Team Parker Racing driver Seb Morris is 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 on his endurance racing bow eight days ago.
Making a dream start to his maiden campaign in British GT at Brands Hatch, where the Marford 20-year-old 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 Seb, “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.
Looking ahead to the coming weekend’s visit to Rockingham, 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.
2016 British GT Championship GT3 Driver Standings (after Rd1):2nd Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt Jnr, 27pts
2016 British GT Championship Pro-Am GT3 Driver Standings (after Rd1):2nd Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt Jnr, 27pts
2016 British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings (after Rd1):2nd Team Parker Racing, 27pts
