Report by Rob & Marion Allender -Paddock Photos by Rob Allender – Action Photos courtsey of British GT
Welsh Bentley drivers Ryan Ratcliffe from Llanelli, teamed with Glen Geddie, and Seb Morris from Wrexham, teamed with Rick Parfitt Jnr, were at Donington Park on Saturday & Sunday 22/23 June for the 6th Round of the 2019 British GT Championship! The Donington Park track with 2 hairpin bends, is traditionally not a happy place for the Bentley Continental GT3 car, and so it proved but following some hard driving from both pairs of drivers, they salvaged as much as they could.
In the qualifying sessions, there was a surprise as the Silverstone race winners, Ian Loggie and Callum Macleod, would start as the last GT3 car, after MacLeod spun into the gravel trap at the Esses on his very first lap!
Although both Seb and Rick set some good laps early in the session, but at the end of Qualifying their combined times were only good enough for 10th fastest time. However, JRM team Engineer Julian Westwood summed up ‘Although the lads are pretty gloomy, I think we are not too bad’ Actually he had a point as the next 6 cars were less than 1 second quicker than Morris & Parfitt Jnr, including the current Points leaders! The Pole Position car, the Aston Martin of Davidson & Adam was only 1.5 seconds faster!
Ryan Ratcliffe/Glen Geddie, would start 13th out of 15 GT3 cars! Glen was concerned with the balance of the car under braking and Ryan confirmed ‘We’ve been chasing our tails since the 1st free practice’ The Team Parker Racing engineers had some ideas that might cure the problem.
In between sessions there was some new equipment to ‘scrub’ the tyres to remove the ‘pick up’.
Before the serious business of the day, the drivers had time to meet the fans, and there was time for some lighter moments.
Racing is of course, different than qualifying, with a full fuel load, backmarkers, pit-stops, not to mention the slower GT4 cars that were all in the mix, making a massive 40 cars on the track! (Actually 35 cars finished and there were no safety car incidents)
In the usual fashion Rick & Glen would do the first hour of the 2 hour race, and as the race started both sets of drivers made quick starts! Rick eventually made his way up to 6th place before handing over to Morris. In contrast while Glen, who is from Aberdeen, also made a quick start, but he was involved in an incident with Ian Loggie, which delayed him. Loggie was handed a ‘Drive through’ penalty. Later however, Glen was judged to have ‘Exceeded track limits’ by inadvertently running over a kerb, and he too was handed a ‘Drive through’ penalty!By the time of the pit-stops he was able to hand over to Ryan Ratcliffe with the car in 10th place. However in all the pit-stops, a drama unfolded, as their main rivals in the Silver Class, the Class leaders Ollie Wilkinson & Bradley Ellis, were eliminated, when their car caught fire as it left its pits-box! With their main rivals now eliminated, all Ratcliffe had to do was to bring the car home, which he duly did, bringing the car home safely in 11th place, and the Scottish/Welsh duo are now only 5.5 points away from the Class Leaders! Ryan confirmed ‘I’ve got with mixed feelings about this weekend! Keeping my sights on Spa!
This fire drama also affected the hand-over between Rick Parfitt Jnr and Seb Morris! Morris was due to leave the pits as the Wilkinson & Ellis Aston Martin passed by, streaming a cloud of smoke, pursued by 2 team mechanics in ‘hot’ pursuit carrying an extinguisher! Morris was held, whilst the mechanics passed the JRM pits, and was then able to drive away, followed by the Fire Tender! Bizarrely, both of them going at the 30 mph pit-lane speed limit! Fortunately the prospect of a dangerous fire in a pit-lane full of highly inflammable petrol was avoided!
Morris joined the track now in 7th place but with two GT3 cars yet to stop. Once the pit-stops had ended, Morris was fifth, but he had Phil Keen’s Lamborghini Huracan Evo 3, right behind and pressuring him heavily! Seb resisted for several laps, despite giving away significant straight-line speed to the Lamborghini but Morris was eventually passed by Keen, and he then fell into the clutches of the next sports-car challenger. Driving inch-perfect lines, and trying to make the Bentley as wide as possible, Morris continued in sixth but with 20 minutes to go he was edged back to seventh position by the Aston Martin to finish in 7th place, but finished earning, themselves and the team another 9 points!
Even though he was the first *Saloon car, and the best Bentley, that was no solace at all to the Wrexham based charger,whose perspiring and exhausted appearance paid testament to the effort he had put in! ‘I tried my best, but in end that’s all we could do!’ However the points scored, put Rick & Seb only 4 points behind 4th and 3rd is still possible! Meanwhile Glen & Ryan, the Scottish/Welsh duo are now only 5.5 points away from the Silver Class Leaders! The next round in the 2019 British GT Championship is at Spa-Francorchamps, the classic Belgian track, that may be more likely to suit the Bentley.
*The Donington Park GT race was won by Graham Davidson and Jonny Adam driving one of two of the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage sports cars , followed closely by the rapid McLaren of Balfe and Bell, and then three Lamborghini Huracan Evo 3’s and second new Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Donington Preview- Rob & Marion Allender. Images courtesy Ben Green/IHI Photo and British GT championship
Welsh drivers Ryan Ratcliffe, (teamed with Glen Geddie), and Seb Morris, (teamed with Rick Parfitt Jnr), are gearing up for the 6th Round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park on Sunday 23rd June!
