Sumo Power aim to impress in Spain GT1

The FIA GT1 World Championship heads to the brand new Navarra Circuit in northern Spain this weekend, for the final European round of its innagual season. The FIA's newest world championship will then move onto its season finale in South America, with races at Interlagos in Brazil and San Luis in Argentina.

The British based Sumo Power Nissan GT-R will be looking for a strong performace in Spain to consolidate what is already an impressive debut season. They are currently sitting in third spot in the standings, after a Qualifying Race victory, mixed with a strong fourth-placed finish in the Championship Race at the previous round at Portimao in Portugal.

Navarra will be something of a blank canvas for all of the GT1 World Championship teams, as none have raced or tested there previously. Michael Krumm, who shares the Sumo Power no 23 car with Peter Dumbreck, has some concerns that the circuit's tight layout may not be ideal for the powerfull GT-R.

“I'm looking forward to the challenge of Navarra” said Krumm, “It's always exciting to run on a circuit for the first time. However it looks like it has quite a few slower corners, which will probably not suit us that much, but we are working on our performance in those areas so we dont really know.”

Dumbreck is also unsure of how the car will react at Navarra. “I know very little about Navarra. The one thing that I've heard is that most corners are 2nd gear, which is not ideal. We have a few things to try on the car to improve things and as we have been running in the top six at most circuits, I hope that we can be there in Spain as well and come away from the weekend with a good points haul.”

Warren Hughes, who partners Jamie Campbell-Walter in the no 22 GT-R, also shares some of the concerns, “I've been watching some 'in car' footage from Navarra and it looks like a good venue. Until we get running it's hard to predict how the car will suit the circuit, so choosing the right set-up will be inmportant. Initially our focus has to be getting through to Q3, as this sets us up so well for the races and I really want to take some strong results forom the last three races of the season.”

The Vitaphone Racing Maserati squad are currently leading the field with the Retier Lamborghini in second spot.

You will be able to watch live coverage of qualifying and the race here at independent.co.uk. Simply click this link for more information. The Qualifying Race will be live on Sunday at 9am and the Championship Race live at 3pm on Sunday.