GT1 World

JRM Racing ready for action

© JRM Racing

Following confirmation earlier this year that the JRM Group would run two pairs of Nissan GT-Rs in this year’s FIA GT1 World Championship, its newest team JRM Racing is now all-set to contest the first of the season’s 10-rounds, which takes place this Saturday at the spectacular Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

As announced previously, the line-up for JRM Racing includes two of the drivers that raced Nissan GT-Rs last year: Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck. Having shared the same car in 2010, the experienced pairing has been split up for 2011, with German-born Krumm being joined by fellow countryman Lucas Luhr and likewise, Dumbreck will be joined by British compatriot, Richard Westbrook.

Therefore, three out of the four drivers have experience of last year’s FIA GT1 World Championship: Krumm, Dumbreck and Westbrook. Although Luhr is new to the series, he brings with him a wealth of experience from other areas of GT racing, including ALMS, Le Mans and a long list of endurance events.

Many of the new JRM Racing operation’s team personnel, including senior management, also have a season’s experience in the championship. Now running under a new brand with a new livery, this previous knowledge provides a strong platform of continuity for the team, enabling it to hit the ground running this weekend.

Therefore, JRM Racing bosses are upbeat that, with its cars fully rebuilt and, with an excellent line-up of drivers, the Nissans will be well-placed to challenge for the top places. However, there has little opportunity for the drivers to test the two JRM Racing Nissans before this year’s trip to the United Arab Emirates, although all four did get a brief opportunity to drive at Zolder two weeks ago. This means that this year’s first true track action for the cars will take place on Wednesday, when the Championship’s pre-season test session is held at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Qualifying for the opening round of this high-profile global sports car series takes place on Friday afternoon at 19.45 UAE time (15.45 GMT), with the first of the weekend’s two, one-hour races, taking place at 13.15 (09.15 GMT) on Saturday. The second – the main Championship race – gets the green light later the same day at 19.45 (15.45 GMT).

Team Quotes

Michael Krumm (Car 23)
“It’s great to be back in GT1 with the Nissan GT-R, as development with the car progressed well last year and the team learned a lot during its first season. This year will be the first time I can speak in my native tongue with my new team-mate. He has an excellent track record and I’m looking forward to working with Lucas. The main objective for us in Abu Dhabi is to get a good finish, hopefully in the top-three, but since this is the first time all the teams will run together, it’s really difficult to know where we are in relation to the competition. We will only find that out when qualifying starts on Friday.”

Lucas Luhr (Car 23)
“I am very excited about the season ahead. It is a new challenge for me. I am looking forward to working with Michael and the JRM team. This year’s FIA GT1 World Championship has a good calendar. There are a lot of circuits that will be new to me, so this is certainly going to make things interesting. I am sure that this will also make the competition very close. I was very happy with the test at Zolder. The car feels very good and I can’t for the first race.”

Peter Dumbreck (Car 22)
“I’m very happy to be in the Nissan GT-R for a second year. The car showed a lot of potential last year and we came away with a win and a few podiums. I think with the continuity in the team and good focus we can become regular winners and, I hope, ultimately World Champions! I have a former FIA GT Champion as a team-mate this year, so I believe we can compete with the best. It is very important to have a positive weekend – without mistakes -and collect some points. We can then get our championship campaign off to a flying start.”

Richard Westbrook (car 22)
“I’m absolutely delighted about joining JRM. For me, it was important to be with a leading team that has the hunger to go further in 2011. And that is what I believe I’ve done. Last year we saw that it is so important to have a strong driver pairing. Peter knows the car, which will be invaluable for my learning curve. I’m under no illusion as to how tough it will be to win the championship this year, but I believe I have been given the best possible chance by joining JRM and being paired with Peter.”

Nigel Stepney (Team Manager and Chief Engineer)
“We have done a lot of work on the cars during the winter break, but without any significant testing and because it’s the first race of the season, it’s difficult to know how competitive our cars will be against the rest of the field. Therefore, the most important thing for us this weekend is to achieve a good points finish with both cars, which will set us up nicely for the series of European events that follow.”
James Rumsey (Team Principal)
“With such a good driver line-up and, by bringing a new team in to the championship this year, it’s an exciting time for us. I think we are in a great position to challenge for the teams’ and drivers’ titles. Therefore, it’s going to be interesting to see how we compare with the other teams this weekend.”