The Donington Park track with 2 hairpin bends, was traditionally not a happy place for the original Bentley Continental GT3 car. However the new generation Bentley seems to be better at handling this type of track, as Ratcliffe and Morris were nose to tail, disputing 2nd place at Snetterton, which also has 2 hairpins!
Silverstone Joy & Woe However at Silverstone in mixed weather conditions, both cars qualified poorly, Morris/Parfitt started in 11th place and Ryan Ratcliffe/Glen Geddie, the last GT3 car in 13th place! However in the race itself both Bentleys began to climb the order, and with the cars well set, Ryan& Glen had penalty for ‘exceeding the track limits’ and Rick Parfitt Jnr had a ‘drive-through’ penalty for a pit-stop infringement, bizarrely for going too slow! This put the cars back down the order but stirring drives by both teams meant that Ryan & Glengettie pulled up to finish 7th overall, and 2nd in the Silver class, and are now only 20 points from the Class leaders Ollie Wilkinson & Bradley Ellis.
Meanwhile Seb Morris was really flying, setting the fastest lap of the race and was up to 3rd place overall and had the 2nd place car under pressure! However they were denied their just reward after JRM teams run Bentley car was disqualified from the results, as it was judged at post -race scrutineering to be underweight without fuel on-board. The team immediately appealed against the decision, but then withdrew the appeal! . Having risen from an 11th place start and over-come a penalty to finished 3rd ‘On the Road’ Morris commented: “We’re all unbelievably disappointed. In terms of the race performance, I was very happy with my pace and to come through from a tough qualifying and a mid-race penalty to take third was a fantastic effort!”
The race was run by Morris and Parfitts former team-mates. Ian Loggie and Callum McLeod driving a Mercedes.
The results now leave Seb & Rick 6th in the overall and 3rd place in the championship is a possibility.
Now the scene switches to Donington Park this weekend, which is a track with happy memories for Seb & Rick, following their Championship win there 2 years ago!
Ryan & Seb star in Race 1 but it was points rather than podiums for both teams in race 2 at Snetterton. (by Rob Allender) (Photos courtsey of britishgt.com)
Bentley boys Ryan Ratcliffe from Llanelli and his teammate Glynn Geddie (Silver Class) and Seb Morris (Wrexham) & Rick Parfitt Jnr (Pro-Am class) were the stars of the first 1 hour race on the Snetterton 300 circuit. Traditionally the Norfolk circuit did not suit the original Bentley Continental GT3 car, but the New Generation car was a revelation! Glynn Geddie qualified 4th in the first session; but Rick Parfitt Jnr was down in 10th. Rhyming Rick, summed it up ‘I missed a gear, which cost me dear!’
At the start Geddie moved up into 3rd place, and took the lead when the first 2 cars touched at the first major corner, and he gleefully swept by! Geddie drew away and had a 6 second lead when he made the pit stop to hand over Ryan Ratcliffe! Meanwhile Rick Parfitt Jnr had made it up to 5th place before handing over to Seb Morris!
Ryan Ratcliffe holds 2nd place at Snetterton, as Seb Morris hoves into view
As the race settled down after the stops, Ryan was in 4th place and Seb Morris was 7th. However there was once again a battle for the lead, but it fell Ratclifes’ & Sebs way, as first the leading BMW slowed and then the second car had to pull in for a Stop & Go penalty for a pit lane infringement! This left the Lamborghini of Phil Keen in the race lead, and Ratcliffe in 2nd place, and also in the Silver Class lead! Meanwhile Morris had passed Rob Bells Mclaren, and then applied maximum pressure on John Adam in an Aston Martin who was in 3rd place! However Adam had his eyes on Ratcliffe, and when Adam tried to overtake the Llanelli lads’ Bentley, Morris saw his chance and out-jockeyed Adam to claim 3rd place, going on the final lap!
This was all stirring stuff, however on the very last lap, virtually in sight of the finish line, it all went wrong for Morris and the JMR Bentley! Going into the ‘Bomb Hole’ corner a GT 4 car got in the way, and whilst Ratcliffe was able to pass, the GT4 car slammed on the brakes which put Seb Morris car into a concertina. After a heavy contact from behind, his
Ryan & Glen pick up their trophies
engine lost power and Adam and Jonny Cocker (Lamborghini Hurrican) swept by, leaving Morris to trail into 5th place. So whilst an ecstatic Ratcliffe and his teammate Glynn Geddie got to spray the champagne, with the Team Parker Racing team. ‘This is what it’s all about!
Morris could only ponder on what might have been! “We really deserved a podium from race one, it was a tough battle with Jonny Adam but we both raced hard and fairtic Ratcliffe and his teammate Glynn Geddie got to spray the champagne, with the Team Parker Racing team. ‘This is what it’s all about!
Morris could only ponder on what might have been! “We really deserved a podium from race one, it was a tough battle with Jonny Adam but we both raced hard and fairMorris could only ponder on what might have been! “We really deserved a podium from race one, it was a tough battle with Jonny Adam but we both raced hard and fair”, reflected Morris, “Third was in the bag but out of the Bomb Hole on the last lap, Ryan went off and then came back on, which made a GT4 car slam on the brakes. I had to come to a standstill and a car smashed into the back of me, the contact was so heavy it ripped away the intercooler pipe and that’s why I had no power at all coming out of the chicane. It’s a shame to miss the podium as everyone at the team had done a great job.”
