Nick Jones and Scott Malvern’s Team Parker Racing-run Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR will return to the British GT Championship this season.
The duo were one of two crews due to enter the car in 2016 but were forced to field a Ginetta at the opening three rounds while awaiting delivery. It finally appeared at Silverstone, albeit without the full race-spec ‘MR’ kit necessary for it to be competitive amongst British GT’s hotly contested GT4 class.
Indeed, this year’s opening round at Oulton Park will be the first time that the complete MR kit has competed in British GT.
The late switch to a Ginetta and Cayman’s subsequent issues saw Team Parker, Malvern and Jones struggle throughout last season. But with a winter of testing behind them Jones has renewed hopes for 2017.
“We’re coming at it from a totally different standpoint from 2016, which was a very tough season for a variety of reasons,” he said. “We were learning as we went, first with the Ginetta and then the Porsche which obviously wasn’t ready, even at Donington. But after working closely with Team Parker and doing plenty of testing I feel like we’ve taken some big steps forward. Personally, I’m a lot more confident and closer to Scott in terms of pace regardless of the tyres or conditions.
“But British GT4 is very tough - just look at the number of youngsters and Silver pairings this season. So we’re not kidding ourselves. Personally, I’d like to be racing in the main pack and handing the car over to Scott with a chance of him making progress. A podium or two really would be fantastic for us, and I’d also like to do well in the Pro/Am category.”
Malvern, meanwhile, believes the biggest difference could come from his co-driver rather than the car.
“We’ll finally have the full MR upgrade so I’m excited to see where that puts us in relation to the competition,” said Malvern, who underlined his raw pace by setting fastest lap at Oulton Park in the Ginetta last season. “It will definitely make a difference but it’s difficult to say how much because so far we’ve tested at the circuits where we raced the Ginetta, so there’s no like-for-like comparison.
“All we can look at are the known factors, and in that regard I’m excited to see how Nick stacks up against the other Ams. He’s come on leaps and bounds since 2016 and is now much closer to my pace. This time last season he’d never been to a GT race, let alone knew what to expect from GT3 and GT4. Now he knows the championship and circuits, and I also feel like we’ve really gelled with the team over the winter.”
Jones and Team Parker Racing’s Porsche will be attending British GT’s media day at Snetterton tomorrow ahead of the championship’s opening round at Oulton Park over Easter Weekend. Click here to secure your tickets for Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, and Monday’s two hour-long races.