2010 sees me take on the challenge of driving
the Sumo Power 600BHP Nissan GTR in the FIA
GT1 World Championship as well as rejoining
the ambitious Spyker Squadron to pilot the C8 Laviolette GT2R car in the Le Mans Series and
Le Mans 24hours.
Please check out my race calendar and come
and say hello.
Peter Dumbreck
| Silverstone 12 - 14 September 2010 |
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| Algarve 17 - 19 September 2010 |
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| Navarre 22 - 24 October 2010 |
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| Interlagos 26 - 28 November 2010 |
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| San Luis 3 - 5 December 2010 |
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Sumo Power GT battles into the top-ten
29th August 2010
Nürburgring, Germany
FIA GT1 World Championship – Round Six, Nürburgring
Championship Race report
Both Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-Rs fought their way through the field in a tough round six of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Nürburgring today. Car 22, driven by Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter, climbed from 16th on the gird up to an impressive eighth and car 23, driven by Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck, went from 20th to 15th, in a race that featured some hard, panel-beating action.
With the results of yesterday’s race one determining the grid positions for today’s main Championship Race, it was going to be a tough call for both of the Sumo Power GT Nissans to claim a top-ten place. The task was thought to be even harder following the morning’s warm-up session, with drivers reporting difficulty in getting the right amount of heat in the tyres.
Beginning the race from 16th on the grid, Hughes in car 22 made a great start and powered past four cars on the run up to the turn one. Four places further back, Krumm in car 23 was eager to keep out of trouble and avoid another first corner incident that put him and Dumbreck out of yesterday’s race one.
At the end of the first lap, Hughes was up to 12th and Krumm 18th, both cars making good progress – with Hughes even moving up another place on lap four. However, Krumm was now stuck in traffic and, unwillingly trading paint with the cars around him, was nudged into a spin and dropped back to 20th on lap five.
A combination of his Nissan handling well, coupled with others dropping out, saw Hughes climb into the top-ten and up to ninth before the mandatory pit stop to change drivers and tyres on lap 13. Even nursing a suspected slow puncture from one of the earlier clashes, Krumm was also overtaking and climbed to 17th before he pulled into the pits.
The stops for both cars were carried out in under 30 seconds, but unfortunately some of the team’s good work in the pits was undone as each of its Nissans re-joined the race in slower traffic. Once all the cars had stopped and the true positions we displayed on the timing screens, it was revealed that Campbell-Walter, who had taken over from Hughes, was in 10th and Dumbreck, who had replaced Krumm, was in 18th.
Campbell-Walter was happy with the pace of his Nissan and, on lap 19, went past the similar car of Henry Moser in one of his hallmark out-braking manoeuvres. This, coupled with a drive-through penalty applied to a car in front, moved the Sumo Power GT driver up to eighth place. He then spent the rest of the race ensuring that the pursuing Maserati did not get past and was pleased to cross the line in a top ten – and more importantly – a points-scoring position.
Once his tyres bedded in, Dumbreck also found himself making up places and, even as light rain started to fall, he was able to hunt-down slower cars ahead of him and get past, ending the race in 15th position. Although not the result he and Krumm were looking for, the speed of their car suggested that by starting higher on the grid, a top-ten finish would have been achievable.
Overall, the race saw a considerable amount of ‘contact’ between other cars and therefore, the Sumo Power GT team was pleased that both its Nissans came away relatively unscathed. First place went to Darren Turner and Tomas Enge, who took their Aston Martin to its second win of the weekend.
The outcome for Sumo Power GT means that it now lies 6th in the Teams’ standings, with Hughes and Campbell-Walter 12th and Krumm and Dumbreck 13th in the Drivers’ Championship. The team now turns its attentions to round seven, which takes place at the Portimao track in the Algarve on 18 & 19 September.
Team quotes
Michael Krumm – Driver Car 23
“Even though I tried to keep out of the way, because I was overtaking I became involved with quite a lot of contact at the start of the race. I think this must have damaged a wheel or a tyre and from then on the car wasn’t 100%. It could have been a better weekend for us, but I know from our times that the car can be good, so I’m now looking forward to the next round in Portugal.”
Peter Dumbreck – Driver Car 23
“Once I was able to get some heat into the tyres I was pleased with the pace of the car and was able to start overtaking. Our lap times were consistent and, if it wasn’t for the low start position and the problems that come with that, I’m sure we would have finished in the top ten.”
