JRM Racing today confirmed it will widen its 2013 racing programme as part of its on-going development of the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for competitive GT3 use. In addition to competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series, the Daventry-based team will enter two cars into the finale of the ADAC GT Masters championship at Hockenheim, Germany, from 27 – 29 September.
The eight round ADAC championship is one of the most competitive GT3 series in Europe. A field of close to 30 cars race in two one hour sprints over a weekend on hallowed German tracks including the Sachsenring and Nurburgring plus famed circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps and the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The championship features all the ‘big names’ of GT3 racing including the Audi R8 LMS Ultra, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and BMW Z4 GT3 and many other cars. This year competition is incredibly tight, with four different manufacturer cars separated by just 12 points at the top of the standings after six events. As such it will be a perfect opportunity to showcase the improved power and drive of the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, despite the 30kg of ‘guest ballast’ that the cars will have to carry as single race entries.
With the ADAC GT Masters being a Pro Am championship, each car typically runs one Pro driver and one Am driver who share the car over the race. The driving line-up for the Hockenheim event will therefore be drawn from JRM Racing’s pool of Blancpain Endurance Series talent, with one Nissan driven by Peter Dumbreck (GBR) and Matt Bell (GBR). Steven Kane (GBR) and Humaid Al-Masaood (UAE) will share the second car. British racer, Charles Bateman, who has shared the Pro Am car with Matt and Humaid in the Blancpain series this year, is unable to drive due to pre-existing personal work commitments. The quartet will be going head to head with some of the top GT drivers, including works BMW driver Jörg Muller, former F1 runner Markus Winkelhock and Porsche Supercup champion Rene Rast.
‘This year the objective was to demonstrate the competitive performance of the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 on a European stage,’ commented JRM Racing team principal, James Rumsey. ‘We have largely achieved our aims in Blancpain with top ten qualifying positions and an overall podium result. It is now time to widen the net and prove the car in another hotly fought series. We looked at many championships and the ADAC provided the best opportunity to showcase the performance. All the major competitors are there, the quality of the drivers is very high and there is undoubtedly a market to get involved in.’
October will be a busy month for the JRM squad since it will compete in the series finale of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Nurburgring (21 – 22 September) the weekend prior to Hockenheim. There will be a new addition to the Pro car #23 driving line-up, with regular drivers Peter Dumbreck and Steven Kane joined by Japanese driver Kazuki Hoshino, who replaces ALMS-committed Lucas Luhr. Kazuki is seconded from Nismo, for whom he competes in the Super GT championship in Japan. As part of the Nismo Global Driver Exchange Programme, which sees upcoming, young drivers compete in different motorsport series to improve their overall racing experience, Kazuki will be exposed to a new circuit, and of course a new team atmosphere.
The Pro car entry will be the sole JRM Racing entry to the Nurburgring race, allowing the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 car run by Nissan GT Academy Team RJN an improved opportunity to secure the Pro Am championship title. The RJN team is currently at the top of the standings with an 18 point advantage over the AF Corse team, with Nismo Athletes occupying the top three places in the Pro Am drivers’ championship.
‘We are delighted to have Hoshino-san join us for Nurburgring. JRM has a long and very successful relationship with Nissan and Nismo and it was a logical step for us to provide opportunities for the Nismo Athletes,’ James Rumsey continued. ‘The decision to withdraw the Pro Am car from Nurburgring was carefully weighed up. In the last three-hour race at Paul Ricard the JRM and RJN cars were very closely matched and it’s likely they could take points away from each other at the final round, which could just make the difference to the title. The JRM Group’s mentality is to support and assist our customers with their championship aspirations, and it is therefore better that we withdraw the JRM Racing Pro Am entry.’
Source : JRM Racing