There were podium visits by Ben Hingley, Seb Morris and Dave Krayem at Donington Park over the weekend of Saturday & Sunday. 10/11th September. (Report by Rob & Marion Allender)

Ben powers to pole in the wet Saturday qualifying! (picture by Jacob Ebray)

BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. It was a weekend of contrasts in both weather and fortunes at Donington Park, with heavy rain on Saturday morning, however whilst this proved a hindrance for Seb & Rick, Ben Hingeley rose to the challenge and powered to pole position for the first of the weekends three BRDC F3 races. The rain stopped shortly after lunchtime, and by the time Ben lead the pack around to the grid for the start of the first race, the track was dry! With the championship leader, Brazils Matt Leist and Britains Harry Scott breathing down his neck, Ben was cool, and got an excellent start to lead into Redgate corner! The top 3 began to draw away from the rest! However Ben was mugged on his way through the Melbourne Hairpin, and Leist &Scott made break to demote Ben to 3^rd place. Behind them there was more mayhem, leaving Ben in a safe 3^rd place. Or so it seemed until an accident lead to a safety car period, which closed the cars up in a train! After 2 laps the race re-started, but Ben was able to hold his place from the challenge of the 4th place man, Toby Sowerby, and began to increase it when the race was ended by a Red Flag after only 8 laps, after another accident! Leist was 1^st with Scott 2^nd  Ben taking back to back 3^rd  places following his 3rd place at Snetterton.

Ben displays the spoils of his Donington podium visit to add to his Snetterton haul! (picture by Rob Allender)

After picking up his award, Ben said ‘I’m happy with 3^rd place, I’ll start from 5^th place for the second race, but Leist & Scott will be behind me! I’m confident we can find some more speed overnight!’  Sadly in race 2, clutch problems left Ben trailing at the back, but he looked to have saved the position with some fast laps putting on the front row for race 3. Even worse was to come as Hingleys car was pushed off the grid, and he was unable to start! Afterwards he paid tribute to his team HHC. ‘We showed how fast we were and I think to end the year with a pole was amazing after where we’ve been!! 2016 finished on Sunday but 2017 starts tomorrow!’

http://www.britishf3.com/  http://www.benhingeley.com/  http://www.twitter.com/benhingeley77     www.hhcmotorsport.com

First up on Sunday was the qualifying for the BRSCC Saloon & Sportscar Trophy Dave Krayem lead the way and was 4th fastest in quali and in Race 1. In Race 2 he finished 3rd to get on the podium! Also proving that the Welsh Sports and Saloon Championship is full of really quick drivers, Dave was followed by Ben Scrivens, Keith White and Chris Everill in 4th/5th & 6th places!  Fabio Lufferilli was 8th whilst Tyrone was having a ball in 18th place leaving a large train of cars in his wake. including  Willem Verhaak & Colin Dunn. Everyone seemed to be having a good time!

2016 British GT Championship – Final Round. Ben Hingley’s Saturday Pole & podium success was not going un-noticed in the GT pits, as the crews got ready for their 10 minutes qualifying, on a dry track. As the 2016 title would be decided on the results of Sundays race, and with Seb & Rick in with an outside chance, a good qualifying position, if not pole, would be vital!  The grid for the 2 hour race on Sunday would be decided on the combined times of both of the drivers. So in according with the regulations, Rick, the AM driver, went first, but he could only manage set the 5^th fastest time! Normally it would be then up to Seb to set the faster time, but sadly this time he could do no better than 5^th in his group! The times showed that the Bentley Continental was 0.871 slower than pole and there was some thought that the wet morning sessions had lead the team down a blind alley. With both drivers and Seb in particular reporting a lack of grip from the rear, the Team Parker Racing engineers set to ‘Drill down’ to find the problem!

Pirrelli test ‘The Beasts’ pre-race tyre temps (photo by Rob Allender)

There was some encouragement from Sunday mornings 10 minute warm-up session ‘We should be faster still in the race, we can win from 5^th!’  At the start of the 2 hour race, as the pace-car pulled off, and the pack piled into Redgate for the first time, Rick pulled off a daring move to grab 4^th place! From then on, for the first few laps Rick tried to monster the Lamborghini Hurrican of their closest rivals, Minshaw & Keen. With Phil Keen driving Rick was hoping to tempt him into a mistake. After a quick Safety Car Period, the Lamborghini began to draw away, until suddenly Keen dropped a rear wheel on the still wet grass, while lapping a back-marker and spun off, leaving the Hurrican well and truly beached in the Old Hairpin gravel trap and out of the race! This promoted Rick up to 3^rd place, and raised the intriguing prospect that if Seb & Rick could get themselves further up the order, then the scores might fall their way to push them up to 2^nd in the Championship! Or even a win, if a similar problem affected their other rivals!

Seb leapt into the car at the pit-stop with smile on his face, and although he drove the car as hard as he could, sadly try as he might, he could not quite close the gap enough to mount a real challenge to the 2^nd place car, the Aston Martin of the eventual title winners Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam, although he was only a whisker away at the end!  The McLaren of race winners Alasdair McCaig and Rob Bell, were 10 seconds up the road and well out of reach! At the end of the day 3^rd place on the road equaled 3^rd in championship, which in normal circumstances would be a pleasing result. But 2^nd place remained an agonizingly 4.5 points out of reach!

Looking like they lost £5.00 and found 50p! Seb , his dad and Rick reflect on what might have been. (photo by Rob Allender)

However at times in the season an outright  championship win was not completely out of the question and if truth be told, then the Team-mates and the Team Parker Crew should have carried more points into the final round! Both Rick & Seb made mistakes, and the other teams closed the gap to nullify the Bentleys’ early season pace. Perhaps the most galling incidents occurred to Seb, with the Oulton Park pit-lane incident vying with the Silverstone kerb-hopping incident as the times when Lady Luck deserted him! Indeed it will come as no consolation, but the extra Euro GT4 cars that got in the way at Silverstone, will not be allowed to compete in 2007!   However as a ‘GT3 Rookies’ it has been good year for Seb & Rick with six podiums, four pole positions as well as a win at Oulton Park, with Seb setting a new lap record at Oulton Park!

Seb reflected later, ‘Our driver pairing has been strong, Rick has done a great job, the team has been strong and we’ve all worked together very well indeed. I’m happy with my first season in GT racing, especially after a difficult year in 2015 in GP3, and it’s kind of nice to feel disappointed with third in the championship. The main aim, if we’re back doing this next year, is not to make any silly errors. Rick and I made one each during the year and, ultimately, they cost us the championship win in my view. Third is still great though, I’ll take that!”

Let the Sunoco shine in! (photo by Rob Allender)

In the meantime, Seb still has a chance of winning the Sunoco Whelen Challenge – a contest grading driver performance over a number of categories and carrying a fully-funded prize drive in next year’s Daytona 24 Hour Race. Currently, Seb holds the points lead and he can only be beaten by Marco Cencetti in the Radical Euromasters which has six races remaining in its season.

Seb Morris Management/Commercial Contact: Barry Mears  Tel: +44 (0)7595 956145 Email: barry@fullcontactlaw.co.uk  

Seb Morris Media Contact: Marc Orme Tel: +44 (0)7920 886985 Email: marc@marc-orme.co.uk / marcorme1@aol.com

BRDC British F3 Championship -Snetterton 300 Report

WRDA member Ben Hingeley turns a corner !– After a special BRDC British F3 Championship weekend at Snetterton which saw him take a 4^th place in Race 1 after qualifying 3^rd on Saturday, Ben backed it up on Sunday when he set the fastest lap in race 2 and then finished the weekend with his first podium visit in Brit F3, after finishing 3^rd in the 3^rd race! An understandably delighted Ben confirmed ‘What a day!! Motorsport is full of highs and lows! After an amazing day yesterday, todays first race wasn’t the best start! The car had an oil leak on the formation lap which meant I had to pit! After some top stuff from the HHC crew, especially with Nick Mugglestone even burning his arms, they got me back out and I managed the fastest lap and I could then start 3rd for the final race! I had a near perfect start and although it was a bit close at the finish, it was finally a podium finish!! Thank you everyone so much from everyone at HHC and to my amazing sponsors Thakeham Homes and Sport Wales and lastly my family for the amazing support! I won’t forget this weekend anytime soon!’ Ben is from Abergele and is another single seater prospect from the North Wales triangle, centred on Ruthin, which was the home of the legendary Welsh driver Tom Pryce! There must be something in the water! He is now 11^th in the points standings, only 4 points away from breaking into the top 10!

