drivers

Sumo Power has gone for two experienced driver lineups. The team has been assigned car numbers 22 and 23.

Car #22: Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter
Car #23: Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm

Team staff

For a new team, Sumo Power GT has been able to acquire a blend of experienced team staff. Team principal is James Rumsey, team manager is Allen Orchard but it will be Sumo Power GT’s chief engineer Nigel Stepney that will raise an eyebrow. It is unusual for a new team to have both the setup of experienced staff and drivers, albeit with Nissan backing.

Team Principal – James Rumsey
Team Manager – Allen Orchard
Chief Engineer – Nigel Stepney
Race Engineer – Geoff Kingston
No 1 mechanic – Les White

Futher information:

Sumo Power GT – Website
FIA GT1 World Championship – Website

GP2 2010

The 2010 GP2 seasons kicks off next month at the Circuit de Catalunya and this season sees three British drivers and three British teams participating. Drivers Oliver Turvey, Sam Bird and Max Chilton will be looking to catch the eye in Formula One’s ‘feeder series’. The British teams involved this season are iSport International, Super Nova Racing and David Price Racing (DPR). This season will be the last for the second generation GP2 car.

The calendar (each round has 2 races)

May 8/9 – Round 1 @ Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
May 15/16 – Round 2 @ Monaco
May 29/30 – Round 3 @ Istanbul Park, Turkey
June 19/20 – Round 4 @  Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimao, Portugal
June 26/27 – Round 5 @ Valencia Street circuit, Spain
July 10/11 – Round 6 @ Silverstone, England
July 24/25 – Round 7 @ Hockenheimring, Germany
July 31/1 Aug – Round 8 @ Hungaroring, Hungary
Aug 28/29 – Round 9 @ Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 11/12 – Round 10 @ Monza, Italy
November 13/14 – Round 11 @ Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi

The Drivers

Three Brits are driving in GP2 this year. Sam Bird will be racing for 2009 team champions ART Grand Prix and Oliver Turvey is at Norfolk based team, iSport International. Youngest of the three is Max Chilton who will be driving for Ocean Racing Technology.

Sam Bird joins the GP2 grid after two years in Euro F3. Sam, like  Oliver Turvey, joins a top team in the GP2 series and the expectations will be high. His team mate at ART is Frenchman Jules Bianchi. Bianchi won the Euro F3 championship last year and in December penned a long-term deal with Ferrari. Sam Bird has the pressure of delivering not only against a tough team mate but also for a team that lists Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as previous drivers. Sam competed in the GP2 Asia series (this series uses an older car than the main GP2 series) and his best result was a 2nd place finish at Bahrain.

Previous:

2009 – Euro F3, 8th overall
2008 – Euro F3, 11th overall
2007 – British F3, 4th overall
2006 – Formula Renault UK, 4th overall

Oliver Turvey has moved from the Renault World Series into GP2 for 2010. Like Sam Bird, Oliver took part in the GP2 Asia series where he won the feature race at the second round at Abu Dhabi. For the 2010 GP2 series championship, he will have Davide Valsecchi as his team-mate. Valsecchi, enters his third year of GP2 action and is the GP2 Asia 2009/10 champion. Turvey is part of the Racing Steps Foundation project, which aims to provide sponsorship to talented drivers who lack funds.

Previous:

2009 – Renault World series, 4th overall
2008 – British F3, 2nd overall
2007 – Eurocup Formula Renault 8th / Formula Renault Italy 9th
2006 – Formula BMW UK, 2nd overall

19yr old Max Chilton has the opportunity to shine for Portuguese outfit, Ocean Racing Technology. The Brit moves to GP2 after 3 consecutive years in British F3 where last year he finished 4th in the championship. Max took part in GP2 Asia and raced for both Ocean Racing Technology and Barwa Addax. His best result was a credible 6th place at Abu Dhabi. Chilton’s team mate at Ocean will be Fabio Leimer.

Previous:

2009 – British F3, 4th overall
2008 – British F3, 10th overall
2007 – British F3, 18th overall
2006 – T-Cars, 2nd overall

The teams

iSport International – Britain’s most successful GP2 team will be looking to continue their good form, following the capture of the GP2 Asia 2009/2010 constructors championship. The Norfolk based team will want to improve on their 5th place in last years championship.

Drivers: Oliver Turvey and Davide Valsecchi
Team History: 2009 – 5th, 2008 – 2nd, 2007 –  champions, 2006 – 3rd, 2005 – 4th.

Super Nova Racing – With experience from the days of F3000, Super Nova finished third last year with some impressive drives by Luca Filippi. The team have been competing in GP2 since the series’ inception in 2005.

Drivers: Marcus Ericsson and Josef Kral
Team History: 2009 – 3rd, 2008 – 7th, 2007 – 4th, 2006 – 9th, 2005 – 3rd.

David Price Racing (DPR) – Since 1976, David Price Racing has been involved in various forms of motorsports and in 2005 entered GP2. The team has won 2 races in GP2, both in 2005. 2010 may be a tough year for David Price Racing but they certainly have the experience.

Drivers: Michael Herck and Giacomo Ricci.
Team History: 2009 – 13th, 2008 – 13th, 2007 – 12th, 2005 – 10th

[Photos courtesy of the GP2 Media service, graphics by ACalder.co.uk]

The month of April sees the motorsports world kick into life. The British Touring Car Championship, DTM, British F3, Formula 2, the new FIA GT1 world championship, and the LMS championship all start their seasons this month.

The third race of the F1 season takes place on the 4th April at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, where Sebastian Vettel will be wanting to put his bad luck behind him. Two weeks later, the Formula One crowd race at the Shanghai circuit for round 4 of the season.

The British Touring Car Championship starts this Sunday at Thruxton. With works teams in the form of Honda Racing and Silverline Chevrolet, and competitive independent teams, 2010 is sure to be a good season for the BTCC. With rounds 1,2 and 3 happening at Thruxton, Rockingham plays host to rounds 4,5 and 6 on April 25th.

British entry Sumo Power's Nissan GT-R

The new FIA GT1 World Championship starts on April 17th at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. East Sussex based outfit and GT debutants, Sumo Power GT will be looking for a good start and reliability. The team, which will run two Nissan GT-Rs has the experienced Jamie Campbell-Walter paired up with fellow Brit, Warren Hughes. Peter Dumbreck will partner Michael Krumm in the second car.

April at a glance