A weekend of spectacular success was the result for Team Parker Racing in the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch.
The Parker with Juta pairing of Stephen Jelley and Euan Hankey dominated qualifying to take a comfortable one-two, before the duo scored one race win apiece. Jelley attained a new lap record and an early lead in the drivers’ championship, while Parker with Juta has taken the lead in the teams’ championship.
It was a remarkable outcome for a pair of drivers who, less than one week before the first race, did not even know that they would be racing in 2011…
After a very late decision to compete, and subsequent ordering and shakedown of their two brand-new, latest-spec GT3 Cup racers, Jelley and Hankey blitzed qualifying. Leicester driver Jelley’s two fastest laps were, amazingly, identical to the thousandth of a second, giving him both pole positions. Despite losing much session time after unluckily being caught up in an incident, Somerset man Hankey was just 0.05 seconds adrift, with the pair 0.4 seconds up on the opposition.
Jelley led the opening race under pressure from Hankey, before he ran wide onto the kerbs at Druids hairpin. That gave him brake-pad knock-off at the following turn and he ran wide, slipping to third as Hankey took the lead. Hankey then took a comfortable win by five seconds, while Jelley, who set fastest lap, narrowly missed out on regaining second place.
In race two, Jelley led Hankey throughout, with the pair split by 1.5 seconds at the flag. However, Hankey was unfortunately given a 15-second penalty after the race, for an infringement of track limits, relegating him to 11th place.
“I was disappointed with third in the first race, and that shows where we are as far as competitiveness is concerned,” said Jelley, who added this win to his pair of victories in the 2010 series finale. “I’m finding this new car really good – it’s like the old car but with a bit more structural rigidity, so you can attack the corners well. It suits my driving style.
“It was really good to go out of the weekend having finally got a win. The race was not too difficult – you only need a tiny gap on this circuit to be able to relax. Now I’ve got the championship lead, and that tells the story.”
Hankey added: “I am so, so happy to have got my first Carrera Cup win in the first race. After Stephen made a mistake it was plain sailing. I just want to say a big thankyou to Juta and Parker, and to my sponsors Ecko clothing. In the second race I had problems with oversteer. In the end I knew I wasn’t going to beat Stephen so I settled for second.”
Team Parker Racing principal Stuart Parker said: “It was a great team performance. I want to thank all the lads who made it happen. We only made the call to run Stephen and Euan at the last minute, and it’s only through the team’s hard work and dedication that it was possible. They worked tirelessly all week.
“A week ago I had Stephen in my kitchen, drinking tea, not knowing where to go with his life, and now he’s leading the Carrera Cup. And Euan was fantastic – he’s a talented driver who will shine in this car.”
PARKER ROOKIES SHINE
Team Parker Racing’s two Porsche Carrera Cup debutants, Sam Tordoff and Richard Plant, both performed exceptionally well. Yorkshireman Tordoff, who graduated from the Renault Clio Cup, claimed a fifth place in race one after holding off 2010 series runner-up Michael Caine all the way. In race two he pressured reigning champion Tim Harvey throughout to take fourth after Hankey’s penalty. He had qualified a superb fourth, only to lose a place to Harvey at the start.
Fellow Yorkshireman Plant was making his race return, having missed the entire 2010 season after claiming the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi title. Plant pressured Caine to take seventh in race one, then was in the same group as Tordoff in race two, finishing sixth at the end of a superb debut weekend in sportscar racing.
“Everyone around us was a lot more experienced,” pointed out Tordoff. “There were a lot of lessons learned, especially how to manage the tyres over 34 laps. It was a very strong weekend and I’m very happy to have pushed Tim Harvey so hard. At the same time I knew I couldn’t make a mistake!”
Plant said: “I’ve learned a lot about what this racing is like. I can’t knock it – it’s good on my first weekend to bring the car home with points in the bag. I’m happy to get back into racing and be close to the top five, while knocking the rust off! We can move on from this.”
Stuart Parker said: “Sam had a fantastic weekend and to push Tim Harvey all the way on his first run is brilliant. Both he and Richard are a pleasure to work with. Richard did really well and learned a lot.”
PIERCE ON PODIUM AS MARTIN IS OUT OF LUCK
Derek Pierce broke his own year-long lay-off from racing to claim a podium in the pro-am1 class for Dextra by Team Parker, after Alex Martin claimed a close fourth in class in race one.
West-Country racer Martin chased regular pro-am1 pacesetter Jonas Gelzinis throughout the first race, and the reigning GT Cup champion was less than a second away from a podium finish at the end. Unfortunately, he got collected by first-race pro-am1 winner Rory Butcher just after the start of race two, in a big accident in which Alex was entirely blameless.
Scotsman Pierce blew away the cobwebs with fifth in race one, after a superb battle, then took an excellent second in race two, right on the bumper of pro-am1 winner Gelzinis. He added fastest lap in class and lies second in the pro-am1 points.
“I was a little bit disappointed to lose a place at the start of race one,” said Martin. “I rolled a bit, then the lights went off. I spent the whole race following the top three, and there was not much in it. Now I feel I can go for the pro-am1 title. I got a really good start in the second race, but Rory’s move was unnecessary. He went straight into my door and he’s broken the whole rear quarter, snapped the suspension in half and put a hole in the shell.”
A delighted Pierce, who was scuppered in the same incident as Hankey in qualifying, said: “I’m just glad to get it done and we’ll move forward as the season progresses. I made a blinding start to race two and was almost alongside Rory when he moved over on Alex. After that I was pleased to keep in touch – I just need time in the car.”
Team Parker Racing’s pro-am2 driver, John Taylor, made progress throughout to pick up sixth and seventh in class. “It’s great fun,” he said. “I’m still learning and just need to find a couple of seconds.”
Stuart Parker said: “Alex was right up there on pace in race one, and then Derek had a fantastic second race. It was a great team effort.”
As part of the ultra-popular British Touring Car Championship package, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB enjoyed live coverage of its second race at Brands Hatch on ITV4 and ITV4 HD, and was streamed live at itv.com/touringcars. The series now moves on to Donington Park, near Derby, for the second round on the weekend of April 16/17.