The final 3 rounds in the 2016 BRDC British F3 Championship are at Donnington Park on  10/11^th September.

ITV4 will show the Snetterton races at 18:15 this Sunday (14 August), before ITV4+1 will broadcast the highlights one hour later at 19:15. BT Sport will also show the highlights programme on Sunday, with BT Sport 3 carrying it at 23:30. Dedicated motorsports channel Motors TV will also broadcast the highlights on Sunday, with the programme starting at 12:10.

http://www.britishf3.com/  http://www.benhingeley.com/  http://www.twitter.com/benhingeley77

Photo by Rob Allender

Snetterton 300 British GT Championship Report- Fighting podium visit saves a tough weekend for Seb n Rick. With the car now sporting sponsorship from Venu, (Pwllhelis’ high class  ~ Restaurant ~ Lounge and Dance Bar) and having scored a succession on Pole Positions in the Team Parker Bentley Continental GTs car, it was a suprise to see Rick & Seb so far down the grid for both the 2 x I hour races at Snetteton last weekend! Rick had the better grid positions, starting race 1 from 5th place on the grid, but Seb was back in 9th place for the start of race 2. He said later ‘, “I don’t know what’s been wrong with the car this weekend but we really struggled to slow the car down anywhere, that’s been having an impact on our straight-line speed.  We knew after practice it wasn’t going to be our best weekend, but Rick and I had our mature heads on and we tried to make  the most of everything’

Rick Parfitt Jnr took the opening stint and he moved up into the top four when two cars tangled at Agostini. Swarming all over the back of the third placed BMW of Lee Mowle, Parfitt Jnr shadowed his rival lap after lap before assuming the lead of the contest at the end of lap 14 when the top three cars pitted to serve their driver-change stops. Rick pitted the next time around to hand the Bentley over to Seb who threaded back into the race in fifth – with the leading car still to pit. When all stops had been served, the MSA Team UK driver held fourth (later to be 3rd after a pit-stop faux-pass by Joe Osborne dropped him back) and he spent the remainder of his stint soaking up immense pressure from the Aston Martin of Jonny Adam. With rarely more than a few tenths of a second between them, Seb didn’t put a wheel wrong and produced an impeccable performance to keep the Aston behind all the way to the chequered flag on lap 32. As a result of a time penalty for the ‘winning’ BMW of Joe Osborne, though, the Bentley was elevated into third place.

“The pressure I was under was probably the most I’ve experienced in any race to be fair – I thought I did well to keep him Adam behind me”, said Seb, “Rick did a great job in his stint, then we had a great pit-stop strategy from the boys, and after that it was a case of me handling the pressure from the Aston – it had at least 30 metres on us in braking, and had us on traction too, but I held him off!”

3rd + 5th = damage limitation. (photo by Jakob Ebrey)

As is normal practice in British GT racing, Seb took the first stint of round eight on Sunday afternoon and by the time the cars headed into the infield section he had already moved up from ninth into seventh place. Determined to break into the top six as quickly as possible, on lap three the Welshman did just that and immediately began to close on the Aston Martin of Jon Barnes.

Lapping within 0.4 seconds of the race leader’s pace at that stage, Seb ran just a few tenths of a second shy of the Aston but remained in sixth to the mandatory driver-change stop. Pitting at the end of lap 17, one of the first GT3 drivers to do so, Seb handed the car over to Parfitt Jnr who joined the race with just under half an hour to go. Holding sixth place initially, an issue for one of the other front-runners elevated the Team Parker car into the top five and despite closing to within just 0.4 seconds of the Aston, now in the hands of Mark Farmer, he had to eventually settle for fifth at the flag on lap 32! The points scored keep the Bentley duo in the hunt for the honours, plus Seb has retained his Sunoco Whelan UK Challenge lead, which carries with it a mega prize of a fully funded drive aboard a Whelen-sponsored prototype in the 2017 Rolex 24 hr race at Daytona! Also Rick Parfitt is also doing well in the Sunoco’s 200 Challenge. The champion of the 200 Challenge will contest the 200-mile Daytona support race held over the same January weekend.

Britishgt.com points standings   http://www.britishgt.com  http://www.britishgt.com/live-timing

http://www.sebmorris.com/ Twitter @SebMorris

Venu are proud to have become one of Seb Morris’s & Rick Parfitt Jnr Principal Partners in their quest to Secure the British GT Championship – Flying the Flag for Wales! Welsh Racing Drivers Association Sport Wales Motor Sports Association (MSA) British GT Championship Team Parker Racing Bentley GT3 BRDC Clubhouse Full Contact Andy Meyrick SaxonAir Charter Ltd

Snetterton 300 Preveiw. Having taking a fighting 2nd place at in the British GT race at Spa last month, the focus now switches to this weekends races at Snetterton, on the Snetterton 300 course. The team and the drivers, are in with a real chance of major Championship honours if they can score well in Norfolk, as only 10.5 points cover BritishGT3’s top three crews with only two race weekends remaining!  Britishgt.com points standings Seb also increased his lead at the head of the Sunoco Whelen Challenge.

Ryan Ratcliffe & Will Moore will be looking to bounce back after an early exit at Spa, when a clash with another car broke their steering rack on their Audi R8!

Ben Hingley, will also be looking to  make more progress in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship

Total 24 hours of Spa Report

Gird line up -(l to r) Tom Onslow-Cole, Callum MacLeod (grid Girl) Ian Loggie, + Andy Meyrick and his fiance Becca

After taking the Pro-AM Class pole in the 2016 Total 24hrs of Spa there was disappointment for the Team Parker Racing  Bentley squad . After a bright start , and in spite of the efforts of Welsh racer Andy Meyrick and his team-mates Tom Onslow-Cole and Callum Macleod  the car lost time & places, until it suffered a race ending accident with the cars’ owner Ian Loggie on board, and the Bentley Continental GT3 Blancpain car arrived  back at the Team Parker pits on the back of a recovery vehicle after running for 8 hours!

Andy was positive as always. ‘We came. We got pole. We led. We showed great pace but sadly we didn’t get the result we deserved. However we will be back, we will learn and we will come back stronger. Incredible team mates in Tom, Callum and Ian. Thanks so much Team Parker. Simply you are the best team in the pit lane

Andy looks forward to the race! ‘Other people are surprised with how Team Parker has progressed, I’m not!’

British GT Championship -Spa Francorchamps race report

 A fighting 2nd place at Spa for the Bentley Continental GT3 pair Seb n Rick puts them back into 3d place in the points standings, only 10.5 points away the points leaders, with only two race weekends remaining!

Rick Parfitt Jnr started the 2 hour race in Team Parker Racing’s  Bentley Continental GT3 from pole position, after Seb had pulled out a stunning qualifying lap to claim the teams 4^th pole of the year.

However on the run down to the La Source hairpin on lap 1 Rick was hit from behind which made him vulnerable to attack,  and he slipped back to third place on a dramatic first lap, but  then stayed there  until lap seven when he was edged back to fourth. During the remainder of his stint Parfitt Jnr maintained his top four spot and he pitted on lap 21, soon after the driver-change pit stop window opened, to hand the Bentley over to Seb.  With the bit between his teeth, Seb soon moved up to 3^rd and then quickly closed  a 12 second gap to the leaders!  After moving up into second position, he was tantalisingly close to another win after a real grandstand finish to the race. – a mere 0.6 second behind the winners Mark Farmer & Jon Barnes driving and Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Seb commented “I was pretty happy with my stint, closing down a 12 second gap to where we were at the finish was good going – and we finished ahead of our main championship rivals which is the most important thing. Overall it’s been a good, trouble-free weekend and hopefully we’ve started the ball rolling again with this result and the championship closing up.”

Only 10.5 points cover BritishGT3‘s top three crews with only two race weekends remaining! (87.5pts still up for grabs) Britishgt.com points standings

Seb also increased his lead at the head of the Sunoco Whelen Challenge.

However bad luck put Ryan Ratcliffe & Will Moore out early on, as an clash with another car in the opening laps, sidelined the  Optimum Racing run Audi R8 with damage to the steering rack! However Ryan & Will hope tp be back at Spa later in July for the 24hr race!

TV Schedule

There is now a four week break from British GT action with the last double-header of the season, rounds seven and eight, taking place at Snetterton.

Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August,  Final Rd9: Donington Park, – 10/11 September

Timing http://www.tsl-timing.com

http://www.sebmorris.com/ Twitter @SebMorris31

www.ryanratcliffe.co.uk @RyanRatcliffe33

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

Spa Qualifying report. Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jnr, driving the Team Parker Racing run Bentley Continental GTS car, claimed their fourth British GT Championship pole position of the season at Spa-Francorchamps ready for Saturdays race after the Spa weather played a hand! Rick who had never driven at Spa before, said he never really found the limit, and didn’t really string toghter a quick lap. ‘Fortunately Seb produced another mega lap and we were a bit lucky with the weather, but we’ll take it!” Seb confirmed ‘No-one seemed to nail their laps first time around, but I managed to improve on the second lap! After that the rain hit, so that was that!  I definitely wasn’t nine tenths quicker on raw pace. Rick’s not been entirely happy with the set-up today so we’ll spend some time tonight looking into it and hopefully find a good compromise. Pro-Am’s all about a happy balance!’ Ryan Ratcliffe and Will Moore maxed out the performance of the Optimum Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 and were an excellent 10^th fastest!  If it rains again, as is likely in the Ardennes , they may be on for some more giant killing, as they did at Silverstone recently! The race is due to start at 12.30 local Belgian time http://www.britishgt.com/live-timing

http://www.sebmorris.com/ Twitter @SebMorris31  www.ryanratcliffe.co.uk @RyanRatcliffe33  Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/

Ben Hingley is also in action and he was 7th in race One  http://www.britishf3.com/live-timing.aspx  http://www.britishf3.com/  https://twitter.com/benhingeley77

Spa preveiw. One of world motor-sport’s greatest tracks, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, is the destination for both Seb Morris (Seb leads the Sunoco Challenge, a ranking system which compares driver performances across a number of categories) & Ryan Ratcliffe for the eagerly awaited sixth round of the British GT Championship season which takes place on Saturday, 9th July.

Good training for Spa! Ryan & Will finished 5th in the rain at Silverstone – (photo by Jacob Ebray)

Five weeks on from Silverstone, the British GT and GT4 European Series grids again join forces for another packed entry at another legendary grand prix venue. The 4.35-mile, 20-turn Ardennes circuit is  noted  as a favourite among drivers and teams but having suffered due to the slower GT4 European cars both Seb & Ryan will both be on their guard. However the notorious Spa weather should not hold too may fears for both Welsh drivers after the atrocious weather at Silverstone. Ryan and his team-mate Will finished in 5th place after a stellar drive in the Optimum Audi R8 Ultra, but Seb tripped over a  kerb trying to avoid a slower GT4 car

Over the course of the first four race meetings of his maiden season in GT racing, Seb Morris has had three podium finishes in the Team Parker Racing run  Bentley Continental GT3 including a magnificent victory during round four at his ‘home’ track, Oulton Park in Cheshire.

Seb confirmed “I’m really looking forward to being back at Spa, it’s such an incredible track and it should suit the Bentley with the long straights and fast corners”, he commented, “We’re all feeling confident of mounting a strong challenge to be back on the podium, after the disappointment of Silverstone we’re focused on nothing less.” Aside from his excellent haul of silverware so far in 2016 in British GT, one of the most eye-catching aspects of the MSA Team UK driver’s season has been his sensational speed in qualifying where he has scorched to three pole position starts. That’s not to say the Welshman’s race pace has been any less spectacular – at Oulton Park, for example, Seb absolutely smashed the International Circuit lap record for a GT3 car by setting a brand new benchmark 0.7 seconds faster than the previous best.

“All of the guys in the team have done an incredible job so far this season, we started the year fantastically with pole at Brands Hatch on my GT debut and with two more poles since then I think we’ve shown what a great package we have”, he added, “In the races we’ve been just as strong, if not more so, and the win at Oulton really was amazing. I’m feeling pretty confident we can move back up the championship table at the weekend and I’m also hoping to keep the lead in the Sunoco Whelen Challenge. I’ve been training harder than ever over the last few weeks to make sure I’m 100% prepared – I can’t wait now to get back on track.”

Opening practice for British GT will take place on Friday, 8th July, at 08.35 (UK time) with the second session following at 11.25 (UK time) ahead of qualifying at 14.45 (UK time). On Saturday, 9th July, the 120-minute sixth round of the season will get underway at 11.35 (UK time).

Wrda members Ryan & Ben star in the wet, but Seb & Rick suffer!

British GT Championship Silverstone race report – On the weekend of the Queens ‘Official’ 90^th birthday, a trip through the Cotswolds to Silverstone included an invitation to lots of village  parties! On a slightly dull but dry Saturday, Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt did their best to keep their party going, and carried on from their recent success, to once again taking pole position for the 3 hour British GT Championship race at Silverstone (their 3rd pole of the year)! With only 1 race start, the grid positions were decided by combining the times of both Am & Pro drivers! With Rick Parfitt jnr setting the fastest time in the first AM session and Seb doing the same in the Pro session, the Team Parker Racing run Bentley Continental GT3 would start on Pole Position! However only .019 of a second separated them from the Lamborghini Hurrican of Liam Griffin & Alec Sims, with the Ferrari 488 of Marco Attard & Adam Carroll and Aston Martin of Johnston & Adams, all within a 10^th of second of Rick & Seb! It was going to be close!

Further down the grid was Ryan Ratcliffe, and his teammate Will Moore, who where getting ready for Qulali and Ryan commented ‘It’ll be easier when it’s only us on the track! With all those extra GT4 cars on the track at the same time it was crazy!’ Ryan and his teammate Will Moore would start from 12^th place.

WRDA member Ben Hingley moving up! photos by Rob Allender

Ben Hingley, It was nice to be able to catch up to Ben, who is one of our younger members! Ben is making his way up from Karts to Cars and was having his first races in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, having done Formula Jedi in 2015. ‘I  haven’t driven anything with as much down-force as this before, so it’s a learning curve.’ There were three F3 races on the weekend for the 2 litre Tatus-Cosworth cars, and  in race 1 Ben fell back from a good grid place to finish 13^th. ‘The clutch started to slip. Ben drove well in race 2 to finish in a good 6^th place, but  Sundays 3^rd race was abandoned due to torrential rain flooding the track !  Twitter @benhingley77

Rick Parfitt Snr looks in on the Team Parker pits. (Photo by Rob Allender)

Sunday Morning GT3 warm up. Overnight the rain clouds rolled in, and the track was damp as the cars started the ten minute session. Seb drove straight back into the pits for a practice driver change with Rick taking over! Sadly Rick trailed back to the pits, with the rear of the car bearing witness to an off track excursion, and a brush with the barriers, on the outside of the Maggotts and Becketts chicane! A crest fallen Rick confirmed ‘I went for the throttle a little early, and it got away from me!’  The good news was the damage was only cosmetic, and at least it wasn’t in the race & the team had 2 and ½ hours to repair the damage! As some light relief, during the lunch break Rick Parfitt dropped into the pits to see how his son, Rick Parfitt Jnr, was doing!

It was as bad as this, as the race starts – photo by Jacob Ebray

 Race – 3 hours – Rolling start

With the race lasting 3 hours, slick pit-stops for fuel, tyres & a driver change would be vital! 3 stops would be needed, with the team adding up to 120 litres of petrol and changing 4 tyres as quickly as they can! Then the rules would keep the car stationery for a full 2 minutes! Further rules on driver changes were that in this race the Pro driver can only drive for 100 minutes, so Rick would need to do 80 minutes, and he would start the race. On the 3^rd pit stop, the car must serve its 20 second success penalty as Seb & Rick won the last race at Oulton Park!  There had been a heavy drizzle since early morning, and with no breeze, Silverstone descended into the kind of gloom normally associated with races at Spa (where the next race is) or the Nürburgring!  With no wind to clear the air, it would take a long time for the track to dry, with the spray generated by the rain tyres, hanging in the air!  Ryan confirmed ‘I don’t mind if it’s dry or wet’ but crucially it seemed that Rick & Seb did not have much experience of driving the Bentley in the wet!

Pace Car Start – Under a gathering gloom, the race started behind the pace-car, which lead the 51 cars around at a snails’ pace! This promoted several teams to ‘roll the dice’ and bring their cars in for a driver change, getting their Pro driver in as early as possible! The Team Parker management had considered the option, but decided to stick with their plan, rather than risk making another extra stop later on! Rick had spun on his way to the grid, but once the race started properly, after 7 minutes behind the pace car, he seemed fine, and although he seemed to slip down the order, at least he was keeping it on the track!

