Nicolas Hammann: Mid-Race Season Update

The following was written by Nicolas Hammann, 2014 United States GT Academy Champion, as he offers an inside look at the Nissan Driver Development Program which he joined after winning this past season of the competition. More to come soon as his racing season gets underway!

You can read more updates from his website, or talk with Nic here in the forums.

My racing season has picked up immensely from last time I updated GT Planet users. I was planned to race at Watkins Glen and I put forth a lot of effort preparing for the event, but then in the last weekend in May I found out I would be back in the Nissan GT-R GT3 again racing overseas with the RJN Motorsports team. I was very excited to get back into the GT-R and hoped for the same success that we were able to push for at Dubai.

I was originally planned to race at Paul Ricard but due to scheduling changes I was rescheduled to race at Moscow Raceway in the Blancpain Sprint Series with Mark Shulzhitskiy. I received a call on June 1st that I would be flying out on June 2nd over to the U.K. to begin my training and get all the proper paperwork for Russia, which was scheduled for July 3rd-4th. I quickly packed all my belongings for the race and around a month stay over in the U.K.

I arrived in the U.K. after flying from Milwaukee to Newark and finally arrived in London. I worked on getting the proper paperwork for visiting Russia and after a few days I had completed everything. The surprises kept coming, I found out I would be testing with the team at Spa-Francorchamps and was ecstatic. I was very excited and quickly began practicing on the simulator at Spa, even though I knew the circuit very well from GT Academy finals last year.  I put over 2,500 miles on last year for the final online qualification round of GT Academy, but I still wanted to be fresh and ready for my first ride in the GT-R since Dubai!  I also received news that I would be attending the 24 Hours of LeMans with Nissan helping do garage tours with the LMP1 car. I left on June 9th and worked with Rob Barff at LeMans. It was cool being able to experience LeMans and I definitely would tell all racing enthusiasts they need to attend the event at least once. I enjoyed seeing the parade through LeMans and showing all the people the NISMO garage and all the effort being put forth by Nissan. Here’s a picture of the final field after all 24 Hours!

I then rode home on Monday, June 15th. I was lucky enough to get to train at Bedford Autodrome with my driving coach. There we did a car control session, a practice session, and a simulated race session running a longer stint. It felt great to be in the car again and get the rust off! I was planned to attend Paul Ricard that weekend and miss my sister’s wedding that Saturday, but GT Academy surprised me and let me fly home. It was great to be home for my sister’s wedding and her face when I surprised her was priceless!

After the wedding I flew back to Brussels for the Spa 24 Hours test. I arrived on Tuesday and got a passenger lap around Spa with a stock GT-R. What an incredible circuit! Eau Rouge is the best corner that I have driven in my entire career. The next day I got two sessions in the car and it felt great to be behind the wheel again! I got familiar with the car and comfortable again in the first session and the second, I was able to push and it definitely helped me prepare for Moscow! It was great because the car I tested with was the same car I would be racing at Moscow. If you visit my website you can watch in-car video of Spa-Francorchamps. We helped load up the truck and then off it went to Moscow as I flew back to London.

Once in London I continued to work out and train for Russia. I trained on the simulator racing one hour long stints, ran, and biked everyday training for the race. That weekend I also got to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Another incredible event! Just to see all the cars and drivers pushing the limits up the hill was incredible. I helped the RJN Motorsports crew and got to see some nice vintage racecars. I also attached pictures on my website. Below is a picture of me at the start line at Goodwood. I am living the dream all thanks to GT Academy and Nissan! I recommend the trip to Goodwood for all car enthusiasts!

I then returned back to Northampton where I was based out of and packed up for my final journey to Moscow. I flew out for Moscow on Wednesday, July 1st, and arrived late Wednesday night into Moscow. We then took a taxi from the airport to the Korston Hotel around 45 minutes from the airport. Logistically this race was very interesting: it was originally proposed to be a street race and all the hotels booked were in the city center, this meant busing to and from the track. Off to bed I went, excited for the Moscow adventure to continue the next day!

The next morning we met up and headed to see all the cars near Red Square. Since the race was now taking place at Moscow Raceway, around two hours from Moscow City Center, they had a visitor day where fans could see the cars up close, meet the drivers, and take pictures. We arrived there around noon. We had some time to view the Red Square and the area around, it was incredible! All the sights and buildings! After that it was tech time for all my gear as well as signing on for the race. I was very excited as this would be my first race in my white suit and all my gear was brand new! I then headed back to the car and did autographs and pictures until around 7pm. It was very cool to see all the enthusiasm from the fans towards Mark, for his home race! Below is a picture of the cars in the city center!

We then loaded up in a bus and headed back to the hotel for dinner. I was getting even more anxious as the real fun would start tomorrow at the track! Everyone on the team woke up and filed onto a bus from the hotel to the track. We arrived at the track around 9am and began setting everything up. Since the cars were in the city center less than twelve hours ago, nothing was setup, so everyone including myself and Mark helped with what we could. At around 10am Mark and I went on the track walk and it was very helpful. Mark gave me loads of information in regards to grip and where the GTR would be the best at. We then finished and began prepping for the first of two practice sessions.

We had six sets of tires to use for the entire weekend and only could bring four sets forward from practice. This meant we had a new set for the each practice. Mark started the car in the first practice session at 3pm and immediately he was back in the pits getting the car tuned correctly for boost. Then after around ten flying laps it was my turn. I was very nervous about hopping in the car again, but glad I was able to turn some laps at Spa-Francorchamps a few days ago.  I felt more comfortable in the car with the test, but still nervous since my last proper race was Dubai in January.

