- #22 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 finishes seventh in class at Silverstone
- Matt Simmons given responsibility to start car amongst huge 51-car field
- AUDIO: Matt Simmons speaks after Silverstone Blancpain GT race https://soundcloud.com/nissan_nismo/matt-simmons-silverstone-update
- IMAGES: Pictures from Silverstone https://www.flickr.com/photos/nismo_aus/albums/72157668147278751
- VIDEO: Full race "as live" on NISMO.tv https://youtu.be/F1YIu3F7oow
SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom – Australian Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Matt Simmons has finished his second-ever international race seventh in class after another encouraging performance at the Silverstone circuit.
Competing in Round 2 of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup in the #22 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, Simmons and his co-drivers Romain Sarazin and Sean Walkinshaw crossed the line 22nd overall and seventh in the Pro/Am class.
It was a promising display after the car had qualified 35th outright and 14th in class.
Simmons, who just seven months ago was a courier van driver for Australia Post, ticked another career box at Silverstone by starting the race amongst the field of 51 exotic GT race cars.
The Queenslander made up a number of places early aboard the GT-R NISMO GT3 and was pleased with his initial performance.
Tyre life became a factor later in his stint but he was able to hand over to his fellow GT Academy winner Sarazin in ninth place in class.
Sarazin"s middle stint put Walkinshaw in a good position to attack in the last third of the race, with Walkinshaw racing up through the field to finish seventh in class.
The sister Nissan GT Academy Team RJN entry of Alex Buncombe, Lucas Ordonez and Mitsunori Takaboshi was forced to retire after only 22 laps after an on-track incident followed by a starter motor issue.
The race was won by Dominik Baumann, Jazeman Jaafar and Maximilian Buhk in their Mercedes AMG GT3.
The next event of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup will be held at Circuit Paul Ricard in France on June 24-25.
POST-RACE QUOTES – SILVERSTONE
Matt Simmons, #22 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 (Nissan GT Academy Team RJN):
"I got the challenge of starting my first ever race, and it"s everything I expected – it"s absolutely intense and my heart was pounding!" said Matt Simmons.
"On the first lap, I made some positions up and I was really excited and happy with what I"d achieved. Throughout the stint, it got tough. The rear tyres were falling away a little bit and I had to manage that the best way I could.
"I was able to bring it into Romain in P9 in class. He did a great job, and ultimately Sean was able to do what he does best and get us up to P7.
"Overall, we"re happy with the progress we"ve made from Monza to here, taking away points and we"ve definitely gone a step further in our career.
"I"m excited to see what we can do at Paul Ricard and I really think we"re just around the corner from a podium finish."
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