In race 2 (round 4 of the championship) later in the day, Morris took the opening stint and lapped impressively to maintain position throughout the first half hour of action. With little to choose between the lead contenders, Morris performed well to move over three seconds clear of the McLaren of Rob Bell before pitting at the end of lap 16 to hand the car over to Parfitt Jnr. Joining the track with around 25 minutes to go, Parfitt Jnr was in fifth initially and then took fourth on lap 20 before closing up behind the top three.
Into the chicane on lap 23, though, an uncharacteristic spin into the braking zone pitched the Bentley off the track and into the barriers. Although continuing, a left rear puncture late-on dropped Parfitt Jnr to 12th overall and 10th in the Pro-Am class. (A rear tyre deflating, may have had an impact on Ricks accident)
Meanwhile Ratcliffe and his teammate Glynn Geddie were stuck in 13th place overall, but more importantly 3rd in the Silver Class, and although Rick Parfitt Jnr dropped back and finish 12th overall, Seb & Rick got a point as t hey were 10th in The Pro-Am class.
All this means that Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jnr are 3rd Overall and also 3rd in the very crowded Pro-Am Class, and Ryan Ratcliffe and his teammate Glynn Geddie are 2nd in the less crowded Silver Class, and 8th Overall
Round five of the British GT season, the three-hour ‘Silverstone 500’ at the home of the British Grand Prix, will take place on Sunday, 9th June
Preview – The action shifts to Snetterton or Rounds 3 & 4 of the British GT Championship and although the Snetterton 300 circuit does not favour the Bentley, both Welsh lads Ryan Ratcliffe and Seb Morris are hopeful of scoring some points for their different teams at the Norfolk track.
In the Blancpain Endro round at Silverstone Matt Parry finished a creditable 17th overall in the R-Motorsport Aston Martin Vanatge although Seb Morris saw his chances of a win in the Pro-am class disappear when the car failed to start after the last pit stop! When he did get on the track, Seb passed car after car and eventually finished in 5th place in Class, but claimed the extra point for the fastest lap, and racked up 10 points for the team.
Strong Pace & Championship Points for Meyrick And Bullitt Racing (edited by Rob Allender)
Andy Meyrick and the Bullitt Racing team showed tremendous speed and performance at the European GT4’s, second-round at Brands Hatch last weekend. Meyrick and co-driver Stephen Pattrick were at the top of the charts during practice but narrowly missed out on a podium during the races, bringing home a fourth, and an eighth-place result.
In Race 1, Pattrick did a fantastic job keeping the #33 Mercedes AMG GT4 out of trouble, and after a brilliant pit-stop by both drivers and crew, Meyrick went back out into the battle. Navigating his way through traffic, Meyrick made up ground crossing the finish line, fourth in class.
In Race 2, Meyrick was up to second on the first lap and was leading the class by lap 12, five-minutes before the pit window. Passing pit entry he suffered a puncture ‘and had to do a whole lap to back to the pits! Unfortunately, a lot of time was lost and Pattrick returned to the track further down the field. Pattrick put on a professional performance, bringing the car home in eighth.
Despite not bringing home the medals, we had a very good weekend”, said Meyrick. “We showed a strong pace throughout, the team and Stephen put on a fantastic performance, and we brought home Championship points. In both races we were so close and that makes us confident that next time we will be celebrating a podium at Paul Ricard in a month’s time.”
Matt Parry& Seb Morris hoping to kick- start their Blancpain Challenge at Silverstone this weekend
Neither Welsh drivers scored in the first round of the European series at Monza. Seb missed out due to accidents and didn’t even get to turn a lap in qualifying or the race in the Bentley Continental. However he is confident he can come good at Silverstone.
Matt Parry at least got to race but had such bad luck in the JMR Aston Martin finishing a frustrated 37th at the chequered flag.
“It just wasn’t meant to be our day,” Parry sighed, “The weather made it difficult for everyone out there, but Matthieu and I did what we could to keep the car in contention for points. Unfortunately, things conspired against us in the final hour, with the delay in the pits and then the puncture meaning that Maxime was unable to chase a top ten finish. Finishing 37th is definitely not representative of our potential as I definitely think the team was capable of scoring points here, but we’ll regroup and look to put things right at Silverstone.”
Saturday, 11th May, with the 90-minute Pre-Qualifying period getting underway at 15.40. On Sunday, 12th May, final qualifying will begin at 09.40 with the three-hour race itself beginning at 15.00.
Television coverage of the race in the UK is expected to be screened on digital satellite and cable channel British Eurosport.
Live online streaming of both of Sunday’s sessions will be carried at SRO’s ‘GT World’ You Tube channel, on Motorsport.TV and also at the official Blancpain GT Series website HERE
British GT Championship Oulton Park. (Report by Rob Allender and Marion Allender). Welsh drivers had a big hand in the first round of the 2019 British GT Championship bid at Oulton Park. After qualifying Ian Loggie was on pole position with his new Mercedes (he had driven a Bentley with Team Parker Racing) and 2nd was Ryan Ratcliffe with a new gen Bentley run by Team Parker Racing. 3rd was the Lamborghini Hurracan of Sam De Haan and 4th fastest was the Bentley of Rick Parfiit Jnr and Seb Morris, run by the new JRM team. Pariftt Jnr took the opening stint from fourth on the grid and maintained position through the first corner off the rolling start before then taking third place from the Lamborghini of Sam De Haan on the run out of Cascades. Then, on lap two, after a dramatic incident at Hislop’s Chicane, when second placed Ryan Ratcliffe collided with the leading Mercedes of Ian Loggie, Parfitt Jnr sliced past into the lead of the race, before officials then deployed the Safety Car to enable recovery both the stricken cars.
