Team Parker Racing switches to Porsche in British GT
Championship-winning British GT outfit Team Parker Racing will switch from Bentley to Porsche for its assault on this year's GT3 class title
The team behind Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jr's 2017 championship run has campaigned Bentley machinery in British GT since 2016, but changes to the 911 GT3 R in 2021 to align with its activities in the Carrera Cup GB and Sprint Challenge GB.
It marks the first full-season Porsche entry in British GT since Trackspeed exited the series at the end of the 2014 season.
Team stalwarts Scott Malvern and Nick Jones, who won the 2018 GT4 Pro-Am title in a Parker-run Mercedes and took a first GT3 win at Donington last season, will again drive.
Bentley is still set to be represented on the grid by the JRM team, which Autosport understands deferred its entry for 2020 with Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman.
Team principal Stuart Parker said: "It is fantastic to announce our plans for the 2021 British GT Championship as we begin a new era with the Porsche 911 GT3 R.
"Everyone at the team is delighted to take this step with Porsche after our long-term success with the manufacturer over almost 20 years and we couldn't think of a better line up than Nick and Scott to drive the car, after five years together.
"We now offer drivers the opportunity to compete at three levels of the Porsche motorsport pyramid, so they can join us in the Sprint Challenge GB and work their way through the Carrera Cup GB and into GT3.
"We cannot wait to get out on track with the GT3 R and put it through its paces as we prepare to open the season."
Malvern added: "The GT3 R is a proven product and even reading the manual at the moment it looks like a professional, finished product, and I have no doubt it will live up to expectation.
"Both Team Parker Racing and Nick have done well to even get hold of this car because they just aren't available, and I think it will be the perfect car for British GT if you look at the weather we had last year, and the sort of circuits we race on."
The championship will get underway at Brands Hatch on 21-22 May.
Fletcher and Plowman enter new McLaren team in GT Cup
ASP reveals GT World Challenge line-up for 2021
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
The rise of a GT squad responsible for a unique 24-hour racing feat
It's a significant achievement to win one 24-hour race in a year, let alone two, and with different manufacturers, but that's exactly what ROWE Racing did in 2020 at the Nurburgring and Spa. This weekend's German classic offers the DTM newcomer a chance of another unique double to add to its growing collection of accolades
The new threat facing motorsport's greatest success story
The manufacturers were unconvinced – and even hostile – when Stephane Ratel launched GT3 in 2006. Now, 15 years on from its debut, they’ve sold more than 2000 cars and counting, but its continued expansion puts the increasingly globalised category at risk of losing its roots
The Lamborghini teams plotting to stop a RAM raid on British GT
With the Silver pairings that dominated 2020 now banned, Mercedes pair Yelmer Buurman and Ian Loggie could be in the box seat after winning last year's Pro-Am crown. But a swarm of Lamborghinis, with the defending outright champion among them, will ensure they face tough opposition