Unfortunately all was not well with Team Parkers 2^nd car, Bentley no. 24, when with the experienced Ian Loggie  on board, the car aquaplaned and hit Hangar Straight’s outside wall head-on, with only 30 minutes of the three-hour race completed!  Ian (who won the AM class in Blancpain last year) dragged the car back to the pits, where the Team Parker mechanics started the long task to get the car back in the race! (Later Team Parker Racing won their second British GT PMW Expo Team of the Weekend Award of the season at Silverstone after completing a comprehensive mid-race rebuild in time for the  Bentley Continental GT3 to return to the fray).

How bad it was is etched on Ricks face, as he does a debrief with Andy Meyrick. (Photo by Rob Allender)

Back in the race, the feedback from Rick indicated a lack of traction, and the word to Seb before the driver change, was to dial in more traction control. As Rick stuck to his task, car after car dropped out, including the championship points leader, and later the second place points scorer! After the driver change, Rick looked washed out, and with his eyes on stalks as he talked to Andy Meyrick about the conditions! ‘It was so wet! I told Seb there are two streams across the track at the far end! There was a lot of aqua-planning, once or twice my heart was really thumping!’ Clearly it was an ordeal in dreadful  conditions!

Seb re-joined in 7th place, with 1 hour and 50 minutes left. with Andys’ wise words in his mind, (There is still a long way to go, a lot of things could happen).  Shortly after that time, the rain/drizzle eased and parts of the circuit began to dry. However with no breeze to clear the spray away, it took a long time to clear in other parts on the track, but a hint of a dryer line was starting to show! So whether it was the partially drying track, a new setting on traction control, Sebs driving, or a combination of all those factors, the Bentley was starting to make progress, as was Ryan, with his less powerful mid-engined Audi clearly being very effective!

After another safety car period, Seb passed one of the Lamborghinis’ for 4^th place, and was soon up to 3^rd place, setting the cars fastest lap of the race, and it seemed that the race set-up of the car was coming good!  However as he closed on to 2^nd place, they zeroed in a group of GT4 cars, who were having their own battle! With 51 starters, dealing with traffic would be crucial, but as Seb approached the Wellington straight, deep in the GT4 traffic, he was unable to prevent the Bentley from jumping the kerbing, as he was lapping the back-markers! On this off-track excursion the car lost a major part of the front splitter, but crucially a drain cover flipped up and cracked the radiator! So it was race over for the Team Parker Bentley, and Seb cruised back to the pits to retire the car. Sebs’ dad Phillip confirmed ‘Its tough! With both the points’ leaders already out, the points were there for the taking!  Perhaps Sebs pace in the car masks the fact that this is his first season in Endurance Racing, and this was his longest and wettest race to date!

Seb said ‘We were in third and right on the tail of 2^nd place, when I caught a wet patch as I was trying to lap a GT4 car. I had a massive tank-slapper, so bailed out of the corner, but it sent me across a little strip of grass and that sent me flying in the air. As soon as the car came back down it was a massive hit and I knew we had big problems, the car was vibrating and the engine temperature went through the roof. In hindsight, I should’ve maybe waited a bit on some moves on the GT4 cars – that’s something I’ve learnt for the longer races in the future”, reflected Seb, “We showed again how quick we are though this weekend, how good the Bentley is, so there are plenty of positives to take away. It was fantastic to get pole again, and more points for the Sunoco Whelen Challenge, and the race wasn’t going too badly! One of the consolations, though, is the first two ahead of us in the championship did not finish either so we’ve got four races left to chase them down. We just need to look ahead to Spa now and see what we can do there.”

Ryan in the rain! photo by Jacob Ebrey

Back in the race, Ryan Ratcliffe was upholding Welsh and WRDA honour, and late in the race, had climbed up into 3^rd place!  However he was muscled down to finish in 5^th place by some of those who rolled the dice at the start of the race! Afterwards he confirmed ‘‘This was the hardest race of my life! However it was a bitter sweet day! I’m absolutely gutted for myself and the team to lose the podium place on the last lap!’ I’m looking forward to Spa!’ On the plus side Ryan, and his teammate Will Moore, were the last finishers on the same lap as the leaders, only 48 seconds behind the eventual winners Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen, and the points have moved Ryan & Will up to 10^th place in the points standings!

Next Round –  Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July

Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August,  Final Rd9: Donington Park, – 10/11 September

Timing http://www.tsl-timing.com

http://www.sebmorris.com/ Twitter @SebMorris31

www.ryanratcliffe.co.uk @RyanRatcliffe33

Sporting Profile   www.brdc.co.uk/Seb-Morris   www.brdc.co.uk/Ryan-Ratcliffe

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

https://www.facebook.com/BritishGT   https://twitter.com/britishgt

Silverstone preveiw  Seb & Rick + Ryan Ratcliffe face 51 strong field (with an extra 17 cars from the GT4 European Series)  & Neil Cuningham Tribute + Points & Pirelli info by Rob Allender

Team Parker Racing team-mates, Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt, are getting ready for the 5^th round of the 2016 British GT Championship at Silverstone on Sunday 12^th June, and they, and the team, will be on an absolute high, after blitzing the field and winning the last race at a hot & sunny Oulton Park, in style in their Bentley Continental GT3 car! Morris even set a new lap record before handing over to Parfitt with a 13 second lead! After the car sat out a 10 second success penalty, Rick was able to press on, and extend the lead back up to 10 seconds when the race ended! This as the cue for some wild celebrations & thunderous cheers when Seb & Rick climbed onto the top step of the podium Winning podium mp3 ! In truth it had been a question of when, not if, the team & drivers would take their first win, as they have been on the pace right from the first race! Only bad luck and circumstances like the pit-lane chaos in race 1 at Oulton have stopped them winning before!

In contrast to the tight confines of Oulton Park, this weekends’ race, the ‘Silverstone 500’ is on the fast sweeping Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, which has world class facilities for the teams, so at least there will be plenty of room for conventional pit-stops!  Conventional wisdom is that the Bentley Continental would struggle at Oulton Park, but some smart setting up by Team Parker Racing, dialed the car in perfectly! The Oulton Park results have put the drivers and the team into 3^rd place in the championship.

The theory is that the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit will suit the horsepower and handling of the Bentley, but that may be balanced by the superior aerodynamics of cars like the Lamborghini & McLaren. Another factor is the success penality, which is a feature of the 2016 British GT Championship regulations, with a time penalty applied to the first 3 finishers in the last race. In this case, as a result of their Oulton Park win, Seb & Rick’s car will need to remain stationery for a further 20 seconds, once their pit-stop has finished, before they can drive away! However this weekends’ race is the longest in the series, being 3 hours long, so the penalty should be less of a factor! With a maximum of 37.5 points being on offer to the victors, this weekends race could be pivotal. N.b there will 51 cars, with the normal gird boosted by 17 extra cars from the GT4 European Series entries (17) which, despite not counting towards the British GT result, will be involved in their own race on track at the same time.  Indeed the only cloud on the horizon may well be a rain cloud as the forecast is that the weather is likely to change, with rain bands moving across the area on Saturday & Sunday

Seb commented  “Silverstone should be a good weekend and the Bentley should be strong there. We’ll obviously have to factor in the success penalty from the win at Oulton, but we’re all feeling confident for the race. Oulton was an amazing weekend, fantastic to get our first win and the first for the Continental in the championship. Hopefully it’s going to be a springboard for the rest of the season, to be so fast at Oulton makes us very positive for how we should go on the big GP track at Silverstone. We have an inherently good car and plan to give it some beans next weekend to keep the momentum going.”

Seb also took the Sunoco award for his efforts at Oulton Park “It really is fantastic to be leading the Sunoco Whelen Challenge”, said Seb, “It’s a very high-profile competition and obviously carries an amazing prize. If we can keep it going who knows – we could be paying a visit to Daytona next year!”

 Hoping for a better race at Silverstone will be Ryan Ratcliffe, originally from Pontradawe, driving the ‘Groundhog’ Audi R8 LMS GT3 car. Ryan and his team-mate Will Moore had some practice problems that compromised their racing, at Outlon Park, but hopefully without such problems, their prospects will be better. Ryan & Will are 13^th in the points standings.