Racing resumed on lap seven and Parfitt Jnr did a good job to lead by 0.7 seconds over the line, before then proceeding to pump in a series of fastest laps until, by the time the pit stop window opened the JRM driver was almost 10 seconds clear.
Staying on track until the end of lap 13, he then pitted to hand the Bentley over to Morris with 35 minutes of the race to run. Getting out onto track firmly in the lead of the race, the early part of the Welshman’s stint wasn’t without drama with a number of GT4 class cars proving a hinderance – an errant Ford Mustang even making contact with the Bentley at one stage at Druids.
Threading his way through the traffic professionally and quickly, Morris held an advantage of over seven seconds from the Lamborghini of Phil Keen as the race reached the halfway point but the Huracan driver – on new tyres – did then begin to take time out of the leader.
Pushing as hard as possible, Morris continued to pick up his own pace and with 20 laps completed the gap stabilised at around six seconds. Through lapped traffic the lead did fluctuate, but Morris made no mistakes and into the final 10 minutes he’d opened the lead back up to eight seconds. Over the last few laps things did close up through more traffic, but Morris had it all under control to win the first race for the new gen Bentley and the new JRM team! It was now time for dream team of Rick & Seb to pick up the winners trophies and spray the champagne! Afterwards Morris confirmed “I really happy with race one and the whole weekend so far. In qualifying we were given a slow BOP [Balance of Performance], so we thought it would be a tough weekend, but the race went better than we could’ve dreamt – it’s amazing to have won our first race with JRM who did an incredible job!
In Race 2 two later in the day Morris started in 4th place, behind the wheel of the No.31 Bentley for the first stint (while Ryan Ratcilffes teammate started in 7th place) and after holding his starting place of fourth through Old Hall, he then climbed into third at Cascades as he eyed another podium finish. Following the deployment of the Safety Car in time for lap three, racing resumed on the seventh tour and Morris started to pile significant pressure onto the Mercedes of Adam Christodoulou. Swarming all over his rival, the JRM driver was relentless in attempting to find a way past and into lap 14 he was just 0.275 seconds behind.
Choosing to make an earlier pit-stop than would otherwise have been the case, to try and mitigate the time being lost and also bearing in mind the 10 second ‘success’ penalty from race one which meant the Bentley had to remain in the pits longer than rival cars, Morris handed over to Parfitt Jnr at the end of lap 15. (Ryan Ratcilffe had to serve a 10 second penalty for causing the accident in race 1)
When the race order settled after all stops had been completed, Parfitt Jnr held seventh position but a moment for one of the Aston Martins soon after enabled him to climb into sixth. With the incident triggering another Safety Car period, racing resumed on lap 23 with just 15 minutes to go and Parfitt Jnr immediately looked to challenge Andrew Howard.
Producing a superb cut-back at Lodge at the end of the lap to grab fifth from the Aston Martin driver, Pariftt Jnr’s next target was the Lamborghini of Adam Balon but a dramatic excursion at Brittens Chicane pitched the Bentley into the barriers. Although the car did eventually fire back up, Parfitt Jnr dropped down the order and ultimately ended the race ninth in GT3 and eighth in Pro-Am. In round two later in the afternoon, the 23-year-old Welshman and his team-mate unfortunately rued what might have been when a late race excursion for Parfitt Jnr – while running fifth – meant an eventual finish of ninth in GT3 and eighth in the Pro-Am class.
“At the end of the day Rick just made a small mistake in race two, it was unfortunate but we still came away with points”, added Morris, “If you’d have said to me at the beginning of the weekend we’d have a win and an eighth in Pro-Am, I’d have bitten your arm off. With how strong we’ve been this weekend, I’m really looking forward to the next round.”
Ryan Ratcliffe brought the Team Parker Bentley home in 17th place. Ryan apologised to his team and team-mate Glen Geddie for
Rounds three and four of the British GT season will take place over the weekend 18th/19th May at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk. One week earlier, Morris will return to action in the Blancpain Endurance Cup for round two of its season on Sunday, 12th May, at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.
2019 British GT Championship Standings (after Rd2)
3rd Seb Morris/Rick Parfitt Jnr, 27pts
2019 British GT Championship ‘Pro-Am’ Standings (after Rd2)
3rd Seb Morris/Rick Parfitt Jnr, 29pts
The 2019 Brit GT series starts on Easter Monday & Welsh drivers will be driving hard for top honours! Report by Marion Allender (fotos by Rob Allender)
[ Ryan back with Team Parker Racing[/caption]
The British 2019 GT Championship starts at Oulton Park on Easter Monday and Llanelli racer Ryan Ratcliffe will be back with Team Parker Racing and with a new team-mate Glynn Geddie as part of the Bentley assault on the 2019 British GT3 Championship with the next generation of the Bentley Continental GT3 car.Ratcliffe won the GT4 class in British GT Championship in 2014 with Rick Parfitt Jnr as his team mate, and in 2018 raced the 1st Generation Bentley Continental GT3, known as ‘The Beast’ (The MK2 car should be easier to drive than last years’ car ). The best result in 2018 was finishing 2nd at Spa Francorhamps, having lead the 2 hour race for most of the distance!
Rick & Seb discuss lap times.
Meanwhile Seb Morris is about to embark on his biggest and most high-profile season of motorsport, after confirming a huge deal to return to the British GT Championship with brand new Bentley customer team JRM from Daventry. Morris– will reunite with rock star Rick Parfitt Jnr to reform the ‘dream team’ pairing which made history for Bentley by winning the 2017 title. Morris says the deal to join JRM was ‘too good to refuse’ and especially with the opportunity of teaming again with Parfitt Jnr, who had previously announced his retirement from racing.
