Hot on the heels of last week’s Brands Hatch test with Liam Venter the JRM Group test and development team were in action again on 15 July at Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit as the pieces of the 2014/2015 jigsaw come together.
The Silverstone test was arranged in conjunction with potential JRM factory representative teams Comtec Racing and Virtuosi Racing, both teams selecting quick young driver to take a look at a possible programme of racing with the JRM built Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.
Comtec and Virtuosi are set to commit to a joint enterprise, fielding a full Pro GT team with the potential for race outings as early as this year. Both teams will continue their racing activities in F3.5 World Series and Auto GP with the GT Programme as an addition to their businesses.
Phil Blow, Comtec Racing:
“It was another good test and takes us forward several steps towards the plans for a full programme. The car is impressive and JRM’s support has been very, very good.”
Andy Roche, Virtuosi Racing:
“This is very much a joint effort with Comtec and JRM and this test showed clearly that we’re on course for moving from testing to racing. The guys all loved the car and we’re now working towards an objective to be on the grid for two of the remaining Blancpain Sprint races this year ahead of a full GT campaign in 2015.”
Along with JRM’s factory race and development driver Craig Dolby the test also featured 19 year old South African race Liam Venter in his second test for the team plus 26 year old Australian single seater and GT racer Nathan Antunes, 21 year old Russian F3.5 WSR and GP3 racer Nikolay Martsenko and 23 year old Norwegian GP3 and Auto GP race winner Pal Varhaug.
Liam Venter:
“It was good to get another chance to run in the car after the successful test at Brands Hatch last week. I had 90 minutes which really didn’t feel that long when you take into account the length of the circuit but the car was strong, pace felt good and it was great to see so many really good people now involved in what looks set to be a very impressive programme.”
Pal Varhaug:
“It was a good day’s testing on a busy track but certainly the car was good to drive, if very different from the cars I have been racing.
“The difference in weight and size though were pretty easy to adjust to and I was finding lap times that everyone was very happy with as we worked with set-up. Certainly I was very encouraged about the potential there, there’s a lot more still to come.”
Nathan Antunes:
“I had a very good test with JRM in their Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. It was a very professional day working with JRM, and the car was very well presented and was a lot of fun to drive.
“Throughout my sessions we worked on a set up for me to get comfortable and to be able to push on around this great circuit, and as my confidence with the car built up and circuit knowledge increased and traffic allowing, we were able to put in some very quick times.”
Alf Boarer (Manager, Nathan Antunes):
“JRM in conjunction with Virtuosi and Comtec put together a very professional GT test in the Nissan GT-R GT3 car for Nathan on the Silverstone GP circuit.
“We are very happy with both the car and the expertise with which it was run. Everybody worked well together and it was a fantastic way to be introduced to this beautiful beast of a car and Nathan was able to quickly show how professional and quick he is.”
James Walters, Partnership Manager for JRM Group said:
“Our goals for 2014 are almost complete. We wanted to secure two teams to represent the JRM factory so we have the potential for race winning cars in a variety of series around Europe and the Middle East to compliment the efforts of Blancpain Pro-Am championship winning Nissan GT Academy Team RJN.
“We already announced Nova Race as our first JRM factory representative and they won first time out in GT Open at Jerez. Now we are about to announce our second JRM factory representative.
“This will be a partnership between Comtec Racing and Virtuosi and both teams selected drivers for this test and all have performed excellently, with every potential of forming a top flight driving crew.
“The goal is to work very closely with our new teams and to have front running cars in Blancpain Sprint, Blancpain Endurance and GT Open with paid pro drivers placed where appropriate. This will help attract drivers of the highest quality with budget to invest in racing with Nissan because they can see that our teams are race winners and a paid seat for top performing drivers is only one step away.”
A further test with the Comtec/Virtuosi team is set to take place in the coming weeks with an announcement due soon afterwards of plans for race entries in 2014 and 2015.