Drivers points http://www.britishgt.com/standings?filter_season_id=1&filter_standing_type=0_1_drivers

Teams http://www.britishgt.com/standings?filter_season_id=1&filter_standing_type=0_1_teams

Neil Cunningham Tribute – The British GT management will use its blue riband event to pay tribute to the late Neil Cunningham this Sunday on what would have been his 54th birthday

www.racing4mnd.org

Neil, who lived with his wife and family in West Cross in Swansea and he spent his final years campaigning to raise awareness of the condition through his Racing4MND charity. British GT will do likewise this weekend by replacing its standard windscreen branding with a large Racing4MND version. The GT3 design features a white background while GT4’s will be black. The prominent branding area will be especially visible this Sunday thanks to Motors TV’s live coverage of all three hours from Silverstone.

Drivers, team personnel and championship organisers will also gather at the front of the pre-race grid for a photo call with a Racing4MND banner. All are invited to wear team shirts, just as guests at Neil’s funeral this Thursday have been asked to. Championship Manager Benjamin Franassovici believes it’s the least British GT could do for such a popular and brave former driver.

“We thought about doing something at Oulton Park but there wasn’t enough time to organise anything suitable that would have done Neil’s life justice,” he said. “In contrast Silverstone is our biggest race of the year, there’s live TV coverage and of course Sunday would have been Neil’s birthday, so it made much more sense to wait and do things properly. Racing4MND is Neil’s legacy so it’s important that we give it as much coverage as possible. It doesn’t get any more high-profile than dedicated windscreen branding across our biggest grid of the year! I’m sure he’d be happy with that.” Donate to Neils Charity here

 BRITISH GT LAP RECORDS: SILVERSTONE GP

GT3: 2m03.599s, Jonny Adam, Beechdean AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, 2015

BRITISH GT SILVERSTONE 500 TIMETABLE

Saturday 11 June
09:30 – 10:30: Free Practice 1 12:10 – 13:00: Free Practice 2
15:40 – 15:50: Qualifying GT3 Am  15:54 – 16:04: Qualifying GT3 ProSunday 12 June

09:35 – 09:45: Warm-up
12:50 – 15:50: Race (Live on Motors TV)

PIT-STOP SUCCESS PENALTIES

GT3  20s – Parfitt Jnr and Morris (#31) 15s – McCaig and Bell (#79) 10s – Minshaw and Keen (#33)

PIRELLi TYRE INFORMATION: SILVERSTONE

Tyre-wise, Silverstone will be the most challenging circuit British GT has visited so far in 2016, but it’s also one Pirelli knows well. The layout gives both high top speeds and high loads through the many fast sweeping corners. Tyre energy input is very high in general, and the surface is abrasive, particularly on the older parts of the circuit. All of these factors, alongside the fact this is the first three-hour race of the season, mean the teams will have to think about their tyre usage strategy in the race.  Indeed, while tyre performance has contributed to GT3 lap records being broken at every track visited so far this season, their durability was also demonstrated at Oulton Park last time out where many teams chose not to change tyres. This might be Pirelli’s first season supplying British GT but a three-hour endurance race at Silverstone is nothing new for the P Zero DHC tyre used in the GT3 category. This product – like the DH tyre for GT4 – has already been proven in GT racing worldwide, including in the Blancpain GT Series which visits Silverstone for a 180-minute endurance race every year.

2016 British GT Championship Rd 3& 4: Oulton Park, 30th May          by Rob & Marion Allender

On a brilliantly sunny May Bank Holiday weekend the British GT Championship held two 1 hour races for rounds 3 & 4  of the championship around the tight confines of a verdant Oulton Park, in leafy Cheshire!

courtesy Jakob Ebrey Photography

Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt totally dominated the Saturday mornings practice sessions in their big, bellowing, brawny, Team Parker Racing run, Bentley Continental GT3 racer.

Before the quick-fire 10 minute Qualifying sessions with just about time for 4 quick laps, Seb was confident they could carry on the good work, ‘You only need one lap to do it, and we’ll be ok, unless someone was been sandbagging!’ In the event Seb was fastest of all the ‘Pro’ drivers and was ably backed up his teammate Rick, who was 3^rd fastest of the ‘Am’ drivers. Following the Monday morning warm up, with no penalty pit stop in prospect, the team were looking good! Andy Meyrick, himself a Bentley pro, was on hand to lend his support to his near neighbour Seb Morris.

Also it was a chance to catch up with Ryan Ratcliffe, originally from Pontradawe, driving a Audi R8 LMS GT3 sponsored by local Swansea firm ‘Groundhog’ . Ryan had to suffer qualifying woes, after his team-mate Will Moore had a puncture, and had to ‘borrow’ Ryan’s set, which compromised both driver’s chances, and meant they would start the race well down. Ryan won the GT4 part of the British GT Championship in 2013, and was optimistic about their changes, even though he felt his car lacked straight-line speed! ‘This is a tight circuit and there could be a big accident! So starting from the back of GT3 cars could be good’. Ryan confessed himself as nervous when Will started, ‘Especially the first lap when anything could happen!’

Down in the Team Parker pit, as demanded by the rules, Parfitt would start race 1 from 3^rd on the grid, with Seb starting race 2 from pole position. Will Moore would start from 7^th place, Ryan would start race 2 in 14^th place.

Race 1 – Oulton Park – Monday 30^th May 2016 – 1 hour race – Rolling start

One of the features of the British GT Championship is the driver changes, but the tight pit-lane at Oulton Park demanded a unique solution, as there was not enough space for cars to line up on the normal sideways fashion. This involved cars being driven half into the pit garage, so that only the doors and rear wheels were in the pit lane, in some sort of crazy herring-bone fashion. Once the driver change had been done, the mechanics then pushed the car back into the pit-lane for the new driver to drive off! This would have a dramatic part to play in the result of the race! Seb Pre-event Oulton interveiw On the morning of the race Seb spoke about driving the Bentley.

In race one the AM (amateur) driver needed to do the first stint, and at the start, Rick got an excellent start and grabbed 2^nd place on the run down to Old Hall Corner! From then on he kept the pressure on the leader, Jon Minshaw in the Lamborghini Hurrican. ‘I knew we had a pit stop advantage over him, so I wasn’t going to do anything risky!’   However, at the pit-stops, is where it all went wrong! Basically at the first available opportunity, just about everyone, piled into the pits to change drivers to get the Pro driver in as quickly as possible! However this caused a scene of utter chaos! With the Bentley pit at the far end of the pit-lane, when the Team Parker mechanics pushed Seb back into the pit-lane, he was unable to drive away as he was blocked in by one of the other cars! With Seb stymied, other cars who had already done their driver changes were able to rush past the stationary Bentley! When eventually he got going. crucially Sebs had lost track position, and once all the pit-stops had been done, he emerged into 8^th place! Seb then got his head down and passed car after car until, after a string of penalties had removed a few cars from his path, he had moved into 4^th place! A podium place might be some compensation and Seb was determined to make it happen, and moved into 3^rd place! Although the top step of the podium might beyond his grasp, 2^nd place was firmly in his sights and he began to reel in the BMW Z4 of Joe Osborne. Eventually locking horns late on, and over a fast & furious closing lap, both Morris and Joe Osborne pushed themselves and the cars to the limit, with Osborne just holding on by just 0.23 of a second!  (The winner was the Lamborghini Hurrican of Irish Drivers Liam Griffin & Adam Carroll)

I almost had him! Seb explains to Rick how close he was to getting 2nd place (photo by Rob Allender)

Afterwards Seb was forthright. ‘Some people need to learn pit-lane etiquette. The 20 or so seconds we lost behind the McLaren in the pits, effectively cost us the race! So to come back and get a podium was great!’

Team-mate, Rick Parfitt said “Being blocked in by the McLaren really cost us the race, which had been going exactly to plan up to that point. Seb drove a blinder after that to at least limit the damage.”

On the podium, the interview commented to Seb ‘Well you’re on pole for race 2 so you can expect a win’ Seb replied ‘Who knows anymore!’

However Seb was quickly able to put the disappointment behind him, to concentrate on the next race, surely a testament to his training on the MSA Team UK programme! (Andy Meyrick was on hand to see the work he and his colleagues have been doing on the MSA programme put into practice)

Race 2 – Oulton Park – Monday 30^th May 2016 – 1 hour race – Rolling start

Andy & Seb share a moment before race 2 – (photo by Rob Allender)

With the car carrying a 5 second success penalty, Seb started the afternoon race from pole position and lead the 27 car grid into Old Hall corner and was never headed! In an omen of things to come, he had more than one second lead after the first lap! Keeping the pressure on, he set a new lap record on lap 5 and simply drove away from everyone. He soon reached and dispatched a set of backmarkers, and then found himself in a position all drivers dream off! With no pressure from behind, and with a clear track in front of him, Seb produced a string of faultless laps, to build a 13.5 second lead before the pit stop!