“I’m coming back to British GT as a proper ‘Pro’, JRM want my services as a driver and that’s an incredible feeling. Rick [Parfitt Jnr] had obviously announced his retirement, which was serious, and when the team talked with him he said he wouldn’t come back unless he was with me – that’s such a fantastic thing for him to have said, it’s very special and I feel honoured and humbled.”
Morris added: “I’m also, obviously, extremely proud to have been asked to continue as a BRDC Superstar and to remain part of Team UK as well. It really is an honour to be invited to remain part of both programmes which offer so much, and which have played a huge part in my career so far.” With a brand new Bentley Continental GT3, , Morris is confident the new JRM entry will shake-up the established order.
“Obviously, I’ve been away in Blancpain Endurance for a year where I was often the fastest Bentley and we took podiums in the first season which was fantastic. I’m aiming to put into practice what I learnt there, becoming a much more rounded driver, on my return to British GT with JRM. We’ve also got more exciting announcements about this year’s racing to come as well…!”
The announcement regarding the British GT deal comes just a couple of weeks after Morris was promoted by Bentley into its ‘factory’ team for this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa, where he will race as a fully-fledged ‘Bentley Boy’ as part of a four-car assault on the biggest GT3 race in the world.
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 3rd place. Behind them there was more mayhem, leaving Ben in a safe 3rd 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 1st with Scott 2nd Ben taking back to back 3rd 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 3rd place, I’ll start from 5th 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!’
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 5th 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 5th 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 5th!’ 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 4th 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 3rd place on the road equaled 3rd in championship, which in normal circumstances would be a pleasing result. But 2nd 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.
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 4th place in Race 1 after qualifying 3rd 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 3rd in the 3rd 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 11th 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 10/11th 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.
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.
All attention now turns to the final double points 2 hour race in the 2016 British GT Championship season, on the Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, over the weekend 10th/11th September. Seb and Parfitt Jnr go into the race weekend 27.5 points shy of the series lead – with 37.5 up for grabs for the race win.
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
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
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 4th 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 3rd 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.”
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
TV Schedule
ROUND 6 SPA:
Channel 4
Duration
16/07/2016 06:30
24 mins
19/07/2016 05:00
24 mins
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
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 10th 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
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’ 90th 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 10th 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 12th 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 13th. ‘The clutch started to slip. Ben drove well in race 2 to finish in a good 6th place, but Sundays 3rd 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 4th place, and was soon up to 3rd 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 3rd place! However he was muscled down to finish in 5th 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 10th 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
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 5th round of the 2016 British GT Championship at Silverstone on Sunday 12th 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 3rd 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 13th in the points standings.
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
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 3rd 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 3rd on the grid, with Seb starting race 2 from pole position. Will Moore would start from 7th place, Ryan would start race 2 in 14th place.
Race 1 – Oulton Park – Monday 30th 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 2nd 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 8th 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 4th place! A podium place might be some compensation and Seb was determined to make it happen, and moved into 3rd place! Although the top step of the podium might beyond his grasp, 2nd 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 30th 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.php2016 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
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 4th 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.”
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.”
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
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 2nd 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.
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.
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
WRDA member & GP3 contender Matt Parry is racing at Monza this weekend (3/4 September) after a disappointing weekend at Spa Francorchamps! After setting a good qualifying place, he was nerfed off at La Source at the start of race 1, and then was hit from behind by Jake Hughes and sent into the barriers at the end of the Kemmel straight in race 2! “I don’t know what to say without swearing!” he said! Monza can’t come soon enough! One consolation is the Stewards have given Hughes a 3 place grid penalty for causing the incident! None the less Matt is still in 5th place in the points standing and is currently the leading British driver! http://www.gp3series.com/Standings/Driver/
Monza timeline –Schedule:
Friday 2nd September: Free Practice 17.50 – 18.35
Saturday 3rd September: Qualifying: 09.45 – 10.15
Saturday 3rd September Race 1: 17.15 – 18.05
Sunday 4th September Race 2: 09.15 – 09.50 (all times are GMT+2)
Pirelli have nominated the Soft compound for this event.
Pirelli’s Racing Manager Mario Isola commented: “The high ambient and track temperatures made for a big challenge, particularly on Saturday, and those drivers who deployed effective tyre management were rewarded with strong results. In GP3 we actually decided to modify the original nomination for Spa, which was going to be medium, in favour of soft. This was a decision taken thanks to our very good co-operation with the series promoter, in order to set an additional challenge for the GP3 drivers with tyre management. By the end of the 40-minute race we saw quite a lot of degradation, with drivers able to deal with oversteer, or gain an advantage from having looked after their tyres in the early part of the race.”
Hungary. Matt scored 15 more points with a fine 3rd place in race ! In race 2 he was able to hang on to score 2 points with a 7th place finish and maintained his 4th place in the points standings. He now has 70 points. There is now a ‘summer’ break with the next rounds at Spa Francorchamps on August 274th & 28th. Race report to follow.
Matt Parry will be hungry for more success in the GP3 races at Hockenheim this weekend, after last weeks win in Hungary and is bound to be on a high having moved up to 4th place in the points standings as a result of him taking his maiden win in Race 1 and his 5th place in Race 2 in the Koiranen GP run car, last weekend at the Hungaroring.
