• Exciting pairing to again pilot Team Parker Racing’s No.31 Bentley
• Logistics experts Eddie Stobart supporting their movements around UK
• ‘Dream Team’ eyeing major GT3 championship bid in second season
British GT Championship race winners Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jnr have confirmed the continuation of their exciting association with Team Parker Racing for a second season in the UK’s premier endurance series – once again sharing a Bentley Continental GT3.
Notably, for the partnership’s sophomore campaign together in British GT, they welcome transportation support from supply chain and logistics experts Eddie Stobart, with their well-known brand also featuring on the new livery for the No.31 Bentley.
Welsh 21-year-old Morris, who starred from the outset in his maiden season of GT endurance racing last year, is absolutely relishing the prospect of mounting a major championship bid in British GT this year after he and Parfitt Jnr finished third overall in 2016 with one victory and five other podiums. In qualifying, Morris gained a reputation as the stand-out driver in GT3 with four pole positions.
So impressive was the MSA Team UK and newly named BRDC Superstars driver’s debut season in British GT, he also went on to win the Sunoco Whelen Challenge which provided a fully-funded drive at the wheel of a Cadillac prototype in January’s world-renowned Rolex 24 at Daytona in America.
“I’m extremely excited to mount a full title assault on the British GT Championship with this amazing team of people once again and, of course, the best manufacturer on the grid – Bentley”, commented an elated Morris, “I’m also honoured to have the amazing support of Eddie Stobart, as we move around the championship challenge venues.
“I believe with the changes we have made over the winter with the help of M-Sport and Bentley, plus the driver pairing, we really will have the whole package this year. It’s a dream come true to be able to do this again with a year of experience behind us. I can’t wait to get going, most importantly we are here to win the championship – that’s the goal.
He added: “I must, of course, say a huge thank you to all involved for helping to put this deal together. I’d also like to say how excited I am to have been invited onto the amazing BRDC Superstar programme this year, the pinnacle of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s support schemes, as well as continuing to work with the Motor Sports Association as part of the wonderful MSA Team UK.”
Team-mate Parfitt Jnr said: “I’m hugely excited to be back in British GT with the Team Parker Racing Bentley and with Seb as my team-mate. We proved we were a great pairing last year, and only narrowly missed out on the title in our debut year. We now know the car and team much better and I’m really looking forward to mounting a serious title assault. The ‘Dream Team’ is back!”
Leicestershire-based Team Parker Racing needs no introduction as one of the premier, and most highly decorated, teams in British motorsport having won multiple titles in Porsche Carrera Cup GB. In 2017, alongside two-car Bentley squads in British GT and the pan-European Blancpain GT Series, the Desford squad will also be prominent in Porsche and the British Touring Car Championship.
Team principal Stuart Parker said: “Having Seb and Rick back in the car for the 2017 season is fantastic news for all at Team Parker. The whole team is motivated to get better than in 2016, having continuity is paramount in what is going to be the hardest fought British GT Championship for years. The relationship with M-Sport and Bentley has blossomed and we look forward to representing them again this year.”
The first ‘official’ pre-season testing appearance of the No.31 Bentley Continental, with Morris and Parfitt Jnr sharing driving duties, will come during the annual British GT Championship Media Day at Snetterton in Norfolk on Tuesday, 28th March. The season itself will then get underway over Easter weekend, 15/16/17 April, at Oulton Park in Cheshire – Morris’ home track.
Before all of that, the brand new 2017 livery will be revealed this coming Friday, 24th March, during a special unveiling at London private members’ club Morton’s in Berkeley Square, Mayfair.
2017 British GT Championship Calendar
Rds1&2: Oulton Park International Circuit, Cheshire - 15-17 April
Rd3: Rockingham ISSC, Northamptonshire - 29/30 April
Rds4&5: Snetterton 300 Circuit, Norfolk - 27/28 May
Rd6: Silverstone GP Circuit, Northamptonshire - 10/11 June
Rd7: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium - 7/8 July
Rd8: Brands Hatch GP Circuit, Kent - 5/6 August
Rd9: Donington Park GP Circuit, Leicestershire - 23/24 September