This time there were no hiccups, and no overcrowding in the pit-lane, and Seb handed over to Rick for his team-mate to bring the car home! Once into the grove, Rick kept the lead to the rest at a handy 10 seconds. Coming into the final 5 minutes, the race suddenly ended under Red Flags after a backmarker had a car damaging crash! This was a cue for some wild celebrations with lots of smiles, back slaps and hugs! Having thanked all the pit-crew, Seb sprinted down to Parc Ferme to join Rick for some personal moments, before making their way to the podium to take the awards! Hear the Winning podium celebrations below!

(left- Yes! Seb enjoys a Top Step moment! (photo by Rob Allender)

With the added distinction of scoring Bentleys first win in the British GT Championship, at the Crewe works’ home circuit, victory’s seldom come sweeter! Indeed it seemed that, with the frustrations of a fruitless year in GP3 now firmly behind him, Seb revelled in the attention with TV crews vying with friends and supporters for photos, and autographs! Team Boss Stuart Parker, said ‘Sebs drive was the best I’ve ever seen in British GT racing, the WRDA ought to give him an award for that!’( Hum! a new award for ‘Drive of the Year, now there’s a thought!)

Sebs father, Phillip Morris thanked us for coming so far; I replied ‘I would have gone a long way to see a Welsh driver put in a stint like that!’ Apart from his winners award, Seb was also awarded ‘The Sunoco Driver of the Weekend’ award for his driving, including setting a new lap record for GT3 cars at Oulton Park! Surely plenty of payback for the support of the Sports Council for Wales’ ‘Elite Cymru’ programme!

Seb confirmed, ‘I pushed really hard, to the absolute limit in fact all the way through the stint. The car was amazingly balanced. The team and Bentley have done such a good job, especially to get the car working well in the traction zones. We’ve had an amazing weekend with this and third place in race one. However, I just want to mention Andrew Palmer. As a fellow Bentley and racing driver, and on behalf of Team Parker Racing, I want him to know we’re all thinking of him after his accident in America on Saturday.”

The points scored at Oulton Park have lifted Seb, Rick and the team up to 3rd in the Championship standings.  http://www.britishgt.com/pointsn.php   2016 British GT Championship Calendar Next Silverstone, Northamptonshire – 11/12 June–              Rd6: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August,   Final Rd9: Donington Park, – 10/11 September

Timing http://www.tsl-timing.com

http://www.sebmorris.com/ @SebMorris31

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

https://www.facebook.com/BritishGT   https://twitter.com/britishgt

Happy Days! Rick leads at Brands Hatch!

Oulton Park preveiw. Oulton Park in Cheshire is the venue for rounds three and four of the 2016 British GT Championship this bank holiday weekend (May 28 and 30) when teams and drivers attempt to tame the notoriously tricky International circuit.  Mirroring the F1 race at Monaco, (and indeed the F2 races of the ‘70s at Thruxton), Free Practice and Qualifying will take place on Saturday, with Sunday as a quiet day, and the racing on Monday

In another departure from normal convention there will be two 60-minute races as opposed to the usual single two-hour format! This will bring a new challenge for teams and drivers, whose Am and Pro qualifying times decide the respective race one and two grids. The shorter hour-long races also give drivers fewer opportunities to establish an advantage or get away with mistakes, while those entries carrying pit-stop success penalties from Rockingham have a second chance to shine in race two.

Meanwhile although Rick and Seb will probably tell you their Bentley is unlikely to suit Oulton’s twists and turns, but that’s also what they said prior to Brands Hatch where the Team Parker Racing-run Continental GT3 subsequently scored a commanding pole position and second place in the race. A scrappy outing at Rockingham means they start Oulton’s opener without a pit-stop handicap, making them likely podium contenders once more!

Seb Morris and team-mate Rick Parfitt Jnr hold 4^th place in both, the outright GT3 standings and the Pro-Am title battle! In the first round at Brands Hatch, after leading the race, from pole position, Rick & Seb suffered a series of unfortunate incidents & penalties, they ended up taking a solid second place, on their debut in the Team Parker Racing run Bentley Continental GT3!

However the team were on the back foot from the start of Free Practice at Rockingham after a big crash by Parfitt on a patch of oil. This meant Seb & Rick missed the qualifying session as the Team Parker crew battle to get the car fit to race. Then apart from starting from the back of the grid, they still managed to battle through a series of further setbacks to a points-scoring top 10 finish! The silver lining after Rockingham is that they start Oulton’s opener without a pit-stop handicap, making them likely podium contenders once more.

Seb said “I’m really looking forward to the weekend, we’ve got a big challenge ahead to try and claw back some points after Rockingham but we’re looking forward and planning on being back where we were at Brands Hatch. “Oulton is quite a tight circuit, so the traffic could be an issue in qualifying but we need to manage that the best we can and make sure we’re starting as close to the front of the grid as possible. I know the Parker guys will give us a great car, though, and we’re 100% going for podiums.” He added: “As long as Rick is in a position to hand the car over to me in one piece I’m confident I’ll be quick and able to challenge strongly. Rick has been quick at Oulton in the past and it’s the place where I took my biggest ever winning margin in a race – I think I won by something like 23 seconds in Ginetta Juniors in 2011. I’ve always enjoyed Oulton, so can’t wait to race there in the Bentley.”

2016 British GT Championship GT3 Driver Standings (after Rd2):
4th Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt Jnr, 28.5pts

2016 British GT Championship Pro-Am GT3 Driver Standings (after Rd2):
4th Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt Jnr, 30pts

2016 British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings (after Rd2):
4th Team Parker Racing, 28.5pts

GT3 LAP RECORDS at OULTON PARK INTERNATIONAL GT3 1m5.549s Adam Carroll Ferrari 458 (2015)

BRITISH GT TIMETABLE: OULTON PARK Saturday 28 May

09:30 – 10:30: Free Practice 1 – 12:35 – 13:25: Free Practice 2

15:50 – 16:00: GT3 Am Qualifying  – 16:04 – 16:14: GT3 Pro Qualifying

Monday 30 May- 08:55 – 09:05: Warm up

11:15 – 12:15: Race 1 15:30 – 16:30: Race 2

PIRELLI TYRE INFORMATION – Jonathan Wells, Pirelli British GT race engineer: “Oulton Park is another typical parkland circuit, with a fast flowing nature that is quite challenging on tyres. There are several high inputs of lateral force as well as heavy braking and traction points. Due to the different race format, some of the teams may opt for a more aggressive strategy in terms of setup, potentially increasing tyre degradation and wear. However, based on the opening races of 2016 we are more than confident that our tyres will offer fantastic performance throughout the weekend whatever the circumstances.”

Contributors Tom Hornsby – tom@sro.co.uk
Marc Orme  Email: marc@marc-orme.co.uk / marcorme1@aol.com

Live Timing http://www.tsl-timing.com/event/161705

http://www.sebmorris.com/ @SebMorris31

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

https://www.facebook.com/BritishGT   https://twitter.com/britishgt

https://www.youtube.com/user/BritishGT

2016 British GT Championship Calendar

Rds3/4: Oulton Park, Cheshire – 28/29/30 May
Rd5: Silverstone, Northamptonshire – 11/12 June
Rd6: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July
Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August
Rd9: Donington Park, Leicestershire – 10/11 September

2016 British GT Championship Rd2: Rockingham, 1st May 

Seb Morris, Rick Parfitt and Team Parker Racing found themselves on the back foot at Rockingham after they were unable to set a time in Qualifing after Rick suffered a heavy crash in Saturdays untimed morning session after hitting a patch of oil. The Team Parker crew have repaired the car but it will mean that Rick & Seb will start the 2 hour race from the very back! However the team received a boost when Rick & Seb set the 5th fastest time in Sunday mornings warm-up! However the Bentley Continental duo forced to settle for top 10 despite winning pace! The race was a hugely frustrating affair for Seb Morris on Sunday, 1st May, when the MSA Team UK driver and team-mate Rick Parfitt Jnr had to settle for a top 10 finish after a weekend which threw all manner of problems at the Team Parker Racing entry.

“It was a disappointing race, but it all started with the big shunt in first practice”, said Seb, “The guys at Team Parker did a great job to put the car back together and give us a car for raceday, but it obviously compromised what we might have been able to do and we both made some mistakes in the race.