As a result Koiranen GP is now up to 2nd place in the Team Points table!
Hockenhiem Timetable
Practice 1 – Friday 29 Jul, 17:50 Qualifying Saturday – 30 Jul, 09:45 Race 1 – 30 Jul, 17:15
Parry scorches to first GP3 win in Race 1 at the Hungaroring!
Winner! Matt gets ready for his Chicken Goulash!
After posting his best qualifying result to take a front row start, Matt Parry (WRDA member & 2013 Welsh Young Driver of the Year) stormed to dominant win after leading from start to finish to pocket his first GP3 race! Matt, made himself an instant Welsh hero after making a good start and maintained a comfortable margin back to Trident and Ferrari Driver Academy’s Antonio Fuoco in second. Arden International’s Jake Dennis achieved his maiden GP3 rostrum in third.
Pole sitter Nyck de Vries , from Holland, was left stranded, as the rest of the pack passed him on the formation lap, and had to start the race from the pitlane, leaving the way clear for Parry to pull a 1.2s advantage over Fuoco after the opening lap with Dennis, Nirei Fukuzumi, Leclerc and Ralph Boschung completing the top five. Parry was calm at the front of the field as he started to extend his lead over Fuoco to win by over 3 seconds! After 22 laps, the chequered flag was waved to an ecstatic Parry who was happy to celebrate his maiden win in the category. It was also the second victory for Finnish Koiranen GP team. Fuoco again was happy to take yet another rostrum, marking his consistency, whilst Dennis finally broke the duck off his back after a series of bad luck to enjoy some well-deserved champagne!
After the race Matt was ecstatic! ‘Yeah I feel pretty good! Obviously this had been a target this season; to make sure we got a race win. It’s good to get the monkey off the back for both the team and me. We can now take that momentum forward for the remaining ones this year.
We were a little bit lucky with what happened with Nyck. I feel horrible for Nyck as when his car didn’t start, that was bad for him. It made it a lot easier for us so I wanted to make sure I stayed in P1 going into Turn 1. Antonio was on the outside of me as he made a much better start, and Jake was right behind us too. I was on the inside which made it relatively easy to defend. From there it may have looked easy but I was saying to the team you just have a constant battle with yourself. (Laughs). I was just looking in the mirrors and could see Antonio…I was thinking he was going to catch me and I was telling myself not to be stupid and that it was going to be fine. I just kept focused and tried to not make any mistakes. We did that and we came away with the win which was a fantastic feeling. I just need to make sure we keep starting on the front row, it definitely makes it a lot easier than the last few races when we were fighting in the middle of the back. So we need to take that good qualifying forward and just take a lot of confidence from it’
In the reverse grid Race 2, Matt maintained his form to finish 6th and ahead of Denis, as Fuoco slumped to 10th! The points have moved Matt up to 5th in the points, with only 1 point separating him from Fuoco and his Koiranenteam-mate Ralph Boschung! The next races in the 2016 GP3 season is at Hockenheimring, next weekend 29 – 31 Jul.
http://www.gp3series.com/Standings/Driver/
Red Bull Ring Report.
Matts chances improved after he was boosted to 11th on the grid although it looked as if he had put his car on the front row for race 1! In a very difficult qualifying session which saw mixed conditions, but later had the time disallowed due to exceeding track limits. In a session puncuated by red flags,
Matt Parry will start 12th, later improved to 11th on the grid for the first of 2 GP3 races!
Red Bull Ring Report. Matt Parry opened his 2016 GP3 Series account with points in both races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, but felt he could have been standing on the top step of the podium rather than accepting sixth and seventh places. Matt underlined his testing form but had a nightmare in qualifying when he had a repeat of a problem he suffered in last year when the car went into safe mode, two turns from home!
Matt explained “There are a number of safety features built into the GP3 car, and I hit one of the limiters on the engine at just the wrong time. The car went into safety mode approaching turn eight and I lost 50 per cent of the throttle when I tried to accelerate out. That was probably worth two or three tenths, which would have been enough to push me up to at least third on the grid.”Matt knew that he would need to make some quick moves to improve on that, during the opening 24-lap race on Saturday evening, but a poor getaway meant that he had to be aggressive through the first few corners. Having climbed to fourth, however, he found himself caught behind Koiranen GP team-mate Ralph Boschung at turn three, leaving him vulnerable to attack from behind and ultimately costing a couple of positions. Although able to keep pace with those ahead of him, despite running in ‘dirty’ air, Parry’s attempts to re-pass were again frustrated by the limitation of the 2016 car and tyres and, as rain began to fall towards the end of the race, he conceded another position as he sought the driest line.
“I just didn’t race well. My start was poor, but I still managed to be challenging for third part way around the opening lap. Then I got boxed in behind my team-mate and that undid the earlier effort! I had good pace through the middle of the race, but could only manage 6th place, but it should have been better!”
On Sunday morning, with race two had to take its start behind the safety car due to extent of the downpour. Starting from third on the partially-reversed grid, Parry was quickly promoted to second on the road when one of the ART cars developed a problem, but no racing was possible until lap ten.When the field was unleashed, the Welshman made no secret of his intent, harrying leader Jake Hughes into the first corner, but both Britons saw their hopes of a maiden GP3 win disappear on exit as the leader bogged down and Parry had nowhere to go but into the back of the DAMS machine. Although he briefly continued as the new race leader, Parry’s #14 Koiranen car had suffered enough front end damage to hamper both grip and retardation and, when he slithered off the road a couple of corners later, he dropped to seventh as the safety car made the first of several reappearances.