Warren Hughes – Driver Car 22
“We made a few changes to the car after yesterday’s race and it felt better. I was able to get a really good start and then catch and pass the cars ahead of me. Our race-pace doesn’t seem to be a problem. At the moment its our qualifying that needs work, so if we can get that right, I’m sure we’ll be running at the front again.”
Jamie Campbell-Walter – Driver Car 22
“Our lap times were not far off the leading cars in the end. I’m really pleased we’ve been able to get into the points again, which is good for us and the team. Although grip levels could have been a bit better, it was a good race and, if we can get on top of things for qualifying, then I think we’ve cracked it.”
Nigel Stepney – Team Manager
“There’s no doubt that both cars had the speed in the race, but fighting through from the back is always going to make things difficult. There’s more pace to come from the cars. We know what areas we have to work on and we’ve now got three weeks to do it.”
James Rumsey – Team Principal
“It’s good to finish in the points, with one car, but the pace of both was good. If qualifying and yesterday’s race had gone better for us then there’s no doubt the outcome would be different today. I’m pleased that it was another good all-round effort from the team.”
ENDS
ANOTHER FINISH FOR SPYKER SQUADRON IN HUNGARY
Budapest, August 22, 2010 - Tom Coronel and Peter Dumbreck took a ninth place finish in the fourth round of the Le Mans Series season at the Hungaroring near Budapest tonight. Having started from eleventh place on the grid the Spyker Squadron drivers fought hard but eventually had to settle for ninth in the ultra-competitive GT2 field.
Both Tom and Peter drove a very consistent race but it soon became clear that the narrow and twisty Hungaroring track did not really suit the Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R and it would almost be impossible to get a top result without other teams hitting trouble. Both Spyker Squadron drivers gave everything but none of the other teams got into serious trouble and after six hours Tom crossed the finish line ninth in class.
The team will now return to Zeewolde where they will prepare the number 85 car for the final round of the Le Mans Series season at Silverstone. The Autosport 1000 KM of Silverstone will be held on September 12th and unlike the last two races it will be a race on Sunday afternoon.
Quotes:
Peter van Erp, Managing Director Spyker Squadron: “It was really competitive again, incredible. I think today an eighth or ninth place was the maximum we could have achieved. Our drivers worked so hard and still you see that on average we are about a second a lap slower. In the dark we managed to get a bit closer, but this really was not our race weekend. We have worked incredibly hard, but we simply lacked speed here in Hungary. Unfortunately we did not have all the luck during the race as Peter was hit by an LMP car and we lost some 45 seconds in the following pitstop and then we also lost some time during the safety car period because the rules were not carried out as they should have been. But even if we would not have had those issues I think we would not have finished much higher.”
Peter Dumbreck: “It is clear that we did not have the pace today. We made the best of what we had and we both drove pretty consistent. There was one problem when I was hit by a prototype, but to be honest that was not a big issue. We simply did not have the pace of the front running guys today. The priority was to make it to the end and it would be nice to finish every single race this season, we are only one away from that so hopefully we can finish Silverstone as well. As that tracks suits us a little bit better and it will be a bit cooler I hope we can take a top five there, we will see!”
Tom Coronel: “We pushed very hard. Nobody else made mistakes. We were a little bit unlucky with the pit stops as the other ones came through. Normally during a safety car the pit exit should be on red, maybe this could have helped us for two places. Anyway, I am satisfied, the car was strong and we had a good pace at the end as normal. We made it, we finished in front of the Hankook Ferrari of Allan Simonsen, which was the goal from about half of the race. I am happy, there was nothing else I could do. One more to go, Silverstone.”
Make sure you also visit our VIMEO website where all the videos of the Le Mans Series weekend at the Hungaroring as well as the previous rounds can be found!
Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMEnPNto_gQ
Vimeo : http://www.vimeo.com/14343858
SPYKER SQUADRON UPBEAT AFTER BUDAPEST QUALIFYING
Budapest, August 22, 2010 - Spyker Squadron is full of confidence and fully prepared for today’s 1000 KM of the Hungaroring. After three practice sessions on Saturday Tom Coronel was only just over a second behind the pole position in qualifying this morning. The Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R will therefore start from eleventh on the grid.
On Saturday the Spyker Squadron team worked hard to get the set-up of the car right for the 4.381 km long Hungaroring circuit. The straights and slow corners were giving the brakes and tires a very hard time and the team did everything possible to create the best possible set-up for the car. The gathered information and changes in set-up resulted in a lap time in qualifying on Sunday that was over half a second quicker than the fastest time on Saturday and only a few tenths clear of the front of the GT2 grid. The team will now prepare the car for the 1000 KM of the Hungaroring which starts at four o’clock this afternoon.
