Team Parker Racing had a good weekend to open the British GT Championship at Oulton Park over Easter (April 8-10), narrowly missing out on a podium finish with Zac Meakin and Dan Vaughan.

After some solid running through pre-event testing, the opening practice session on Saturday morning was a tough one for the team, as a software gremlin meant the team's Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport would not go into drive. In FP2 however, the duo went quickest in GT4, boosting hopes for qualifying, where Zac finished third in Q1 and Dan seventh in Q2, which is where the team lined up for races one and two, respectively.

After a day off, conditions were tricky on Monday as rain ahead of the opening contest meant most of the grid started on wets, with a drying track, while a few opted to chance slicks. Zac dropped back a few overall places just prior to the pit window, with Dan coming out on slicks fifth in GT4 Silver.

He did well to then claw back places overall from Pro-Am rivals and was closing in on third place when heavy rain fell in the closing stages, which was compounded by the loss of several gears with just over a minute to run. However, he pushed on, holding onto fourth as he crossed the line, just outside the podium positions but disappointed to have missed a shot at a podium.

The weather again played a role for race two, with rain falling before and during the contest, which Dan started. Running fifth in GT4 Silver and seventh overall after the first lap, he was part of a huge train of cars from third to 12th in GT4, slowly making his way through. After the pit stop, Zac emerged in fifth and set about reeling in the car in front through the closing stages, just running out of time as he crossed the line 0.1s behind at the flag.

Despite missing out on the podium positions, the team and drivers can be proud of a good opening weekend in the championship, working to overcome adversity and demonstrate an ability to compete at the sharp end of the field. The next round will take place over May 6/7, where the marquee three-hour Silverstone 500 will provide a different challenge.

Dan Vaughan

“We came into the weekend prepared but perhaps without quite as many days in the car as we’d have liked and, considering the surprise speed of some of the other cars we did pretty well. The more time I spend in the car the more I understand it, especially on fresh tyres.

“In race one we were making good progress but unlucky to have a gearbox issue which probably cost us a podium, but to be able to run on slicks in the wet was a big positive that I’ll take. Race two was quite messy and it was hard to get into a rhythm, but the team has worked brilliantly to overcome the problems we’ve had. For a ‘bad’ weekend we’ve done alright and going forward we can apply what we’ve learned and be stronger at Silverstone.”

Zac Meakin

“It was an amazing weekend and great to be back out again, with a brilliant team that supports you. Qualifying third, especially when the top two were so much faster than everyone, meant it was nice to see that I could match the pace of the frontrunners.

“Unfortunately, the races didn’t quite go as well as I’d hoped but other than that it was mega – we did well, the team did well, but the outcome is the outcome. In the second race, because of all the dirt that had been brought onto the track, it covered the windscreen, and I could only see out of a small strip of it! I’m happy with how things went though, and we have lots we can build on for Silverstone.”