As soon as I was out on track I tried to build up the speed the best I could and get a good time on the chart. I immediately knew the problems we were going to face, rear grip! I ran five laps and came in. I discussed with Geoff, the main engineer, one lap around the track and we made some adjustments and back out I went. This time I focused on just being as smooth as possible and not pushing too hard. The car felt much better and even though we still struggled for rear grip just easing out of the corners helped keep the car stable on exit. I only ran three laps but was still able to run around three tenths faster than my first session. The car had much better rear grip and more body roll. This compromised our front grip in high speed corners however. I then came in, looked at the data from the sessions with Mark. The second practice session was at 5pm.

The team was still working on getting the boost correct on the car so Mark went out first with old tires for around three laps, then came in and got the new set and ran around three laps. He didn’t really like the changes with the car so Geoff went halfway in-between with the setup from the beginning. I then went out for the last ten minutes and worked on the things I learned from reviewing the data with Mark and ran quicker as well. A car ran off the circuit in sector two meaning I had to slow way down to a safe speed for the marshals to retrieve the car. Finally the track went green again and I got three good laps in before the session ended. We were still struggling with rear grip but the other GT-R was also struggling. The GT-R excels at higher speed corners and with Moscow being very tight it was a constant battle for grip. I reviewed data with Mark and I learned again where to gain more time on track. He discussed with me a lot in regards to compromising corners to get the best overall lap and I felt very confident that I could improve in tomorrow’s qualifying session. Below are a few pictures from the day at Moscow Raceway!

Raceday:

We arrived at the track around 8am and qualifying one started at 9am. Mark drove first and did a great job running the best time with the car all weekend long placing us in 9th position. The driver lineup goes that whoever starts qualifying one finishes the qualifying race and starts the main race. This meant that I would start the qualifying race and finish the main race. He then came in and the team saw that oil was dripping from the oil feed to the turbo and developed a plan. Bob decided that I would run only one lap in qualifying two so the team could fix the oil leak. This meant that I would have to go out, hit one decent lap and then come in. I went out with new slicks and a light car and hit my best lap all weekend. I was proud that I was able to be on it from the first lap, but still disappointed in our overall speed with the car. Combining the two qualifying sessions put us 17th in the race. The team continued working on the oil leak and tried patching the fix.

I then got ready for the race and was all strapped in when I found out my radio did not work. I could hear the team but the team couldn’t hear me. We tried getting the radio to work but were unsuccessful. Geoff told me about the smoke and oil and said it was up to me out on track. He said, “If it is still leaking you probably need to come in but if it is just a little smoke it probably will be fine.” This made me even more nervous for the race as I headed around the track to line up for the grid. The lights switched green and I began the pace lap. I didn’t smell any smoke and hoped it would stay the same.

I came off the final corner and the race began. The Mercedes slipped by on the outside as I just tried to stay away from the mess in turn one. I settled in behind the Mercedes and began trying to develop a plan to get by and set my sights on the next car ahead, the other GT-R. One lap in I was still behind the Mercedes and I started to smell a tiny amount of smoke. I didn’t know if I should come in or not so I just settled in and finally around four laps in, the smoke was getting worse and worse so I pulled in. I was very disappointed in the start and where I was running but knew the main objective was the final race and I needed to make sure the car was ready for that. I pulled into the stall and the team began diagnosing the problem. Geoff, the main engineer, later agreed with my decision to pull in and said the oil leak was much worse than before. I was happy I made the right call but disappointed we didn’t get to keep racing. The team began working on the leak and with only an hour and a half until the final race, I didn’t know if the car would be fixed in time. Below is the picture of the oil feed for the turbo that had sprung a crack where I circled the part.

This is where the mechanics, engineers, and everyone on the RJN Motorsports crew get their round of applause. They did a remarkable job in getting the car fixed and ready for the second race. Mark started in the back around 17th place and moved up two positions at the start. He was about to pass the McLaren when the rear tires began to go away. He finished his stint and at around 32 minutes into the race and I was up. I quickly got Mark out and Darren, a technician at RJN, helped strap me in and get me back out on track. I sped off and quickly tried to get up to speed. I immediately pushed hard but tried conserving the rear tires the best I could. A Mercedes passed me in my stint but I just kept running as consistent and quickly as the tires would let me.

I really enjoyed driving the GT-R GT3 and crossed the finish line capping off a disappointing weekend in regards to overall speed with the car but very rewarding weekend in experience gained and seat time with the GT-R. I then went to post race inspection and onto the podium for our third place finish in Pro-Am. Below is a picture of the NISMO GT-R GT3 beauty after the race! I hope to race again soon in the GT-R GT3!

Overall the weekend was a great learning experience and makes a driver truly appreciate solid results and finishes. A lot goes into having a successful weekend and we were just missing a few pieces to the puzzle in Moscow. I really enjoyed working with the entire crew at RJN Motorsports and driving the GT Academy NISMO GT-R GT3 and I hope to redeem myself again in the near future racing overseas again! I want to thank everyone from GT Academy, RJN Motorsports, and Nissan for this great opportunity racing the Nissan GT-R GT3 in Russia and even though it wasn’t a successful weekend, the experience and information I learned will greatly benefit me in the future!

Next stop Lime Rock, in my US debut in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge with Doran Racing in the NISMO370Z. I cannot wait to get behind the wheel again soon and get Moscow behind me!

Please visit www.nicolashammann.com, to view videos and pictures from my entire U.K. and Russia experience. If you have any questions or comments please let me know!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more updates!

See more articles on GT Academy 2014 and Nicolas Hammann.