Rick Parfitt Jr and Seb Morris have pulled off an impressive win in British GT at Brands Hatch to take the championship lead from the Demon Tweeks Lamborghini duo of Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen.
Minshaw and Keen had been on pole but gradually slipped back on Minshaw’s stint and when Keen took over he was unable to reverse the decline leaving them to finish fifth.
They weren’t helped by having a long pit stop “success” penalty.
By contrast Parfitt Jr and Morris started from fifth and moved up the field. It was Parfitt Jr who took the lead before the driver change and by the time the order settled down once more when the stops had been done, it was still the number thirty one Bentley in the lead. Morris then pulled away to a relatively easy win. The victory and the fact that their Demon Tweeks rivals finished fifth gives the Team Parker Bentley the overall lead after the Demon Tweeks Barwell Lamborghini has held it for most of the year. In fact if the Lamborghini duo had won today with the Bentley not scoring they would have been champions! Now Parfitt jr and Morris go into the finale with the lead and a stronger chance of the title. Don’t rule out the Lamborghini duo though who will fight till the end. Last year they lost the title part way through the final race when their Lamborghini spun off and they will be keen to avoid a similar end.
Completing the GT3 podium behind Parfitt Jr and Morris, were Liam Griffin and Sam Tordoff in second in the other Barwell Lamborghini followed by the TF Sport Aston Martin of Mark Farmer and Jon Barnes.
In GT4 it was the Macmillan Aston Martin of Willam Philips and Jan Jonck that took the win with the Tolman Motorsport Mclaren of David Pattison and Joe Osbourne in second.
Third place changed hands on the final lap with Ciaran Haggerty throwing his Mclaren he shares with Sandy Mitchell off the circuit at Paddock Hill. This let the HHC Ginetta G55 of William Tregurtha and Stuart Middleton through into the final podium spot. GT4 pole sitters academy Motorsport sadly retired with gearbox problems.
Anna Walewska and Mike Simpson had a difficult race finishing down the overall order but sixth in GT4 Pro Am. Their plight wasn’t helped by a lengthy pit stop where an issue with the car needed to be attended to as well as the usual fuel and tyres change.
A full British GT report will follow later. By Marc Waller