Tom Coronel: “I think qualifying went fine. I had a flawless lap, no mistakes, no problems at all. The car felt really strong and I positioned it on the track where I wanted it. I asked the mechanics before the session “What if we set a 1:47.8?”. Their response resulted in me having a good feeling afterwards. The time is good, it is so close to each other, if you find a few tenths you are up a few places. I am confident for the race. Everybody is in a good vibe, it feels strong. At the beginning of the race our pace will be ok and if we don’t have any failures or whatsoever we could get a good result.
The set-up was a slight guess. We made a couple of set-ups before the weekend. One set-up Peter was more confident with and I was more confident with another set-up. For qualifying we made the car quite stiff and we got it on the track in the right spot, so as for the set-up I am really satisfied. We made the right choice at the right time.”
Peter van Erp, Managing Director Spyker Squadron: “Eleventh place. The car was perfect and it was all the car could do at this moment. We are only a few tenths of a second behind the top cars. We have to be smart and sneaky during the race, aggressive during the pit stops, aggressive on our in- and out laps. I hope we can win some time on that. Maybe we will have some luck during the safety car periods, we will certainly get a few, but that is always a lottery. Without evolutions and testing this is just it. Fortunately we have made a lot of progress during the weekend. Tom was really satisfied with the car. The lay-out of the track however causes the tires to have more drop-off as they don’t have time to rest, but I have already heard that more GT2 teams have this problem. Hopefully we can limit it during the race. Whatever happens we will do our best to get a good result, we will just fight for it!”
Also take a look at our VIMEO page where you will find Spyker Squadron videos from the Hungaroring. These include an on-board lap with Tom Coronel around the Hungaroring circuit and a recap of what has happened up until this very moment.
SPYKER SQUADRON HUNG(A)RY FOR NEW CHALLENGE
BUDAPEST, August 19, 2010 - Spyker Squadron will venture into unknown territories this weekend as it takes part in the fourth round of the 2010 Le Mans Series season. The team has travelled to Budapest for the 1000 KM race on the Hungaroring Formula 1 circuit.
The twisty, narrow and bumpy circuit just outside the Hungarian capital will host a Le Mans Series round for the first time in its existence. The drivers will have to tackle sixteen corners on the 4.381 km / 2.722 mi long circuit, that was purpose-built for Formula 1 and opened back in 1986. The fact that the race will finish at night makes it even more interesting for the teams
As the race will be held in August the team will prepare for a hot and dry race weekend in Central Europe. Tom Coronel, back with Spyker Squadron for the first time after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has already raced at the Hungaroring before, but Peter Dumbreck and the Spyker Squadron team have not. The team will therefore use the practice sessions to get to grips with the circuit and to work on the set-up of the car.
On Saturday there will be three free practice sessions on the Hungaroring. On Sunday morning the teams will go out for qualifying, followed by a warm-up session and the race The race will start at 4 p.m. and will finish no later than 10 p.m. Eurosport will show the last 30 minutes of the race live around Europe
Peter van Erp, Managing Director Spyker Squadron: “It is the first time the series visits this circuit so for the team and the drivers there is a challenge ahead to find the right set-up in the three practice sessions. We will have to concentrate on creating a car that will do well over a stint.”
Sumo Power GT denied podium finish in closing stages
FIA GT1 World Championship Round Five
Spa Francorchamps, Belgium: 29-31 July
Championship Race Report
Although not seeing the results they wanted, the Sumo Power GT team came away from round five of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Spa in positive mood. In today’s main Championship Race all four drivers put in an impressive performance: Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck in car 23 battled their way up to second place and then, with just one-and-a-half laps to go, their Nissan GT-R coasted to a halt with no drive. 
Team-mates Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter in car 22 also scythed their way through the field. Starting from 19th, they crossed the line in 11th, but were robbed of a far better result when they were hit by another car half-way through the race.
Following a series of mixed fortunes in Friday’s Qualifying Race, car 23 lined up eighth on the grid and car 22 in 19th, after being shunted on the very first corner and subsequently having to visit the pits to change a punctured tyre.
