Long wait over as Team Parker Racing ready for Porsche Carrera Cup GB season opener
Team Parker Racing is set to defend its quartet of Porsche Carrera Cup GB titles as the 2021 season gets underway at Snetterton this weekend (June 12/13) after a seventh month wait since the cars last took to the track.
In the Pro class, reigning champion, and Porsche GB Junior Driver Harry King returns as he aims to secure back-to-back titles alongside his debut season in the Porsche Supercup with the team. Last year he claimed seven out of eight pole positions and 12 wins in the 16 races held, en route to his dominant title success.
This season he is joined in Pro by another talented young driver, Kiern Jewiss, who makes the switch from single seaters to sportscars. He won the F4 British Championship in 2018 as an 18-year-old and was a race winner in the BRDC British F3 Championship over the past two years and, finishing just a few tenths of a second off his team-mate during the media day at Brands Hatch, will be looking to cause some upsets.
In Pro-Am, 2020 vice-champion Ryan Ratcliffe is aiming to go one better and claim the title following an impressive debut season. The Welshman previously raced in the British GT Championship and other endurance events, and after getting a few races under his belt to fully get up to speed with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, quickly challenged colleague Esmee Hawkey and took the fight right to the final round of the season, narrowly missing out on the title.
In Am it will once again be a battle of the Justins, as reigning and back-to-back champion Justin Sherwood looks to make it an impressive three in a row. He will be pushed all the way by Justin Armstrong, who made the step up to the Carrera Cup GB last season after previously competing in Caterhams. He was just five points away from finishing as vice-champion despite a steep learning curve and will be aiming to surpass his team-mate this time out.
The team will have a couple of unofficial sessions to familiarise all five drivers with Snetterton before heading straight into qualifying on Saturday, June 12th at 15:30. The first of two 14 lap races gets underway at 10:40 on Sunday morning, with race two at 16:25 and broadcast live on ITV4.
Team Parker Racing is a motorsport team based in Leicestershire, in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1997 it has previously competed in Formula Vauxhall Junior, British Formula 3, and, more recently, in the British Touring Car Championship, where it is a race-winner, alongside long-term relationships with the Porsche Carrera Cup GB and Caterham.
For 2021 the team will race in the British GT Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Porsche Sprint Challenge GB, select Caterham events, and other exciting plans yet to be announced.
Photos Jakob Ebrey Photography