Silverstone Victory For Nissan

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.

(LB)