- Postie-to-pro racer dream becomes reality for Matt Simmons in debut international race in the opening round of the 2016 Blancpain GT Endurance Cup
- Simmons finishes 12th in Pro-Am class after solid performance in three-hour race at world-famous Monza circuit in Italy
- Simmons' Nissan GT Academy Team RJN team-mates finish fourth overall in the Pro class Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3
- AUDIO: Hear Matt Simmons discuss international racing debut https://soundcloud.com/nissan_nismo/matt-simmons-monza-debut
- VIDEO: Watch NISMO.tv race highlights https://youtu.be/tBdTe_V6u_c
MONZA, Italy – Australian Nissan PlayStation GT Academy graduate Matthew Simmons has completed his maiden international motor race in tact after a hard-fought three hours of competition at the famous Monza circuit in Italy.
Driving the #22 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 along with fellow GT Academy winner Romain Sarazin and Sean Walkinshaw in the opening round of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, Simmons crossed the line in 30th place overall and 12th in the Pro-Am class amongst a massive field of 57 cars in the world's most competitive GT championship.
Simmons jumped aboard the car for the first time in the final hour of the race but was immediately forced to serve a drive-through penalty due to a pit lane speeding infringement from another driver in an earlier stint.
The Queenslander made it up to as high as 29th place before a small visit to the gravel trap with just 12 minutes to go saw him drop to 31st place. Simmons skillfully and calmly returned to the track to be classified 30th overall.
In what was the first round of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, the 'Pro Class' Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 entry of Mitsunori Takaboshi, Alex Buncombe and Lucas Ordonez finished a fine fourth overall.
The race was won by New Zealand V8 Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen alongside his team-mates Come Ledogar and Rob Bell.
The next race for Simmons will be in Round 2 of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, to be held at the Silverstone circuit in England on May 14-15.
MATT SIMMONS, POST-RACE QUOTES:
"When I first got out onto the track, I was pinching myself, thinking that I was actually out there and racing," said Matt Simmons.
"Romain and Sean did a wonderful job and the pace was good. The team had done a wonderful job, but unfortunately, we had to do a drive through penalty for speeding in pit lane.
"I went back out and I was focused again but I went into the first Lesmo, braked and the rears locked up completely and spun me into the gravel. From there, we were very wounded, but my engineers helped me to get back and ultimately achieve the goal of finishing.
"I think our result could have been higher. We had exceptional race pace and we learnt so much that I think we'll take that into the second round at Silverstone and look at getting the best possible result for the team."
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