Sumo Power GT drivers Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter were able to collect the RAC Tourist Trophy they won back in May at the Silverstone round of the FIA GT1 World Championship.
The pair finished third on track at the end of the hour long race, but penalties for the two Aston Martins that finished ahead – a technical infringement for one and a time penalty for the other due to not serving a drive through penalty within three laps – elevated the GT-R drivers to victory.
“I have to thank the team for giving Warren and I the opportunity to win the Tourist Trophy – as well as thank the Royal Automobile Club for putting up this award,” said Campbell-Walter. “We've had a fantastic year and have now been presented with the most famous trophy in motorsport. You couldn't ask for a better way to round off the season.”
It was left to Royal Automobile Club Chairman Sir David Prosser to present the famous trophy at the event in London's Park Lane. The Tourist Trophy was first presented in 1905, making it the longest standing perpetually awarded trophy in motorsport. Among those also present at the event was Sir Stirling Moss, himself a seven time winner of the Trophy.
“To win the Tourist Trophy has always been a real challenge,” Moss commented. “It certainly was in my day and this is what has made it a very important and prestigious award to receive. I therefore congratulate Jamie and Warren and their team on this fantastic achievement.”
Sumo Power GT were the only British based team in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship, and would finish sixth in the teams' championship. Their Tourist Trophy win – coming in just their second event with the Nissan GT-R – made Nissan just the second Japanese manufacturer to win the title.
“When we first heard that the race for the Tourist Trophy was going to be included in the calendar this year, I didn't think that we would actually win it, bearing in mind it was going to be our second ever event,” said James Rumsey, team principal. “Therefore, to be here accepting this prestigious award on behalf of the team and NISMO is a very proud moment and a measure of the effort everyone involved has put into our first ever season.”