“Unfortunately Rick had a penalty and then I picked one up when a GT4 car braked to let me by at the Safety Car re-start late in the race. It was a disastrous race to be honest, but we still showed what the car was capable of, even after such a big hit on Saturday, and at least we got into the points.”

Results on  http://www.tsl-timing.com/

Seb Morris, Rick Parfitt  and Team Parker Racing are carrying justifiable confidence into the second round of the British GT Championship season, which takes place at Rockingham in Northamptonshire on Sunday, 1st May, after a headline-grabbing performance endurance racing bow eight days ago.

Making a dream start to his maiden campaign in British GT at Brands Hatch, Seb and team-mate Rick Parfitt Jnr dominated qualifying and secured an excellent second place finish in the race, Seb now has his sights set on more of the same a few days from now. In sparkling form from the outset, the MSA Team UK driver was ultra-quick at the wheel of his Bentley Continental GT3 and certainly announced his arrival in the world of GT racing in perfect style with a faultless performance throughout the opening weekend.  “We were at a bit of a disadvantage at Brands and still had a fantastic weekend, so that gives us a lot of confidence for Rockingham”, said the rapid Welsh racer, “I know the track like the back of my hand, and I’ve had some great results and races there, and Rick obviously knows Rockingham well too.

“I’m really looking forward to it, hopefully we’ll have a car that can challenge for the sharp end of the grid again and the podium. Everyone worked so hard during the pre-season to get the car as competitive as possible, the Team Parker guys have done an amazing job and it’s up to Rick and I to make the most of what we have and keep driving things forward. It’s been a fantastic start.”

In truth, the team-mates only just missed out on challenging for victory at Brands Hatch due to a combination of outside factors – a lengthy ‘Full Course Yellow’ cautionary period, during which a healthy lead was eradicated, and the loss of half a minute during the pit stops when a GT4 Class car blocked the Team Parker Racing grid box.

Second place, though, was a superb result for Seb’s debut and also gave the former single-seater racer the lead in the Sunoco Whelen Challenge – a contest which compares and assesses the performance of drivers across a number of different racing disciplines.

The eventual winner of this year’s Sunoco Challenge will be rewarded with a fully funded drive in the 2017 Daytona 24 Hours in the USA. Heading into his second race meeting of the season, Seb holds an impressive 30-point advantage in the Sunoco battle!

The schedule for the coming weekend’s visit to Rockingham is that, following two free practice sessions on Saturday, 30th April, qualifying is scheduled to get underway at 15.35. On Sunday, 1st May, morning warm-up commences at 09.25 with the race provisionally scheduled for a 13.00 start

Live Timing http://www.tsl-timing.com/event/161705

http://www.sebmorris.com/ @SebMorris31

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

https://www.facebook.com/BritishGT   https://twitter.com/britishgt

https://www.youtube.com/user/BritishGT

2016 British GT Championship Calendar

Rd2: Rockingham, Northamptonshire – 30 April/1 May
Rds3/4: Oulton Park, Cheshire – 28/29/30 May
Rd5: Silverstone, Northamptonshire – 11/12 June
Rd6: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July
Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August
Rd9: Donington Park, Leicestershire – 10/11 September

The Bentley GT3 blasts up Paddock Hill!

The Race – Brands Hatch – From Pole to Podium!  (Set the V+ or Sky box to record – Seb Morris – Welshman on pole + 2nd place podium finish in Brit GT & Brands on TV this weekend!) British GT Championship debutant Seb Morris secured a richly deserved podium finish on his first ever outing in endurance competition at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, 17th April, during an incident-packed opening round of the 2016 season at the Kent track. Making a sizeable impact from the outset along with team-mate Rick Parfitt Jnr, the duo steered their No.31 Bentley Continental GT3 to a famous – and very dominant – pole position in qualifying! And then ended the shortened race in  2^nd place, having led the opening half of the race!  This got the year off to a fantastic start.  “It would have been nice to win but I’m not disappointed to be honest”,  Seb, “If someone had said before the season we’d have taken pole and had a podium on the first weekend, I would’ve taken that.   “I’m very impressed with the team, the guys at Parker have done a fantastic job, and the way they work with Bentley is so professional – the will to win is amazing. I’m really pleased to have my first podium in over a year, it’s nice to go home with some silverware again!”

Rick & Seb celebrate their pole position!

Getting the Team Parker Racing-run Bentley in perfect shape for qualifying and the big race during two trouble-free practice sessions, the team-mates headed into the grid-determining session in confident mood and Parfitt Jnr set the squad’s stall out nicely with the fastest time in the ‘amateur’ session – a lap of 1m25.509 seconds (102.44mph). In the subsequent ‘Pro’ session Seb took over the car and punched in the quickest time of all on his first true flying lap, 1m22.907 seconds (105.65mph), when the Pirelli tyres were at their optimum to ensure the perfect beginning to his British GT campaign.

Parfitt Jnr took the opening stint of the scheduled two-hour race on Sunday afternoon and led away well from the rolling start. Gradually increasing his advantage over the first few laps, by lap 15 he was some 14 seconds to the good – but his lead was decimated 10 laps later when a ‘full course yellow’ cautionary period was put in place following a major collision at Pilgrim’s Drop.

Due to significant barrier damage, the race remained under caution for a long time and was still under yellow flag conditions when the pit window opened. Parfitt Jnr pitted at the first opportunity to allow Seb to take over but they lost 30 seconds in the stop when an errant GT4 Class car blocked the Parker garage. Ultimately, Seb joined the race in fourth position.

Racing eventually got back underway with just under 45 minutes remaining on the clock and the MSA Team UK driver instantly set about reeling in Fabio Babini’s Lamborghini Huracan. In double-quick time, Seb caught and passed Babini for third and then set about closing down the five second deficit to Joe Osborne’s BMW Z4.

With less than 25 minutes to run, Seb had eaten-up his rival’s advantage and was in a position to challenge for second place. Frustratingly, though, the race was then red flagged following another incident and a result then declared from the end of lap 50.

Post-race, though, a penalty for the BMW – linked to yellow flag overtaking infringements – elevated the No.31 Bentley into the runner-up spot. In addition to a podium on his GT debut, and also in Bentley’s first race back in British GT, Seb posted the third fastest lap of 1m25.271 seconds.

“It’s frustrating what happened with the full course yellow, we reduced our pace as we should but that meant Rick lost his big lead – it’s such a shame for him as he did a fantastic job to build such an advantage”, reflected Seb, “Overall, though, we have to be pleased with what we did this weekend and we’re feeling very confident now for the next round.”

Rockingham in Northamptonshire will host the second round of the British GT Championship season, another two-hour race, on Sunday, 1st May.

Live Timing http://www.tsl-timing.com/event/161705

http://www.sebmorris.com/ @SebMorris31

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

https://www.facebook.com/BritishGT   https://twitter.com/britishgt

https://www.youtube.com/user/BritishGT

2016 British GT Championship Calendar

Rd1: Brands Hatch, Kent – 16/17 April
Rd2: Rockingham, Northamptonshire – 30 April/1 May
Rds3/4: Oulton Park, Cheshire – 28/29/30 May
Rd5: Silverstone, Northamptonshire – 11/12 June
Rd6: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July
Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August
Rd9: Donington Park, Leicestershire – 10/11 September

Preview – WRDA member Seb Morris will embark on the start of an exciting new chapter in his  motorsport career this coming weekend, 16th/17th April, when he lines up on the grid for the 2 hour raceon the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the opening round of the 2016 British GT Championship. (watch out for it on BT Sport 2 and Channel 4). Making the switch from single-seaters to closed-wheel, endurance-based GT racing this year, the 20-year-old from Marford will compete as the ‘Pro’ driver at the wheel of Team Parker Racing’s glorious No.31 Bentley Continental GT3 in the Pro-Am class of British GT. His team mate will be  ‘amateur’ driver Rick Parfitt Jnr, the 2013 British GT4 Champion.  Seb, the 2011 WRDA Welsh Young Driver of the year, who started out in the Ginetta Junior championship, is relishing the change of disciplines back to tin-tops, after  a stellar career in single-seaters; where he has been a champion in Formula Renault, Vice-Champion in BRDC Formula 4 and a points-scorer in FIA Formula One World Championship support category GP3. “At the end of the day, we’re racing a Bentley so we know the car is going to be fast!”, said the MSA Team UK driver, “We’ll go to Brands, work on the pit-stop procedure and do all of the small print stuff which is going to be new to me. Obviously it’s Parker’s first year with the Bentley and my debut season in GT but the cream will rise to the top and I’m confident we’ll get there this season.”