Once again, the drama started for the Sumo Power GT team right from the start, when the cars ahead of Krumm in car 23 accelerated hard and then suddenly braked on the approach to the start line, the red lights taking longer to change than they anticipated. With no where to go and cars behind him apparently unaware of what was happening, Krumm had no choice but to move to the outside of the track at the first corner to avoid a pile-up and, in doing so, lost five places on the run-up to Eau Rouge. 
With a car that was handling better than ever – even with its 50 kilos of success ballast on board - the German began to make up places and, following a series of excellent overtaking moves, by lap eight he was back where he started in eighth place. Meanwhile, also with a car that was performing well, Hughes was mimicking Krumm’s progress - albeit five places further back – and had battled up to 11th place on lap eight.
But then, one lap later, Roman Grosjean in a Ford GT lunged up the inside of the Nissan and, with no chance of passing, smashed into the back of Hughes’ car, sending him into a spin. After the following cars dived left and right to miss the Nissan - which was stationary in the middle of the track - Hughes got going again, but now in 20th place and with all of his good work undone.
Both Sumo Power GT cars went into the pits for the compulsory mid-race driver and wheel change after 12 laps and, following two sub 30-second stops, Dumbreck in car 23 emerged in fifth and promptly moved up to fourth on his out-lap, with Campbell-Walter now in no. 22 moving up to 18th.
A clash between two other cars left debris on the track and on lap 15 the Safety Car was deployed, allowing everyone the opportunity to close up. When racing commenced three laps later Dumbreck found himself in a position to challenge for a podium position – and he didn’t have to wait for long - as the leading Lamborghini slowed down and retired. The Nissan driver then hunted down the slower Ford GT ahead of him, whilst fending off the advances of a Maserati behind and, on lap 22, he finally passed the Ford under braking to claim second.
Now, with the possibility of victory in sight, he continued to push and started to catch the Lamborghini of Ricardo Zonta/Frank Kechele in first place. Then suddenly, on the penultimate lap, Dumbreck felt his car start to vibrate and a few hundred yards later it lost all drive to the rear wheels. Having never experienced a race-stopping mechanical issue, the Sumo Power GT team were stunned to see its Nissan coast to a halt. The reason later traced to a drive-train problem.
The second half of the race also saw Campbell-Walter on a mission and, although being badly baulked by slower cars ahead of him, he was able to thread his way past and up to a hard-fought 11th place.
Although it wasn’t the weekend they were looking for, the whole of the Sumo Power GT team was delighted with the performance of its cars, both of which set front-running times throughout the two races. Therefore, with car 23 now losing some of its success ballast before the sixth round at Nurburgring on 29th August, the team is looking forward to getting back on track and putting the record straight.
Team quotes
Michael Krumm – Driver Car 23
“The start was crazy. I don’t know why the cars in front accelerated and then braked and, with cars bearing down on me from behind, it was a case of getting out of the way or getting hit. However, the Nissan was very quick and it was set up just the way I like, which really helped me get past so many others and back up to eighth. Of course it’s disappointing we didn’t finish, but today was still a great performance.”
Peter Dumbreck – Driver Car 23
“As soon as I left the pits I could feel that the car was good and I could really push. We then had the Safety Car period which helped me catch the leaders and, when we started racing again, I thought we were going to make it onto the podium. I was so surprised when the car started to vibrate. A retirement is not something I’d experienced with the team before.”
Warren Hughes – Driver Car 22
“With the way the car was going a top-five position was on the cards – even though we started from P19. I couldn’t believe it when Grosjean hit me. He came from so far back there was no way he could have got past. The accident ruined his race and ours.”
Jamie Campbell-Walter – Driver Car 22
“I enjoy a good race and overtaking, but that was a frustrating drive. With the car performing so well, I was catching others quickly, especially after we got closed up by the Safety Car, but there was so much defensive driving going on I couldn’t get by. It was just one of those weekend’s, but at least we know we have the pace to run at the front – if only we can get there!”
Allen Orchard – Team Manager
“I’m really disappointed for Michael and Peter. After a drive like that they deserved to finish second. In the same way, Warren and Jamie also deserved better, as did the whole team considering the effort that went in to make up for our qualifying outcome. However, all is looking good for the next race!”
James Rumsey – Team Principal
“The whole team made a massive effort to get us back to where we should be in the race and I’m really impressed with the way the cars and drivers performed. It’s just a shame that sometimes in motorsport, the results don’t reflect the work that’s goes in.”
2010 Spyker Squandron LMS Video Diary
Visit http://www.vimeo.com/13412081 to view the Spyker Squadron LMS Video Diary.
