County team invited to race on Le Mans 24 Hour circuit
TEAM Parker Racing is set to make an appearance at the world-famous Circuit de la Sarthe this week.
The Leicestershire-based outfit will compete in a special race, organised by the Porsche Sprint Challenge France, on the morning of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The team has gone across the Channel with its Porsche 911 GT3 R, which is raced by Nick Jones in the British GT Championship, and a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (991.2), which Justin Armstrong drives in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.
Jones became the 2019 GT4 ProAm champion in the British GT Championship, as well as taking an outright race win in 2020 on just his fourth appearance in GT3.
Armstrong claimed his maiden Am class victory in the Porsche Carrera
Cup GB at Oulton Park at the start of August, as well as winning the GTC class in British GT’s Silverstone 500 last season.
The race will feature a grid of 60 Porsche 911 GT3 R or 911 GT3 cup machines, featuring only amateur drivers for the first time on a circuit which is usually reserved for professional or semi-professional competitors.
So far this year, Team Parker Racing has claimed 14 victories across all three classes in the Carrera Cup and nine podiums in both classes in the Sprint Challenge GB, alongside impressive performances in the Supercup and British GT Championship,
while it also achieved two wins in the Carrera Cup Benelux in a one-off outing in May.
Jones, Armstrong and the team will first head out on track for a 45-minute free practice session at 8am today, with another practice period tomorrow, again at 8am, before qualifying gets under way at 11am. The race itself, also 45 minutes in length, is due to get under way at 8am on Saturday, just a few hours before the flag drops on the 89th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Team principal Stuart Parker said: “It was a welcome surprise to get the call from Porsche inviting us to enter the Sprint Challenge France race at Le Mans and one which we didn’t hesitate to say yes to.
“It is a long-term goal of the team to compete in the 24 Hours, so to be able compete at the event this year will be a special one for us all.
“It is going to be a tough test, with only two practice sessions ahead of qualifying then the race itself, but we’ll be doing all we can to support Nick and Justin and help them get to grips with the track.”