“Despite the conditions, I wanted to go racing as I really felt that I had the ability to win,” Parry said, “I was in second because [Nirei] Fukuzumi had his car lapse into safety mode because of the conditions and, unfortunately, it seems that Jake had a similar issue because he went nowhere exiting turn one. I was so close behind him that there was no way of avoiding contact, and that effectively ended both our races. The contact damaged my front wing and also made it hard to brake, and that’s why I went off the road. After that, it was probably fortunate that the safety car kept returning because it would have been hard for me to hold position.“It’s definitely a missed opportunity as the Koiranen car was clearly very good in the conditions. My team-mate went on to win the race, and I would have had an obvious advantage if I’d managed to get to the front, where there would have been no spray to contend with. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is. I ended up P6 and P7 in R2, Overall we made too many mistakes throughout the weekend. Congratulations to my team-mate Ralph Boschung for the win! I’ll just take whatever positives I can from Austria and look to get something more from my home race this weekend..”Round three of the 2016 GP3 Series takes place in support of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, over the weekend of 8-10 July, and Parry will be hoping to repeat the sort of form that saw him stand on the podium one year ago.
Race pre-view. The 2016 GP3 season restarted in Austria last weekend, as part of the support to the Austrian Grand Prix. After a 6 week lay-off since the first round in Spain, the series then goes on a run of 4 races in July! The Austrian circuit is now known as ‘The Red Bull Ring’ and is in the Styrian Mountains. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from 1970 to 1987, before it was changed to its current configuration in 1997. It is now owned by Red Bull drinks magnate Dietrich Mateschitz .
Cardiffs’ Matt Parry driving with the Koiranen GP team showed well during the recent tests and has high hopes.
Lap record 1:19.350 (196.264 kph) Ghiotto (Trident)
POLE Position 2015 1:19.350 (196.264 kph) Ghiotto (Trident)
The schedule is as follows
Practice 1 – 01 Jul, 17:50 Qualifying – 02 Jul, 09:45
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 Fukuzum
Matt Parry quick in GP3 test – edited byRobert Allender
It was another glorious day in Spielberg for the second and final day of testing. The start of the morning session was frenetic with all of the drivers keen to undertake race simulations. Midway into the session WRDA member Matthew Parry, driving for the Koiranen GP team,was fastest by 0.027s. but he was beaten late on by Charles Leclerc who is from Monaco and Antonio Fuoco, (Ferrari Driver Academy) to finish as the 3rd fastest.
In the later session Matt was 10th. The next race in the series will be only the Round 2 of the 2016 season will be at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 1st to 3rd of July.
Day Two – morning session
Driver
Team
Laptime
Laps
1.
Charles Leclerc
ART Grand Prix
1:19.437
61
2.
Antonio Fuoco
Trident
1:19.449
49
3.
Matthew Parry
Koiranen GP
1:19.502
32
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
Driver
Team
Laptime
Laps
1.
Matthew Parry
Koiranen GP
1:21.476
41
2.
Nirei Fukuzumi
ART Grand Prix
1:21.560
52
3.
Charles Leclerc
ART Grand Prix
1:21.564
50
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 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
Andy Meyrick is in sunny Florida getting ready for the Rolex 24 hr race (part of the WeatherTech championship) on the Daytona International Speedway and confirmed he is really happy to be rejoining the DeltaWing Racing Team with their innovative cars for 2016 in the USA based Imsa Racing Series, starting this weekend with the ROAR test. Underlining his abilities as an endurance racing expert, Andy will compete with DeltaWing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona over the weekend of 24th-25th January with team-mates Katherine Legge and Sean Rayhall . “The team made some really progressive developments, and we scored our best result with a P4 at Petit Le Mans in October, so hopefully we can be just as competitive at Daytona. This’ll be my first race of the season and I’m training hard in preparation.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqaIdLXfyE&feature=youtu.be
Watch as Andy Meyrick takes the Panoz DeltaWing Racing coupe around the 3.56 mile Daytona track at the 2016 Roar Before the 24. Cutting through the traffic in practice session 4, the DeltaWing DWC13 is looking fast and in good shape for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona!
Andy Meyrick’s impressive track-record includes a fourth place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; the highest placed rookie on the highly-competitive grid, a second place result at Sebring with Dyson Racing and a season with the Aston Martin works team in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) and in the Nürburgring’s VLN series, where he secured a win and two second place finishes.
After winning ten races in his first season of motorsport in Formula Ford in 2005, Andy progressed through British racing up to British F3 in 2008, taking seven victories from 12 starts. In 2009, Andy raced in the prestigious Le Mans Series for the first time, including a fourth place finish at the notoriously difficult Nürburgring. In 2010 Andy contested the American Le Mans Series (finishing on the podium in every start) and made his Le Mans 24hr debut, finishing fourth overall. With a works drive in 2011, Andy raced in the ILMC, VLN and once again at the Le Mans 24hr. His flair for endurance racing was further developed in 2012 through competition in the Spa 24hr.
Since 2013, Andy has spent time racing on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, Andy raced in the Blancpain Endurance Series while in the USA he was lead driver for the innovative DeltaWing Racing programme. In November 2013, he was announced as one of three British drivers to return Bentley to the motorsport arena with the new Continental GT3, following several successful development tests. The 2014 season saw Andy & his team-mates win two races and finish as runner-up in the Blancpain Endurance Series, a feat they repeated in 2015!
aMatt Parry has agreed terms to re-sign with the Korianen GP squad for the 2016 GP3 Series! Koiranen GP gave him his debut in the category in 2015 when he finished in 8th place overall, the best of the 3 Welsh drivers in the series, after a series of podium places. Returning to the Koiranen line-up will now allow Parry to build on relationships within the team, especially as this will be the first year for GP3/16 car – the third generation car!