During the sole officially timed test of the pre-season at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk last month during the championship’s annual ‘Media Day’, Seb and team-mate Parfitt were 7th fastest on combined times.   Importantly, Team Parker Racing’s preparations  for the new British GT season have gone fully to plan and Seb has been training as hard as possible for his first ever endurance contest. Next Sunday’s race on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix track will be the longest of his career to date, with roughly an hour behind the wheel during the 120-minute contest.

Although having raced in Europe for the last couple of years, Seb is more than familiar with the Kent venue from his time in UK single-seater racing and also the Ginetta Junior Championship where he began his career with two championship titles.

“Testing has gone very smoothly”, added Seb, “I’ve been happy with my performance and think I’m in the ballpark of the Pro racers, & Rick has got his lap times down to a good ‘amateur’ pace. We have been running the full weight on the car so we’ve been able to compare with last year’s British GT and Blancpain Endurance Cup times to get an idea of where we might be. (Seb was able to get further insight on the Bentley from his friend and mentor Andy Meyrick, who stared in the Blancpain Endurance Cup in 2014 & 2015)

“Everyone at Team Parker is doing a brilliant job, plus we’ve had Bentley engineers on hand too, so everything has gone as well as it could. This is going to be a much more enjoyable form of racing than the last year or so has been for me, when you’re behind someone you’re going to be able to actually race them. I’m really looking forward to having some proper battles again!”

Following two practice sessions on Saturday, 16th April, qualifying for the opening round of the British GT Championship season will get underway at 16.45 with the ‘Am’ session, followed immediately by the ‘Pro’ session. On Sunday, 17th April, there will be a brief 10-minute morning warm-up with the two-hour opening race of the 2016 campaign beginning at 13.30.

http://www.sebmorris.com/ @SebMorris31

Brit GT Home page http://www.britishgt.com/  Brit GT Info http://www.britishgt.com/info.php

https://www.facebook.com/BritishGT   https://twitter.com/britishgt

https://www.youtube.com/user/BritishGT

2016 British GT Championship Calendar

Rd2: Rockingham, Northamptonshire – 30 April/1 May
Rds3/4: Oulton Park, Cheshire – 28/29/30 May
Rd5: Silverstone, Northamptonshire – 11/12 June
Rd6: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July
Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August
Rd9: Donington Park, Leicestershire – 10/11 September

Seb at speed in testing in Portugal

Photos courtesy Jakob Ebrey Photography

Seb Morris Management/Commercial Contact:

Leyla Sadr Client Manager – Full Contact

Tel: +44 (0)7581 429744

Parry scorches to first GP3 win in Race 1 at the Hungaroring! 

The 2nd Generation Car – GP3/16  Series – Design criteria

WRDA member Matthew Parry (the 2013 WRDA Young Driver of the Year) posted the quickest time this morning on a wet track at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on the second day of pre-season testing, and followed that up with 3rd in the dry afternoon session. Matt’s best morning lap was 0.064’s faster than ART Grand Prix’s Nirei Fukuzumi. Ferrari Driver Academy and fellow ART GP debutant Charles Leclerc clocked the fastest time in the afternoon session.

Heavy rain had fallen just prior to the session so the 24 drivers were greeted with a wet track and much cooler temperatures at the start of day two. Conditions were fairly tricky at the beginning of the test due to the volume of spray as the grid ventured out on track with their wet Pirelli tyres.

Fukuzumi was the initial pace-setter before Campos Racing’s Steijn Schothorst took control of the timesheet after one hour and thirty minutes as blue skies and sunshine made a welcome appearance. Trident’s Giuliano Alesi went P1 as he was first to dip under the 1m30s bracket.

The lap-times continued to come down in the latter part of the session as the track dried with Parry recording a time of 1:23.549 on slick tyres. Russian Matevos Isaakyan broke into the 1m22s barrier, which was subsequently followed by a short red flag period after his teammate Ralph Boschung stopped on track.

Once the session resumed, positions swapped every few minutes with Trident’s Antonio Fuoco and ART Grand Prix’s Charles Leclerc first to lap in the 1m21s. Parry found some extra pace to go top before Leclerc retaliated and bettered the Brit’s time by two tenths. In the final ten minutes, Fukuzumi demoted teammate Leclerc to second by a mere 0.004s but the action wasn’t over as Parry returned to the top of the timings by 0.064s.

At the chequered flag Parry, Fukuzumi, Leclerc, Alexander Albon, Artur Janosz, Nyck de Vries, Oscar Tunjo, Antonio Fuoco, Alex Palou and Jake Hughes completed the top ten.

Following the one hour lunch break, Fukuzumi led the way early on before Parry again found some extra pace to leapfrog the Japanese rookie by three tenths. Leclerc lapped a tenth quicker to grab P1, whilst Hughes rose to second in the final half hour. At the close of the afternoon session Leclerc remained unchallenged in front of Hughes, Parry, Santino Ferrucci, Boschung, Kevin Jörg, Fukuzumi, Alexander Albon, Jake Dennis and Konstantin Tereshchenko.

The third and final pre-season test will held at the Circuit de Catalunya on April 20-21 in Barcelona.

Day Two – morning session

Jann in Japan #1

Jann Mardenborough got to meet his new team, with teammate Kazuki Hoshino and team boss Masahiro Hasemiin in Yokohama on Sunday. Jann will be driving in the Japanese GT and also the Japan F3 championship in 2016!

Seb ready to go

Seb Morris switches to British GT with Bentley GT3  & Team Parker by Rob Allender. Wrda member Seb Morris is the latest Welsh driver to join Team Parker Racing to help then continue their stream of success and commented “I really am so excited to be making the move into GT racing this year, it is an absolutely fantastic development for my career to be joining Team Parker Racing in the team’s first year working with Bentley. Hopefully this will prove to be the start of a very fruitful GT career. I’m elated to be associated with the famous ‘Bentley Boys’. Whatever we did this year, I wanted to be in the best possible car to get back to winning ways and I’ll definitely have that in British GT. Bentley obviously want to win, Parker want to win, and have a track record of success in GT3 and I really want to win again – this is the perfect deal. Everyone is really energised and excited by this and I have a very good feeling about the partnership going forward. Bentley, of course, needs no introduction. One of Britain’s most prestigious and storied automotive brands, the Crewe-based manufacturer has won the Le Mans 24 Hours no fewer than six times and returns to British GT this year for the first time since the debut of the Continental race car in 2014.

Julian (Jules) Westwood, race and Class winner in 2015 with Team Parker. (photo by Rob Allender)

Seb Morris 2011 WRDA Welsh Young Driver of the Year (photo by Rob Allender)

Team Parker Racing, need no introduction to WRDA members, having run Andrew Meyrick in the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup and then engineered Jules Westwood win Class AM in the 2015 Blancpain Enduro series! Westwood is a very experienced part of the Parker team, which is headed by ex-racer Stuart Parker, and commenting on the new partnership, Parker said: “We’ve watched Seb all the way from winning his first championships in Ginetta Junior through to GP3 last year and he’s exactly the kind of driver we want in our British GT team. He’s young, fast and wants to make a career in GT Racing. The way I see it is, on GT grids you’ve got 13 manufacturers out there and if most run a couple of cars you’ve obviously got a much better chance of establishing a career as a paid, professional driver than you have in single-seaters. It’s great to be working with Seb and a real honour for all of us to be representing Bentley and showcasing the best of British.”

“Joining Team Parker and Bentley wasn’t a hard decision to make at all”, said Seb, who is also part of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy racer, “Stuart’s team has won in everything they’ve done and I’m immensely excited and proud to be associated with a manufacturer like Bentley. There is so much heritage there – it’s going to be a great year.”  Seb’s team-mate for his maiden season in the British GT Championship – which begins at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent over the weekend 16th/17th April – will be Rick Parfitt Jnr, the 2013 GT4 Champion and son of Status Quo legend Rick Parfitt OBE.

Provisional 2016 British GT Championship Calendar

Rd1: Brands Hatch, Kent – 16/17 April
Rd2: Rockingham, Northamptonshire – 30 April/1 May
Rds3/4: Oulton Park, Cheshire – 28/29/30 May
Rd5: Silverstone, Northamptonshire – 11/12 June
Rd6: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 8/9 July
Rds7/8: Snetterton, Norfolk – 6/7 August
Rd9: Donington Park, Leicestershire – 10/11 September