MICHAEL Krumm and Lucas Luhr took a scintillating victory for Nissan at Silverstone last weekend in an enthralling GT1 Championship Race packed full of drama from start to finish.
The German duo, driving the no.23 JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R, were engaged in a fascinating battle for the lead throughout the race with the no.7 Aston Martin.
But were able to hold off the British marque’s challenge to clinch first place, and with it secure their names on the prestigious RAC Tourist Trophy and move up to first place in the GT1 driver standings.
The race began with Krumm locked to the rear of the first placed no.7 Aston, and the no.11 Corvette close behind in third, but the release of the safety car due to an accident (between no. 8 Aston Martin and Richard Westbrook in the no.22 JRM GT-R) changed all that.
Happily for Nissan, the no.23 GT-R was able to emerge in front of the no.7 Aston in first after a brilliantly fast tyre change/driver change-over.
There was further drama to come the moment the safety car withdrew. The no.7 Aston instantly overtook the JRM, only for Luhr, fresh in behind the wheel, to claim back his lead later on the same lap.
However, that was nothing compared to the huge collision that occurred on the middle of the track a few seconds later, wiping out five middle order cars, including David Brabham’s no.21 Sumo Power GT-R, in one fell swoop, and dropping Enrique Bernoldi’s no.20 GT-R back into ninth.
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The intense action wasn’t finished there however, and in fact continued right up until the final lap, when the no.7 Aston managed to take the lead from the JRM, only for Luhr to wrestle it back with a brilliantly aggressive manoeuvre that actually saw both cars come into contact.
Speaking afterwards, a jubilant Michael Krumm said: ‘That was just amazing! Lucas and I can both be very proud to win the race and with it join the list famous and historic names on the beautiful RAC Tourist Trophy. I felt very jealous last year when Jamie Campbell-Walter won it in the Sumo Power, so it’s a wonderful feeling. The trophy has great significance, and, as such, this is one of the most important victories in my career.’
Round six of the GT1 World Championship, at Navarra, Spain, will take place on the weekend of the July 2-3, 2011.