“I can skip the part where driver and team have to get to know each other and get straight down to work,” the 21-year old, who again excelled in this month’s end-of-season test, explained,“GP3 lived up to my expectations as a very competitive series, but already knowing what each of us require should allow for a flying start once the 2016 campaign gets underway. I know what I am capable of with the Koiranen team, and we both look forward to turning that into race wins and a lot of points second time around.
The 2016 GP3 Series – which enjoys extensive coverage on the Sky Sports F1 channel in the UK – is expected to kick off at Sochi Autodrom in Russia on 1 May, but the full schedule has yet to be confirmed. Parry will retain the backing of Sport Wales, as well as the patronage of both the MSA’s Team UK programme and the BRDC’s SuperStars scheme, all of which assist with his training and preparation.
With podium finishes already under his belt, the Welshman will start the 2016 season amongst the title favourites. The 2016 championship is over nine events alongside Formula One including a new venue for the Series with the addition of Sepang to the GP3 calendar which will provide yet another intriguing challenge. It promises to be another very exciting year, especially with the introduction of the third generation GP3 car.”
The Series enters into its seventh season and will once again commence at Barcelona on May 13-15. The following month will see a break in the calendar with the exception of a test session in Austria. The teams will resume to action for the most frenetic period of the season with four race weekends in six weeks, starting on July 01-03 at Spielberg, which will be back-to-back with Silverstone on July 08-10. The paddock will reunite again at Budapest on July 22-24, whilst Hockenheim will return to the calendar one week later on July 29-31.
The teams will then enjoy a well-deserved summer break before arriving at Spa-Francorchamps for round six on August 26-28. Thereafter, Monza will follow for the third back-to-back event of the campaign on September 02-04.The GP3 Series will make its maiden visit to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia on September 30 – October 02 for the first of two flyaways. The season will once again draw to a close at the spectacular setting of the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 25-27.
There will be seven pre-season test days held in Estoril, Valencia and Barcelona with a further two day test session in Austria after round one.
to Ryan Ratcliffe with the car in 10th place. However in all the pit-stops, a drama unfolded, as their main rivals in the Silver Class, the Class leaders Ollie Wilkinson & Bradley Ellis, were eliminated, when their car caught fire as it left its pits-box! With their main rivals now eliminated, all Ratcliffe had to do was to bring the car home, which he duly did, bringing the car home safely in 11th place, and the Scottish/Welsh duo are now only 5.5 points away from the Class Leaders! Ryan confirmed ‘I’ve got with mixed feelings about this weekend! Keeping my sights on Spa!
This fire drama also affected the hand-over between Rick Parfitt Jnr and Seb Morris! Morris was due to leave the pits as the Wilkinson & Ellis Aston Martin passed by, streaming a cloud of smoke, pursued by 2 team mechanics in ‘hot’ pursuit carrying an extinguisher! Morris was held, whilst the mechanics passed the JRM pits, and was then able to drive away, followed by the Fire Tender! Bizarrely, both of them going at the 30 mph pit-lane speed limit! Fortunately the prospect of a dangerous fire in a pit-lane full of highly inflammable petrol was avoided!
as wide as possible, Morris continued in sixth but with 20 minutes to go he was edged back to seventh position by the Aston Martin to finish in 7th place, but finished earning, themselves and the team another 9 points!
and Ryan Ratcliffe/Glen Geddie, the last GT3 car in 13th place! However in the race itself both Bentleys began to climb the order, and with the cars well set, Ryan& Glen had penalty for ‘exceeding the track limits’ and Rick Parfitt Jnr had a ‘drive-through’ penalty for a pit-stop infringement, bizarrely for going too slow! This put the cars back down the order but stirring drives by both teams meant that Ryan & Glengettie pulled up to finish 7th overall, and 2nd in the Silver class, and are now only 20 points from the Class leaders Ollie Wilkinson & Bradley Ellis.
Meanwhile Seb Morris was really flying, setting the fastest lap of the race and was up to 3rd place overall and had the 2nd place car under pressure! However they were denied their just reward after JRM teams run Bentley car was disqualified from the results, as it was judged at post -race scrutineering to be underweight without fuel on-board. The team immediately appealed against the decision, but then withdrew the appeal! . Having risen from an 11th place start and over-come a penalty to finished 3rd ‘On the Road’ Morris commented: “We’re all unbelievably disappointed. In terms of the race performance, I was very happy with my pace and to come through from a tough qualifying and a mid-race penalty to take third was a fantastic effort!”
Ryan back with Team Parker Racing[/caption]
orth cars, and in race 1 Ben fell back from a good grid place to finish 13th. ‘The clutch started to slip. Ben drove well in race 2 to finish in a good 6th place, but Sundays 3rd race was abandoned due to torrential rain flooding the track ! Twitter 
es! Seb enjoys a Top Step moment! (photo by Rob Allender)
atch as Andy Meyrick takes the Panoz DeltaWing Racing coupe around the 3.56 mile Daytona track at the 2016 Roar Before the 24. Cutting through the traffic in practice session 4, the DeltaWing DWC13 is looking fast and in good shape for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona!