Ratcliffe illness sends British GT champion Morris into late rush to partner Parfitt at Silverstone
Reigning British GT champions Rick Parfitt and Seb Morris were reunited at Silverstone last weekend, after Morris made a late dash to the track to deputise for Ryan Ratcliffe.
Parfitt and Ratcliffe had qualified the number one Bentley a seasonbest sixth, but a bout of food poisoning on Saturday ruled Ratcliffe out of driving after a medical inspection on Sunday morning.
Following Ratcliffe’s withdrawal, Parfitt put a call into his 2017 team-mate Morris, who is now racing a similar Team Parker-run Continental in the Blancpain Sprint Series.
Morris made the 164-mile dash from his home in Chester to the Northamptonshire track, arriving five minutes before he was due to take over the car from Parfitt an hour into the race.
“I’d got up, been for a run and was in the shower when Rick called,” said Morris. “I immediately jumped in the car at 1130hrs and managed to get to the track just after 1400hrs, then I had to blag my way in without a pass, run to scrutineering, chuck my lid on and get in the car. It was an experience to say the least.”
Morris and Parfitt finished fourth on the road, but were pinged back to sixth post-race for a yellow flag infringement.
“I’m a genuine Pro driver now, so it’s not hard jumping in and out of cars,” added Morris. “The British car is set up a bit differently to the one I race in Blancpain, so it took a few laps to get into it, but then I was bang on the pace again and didn’t feel like I’d been away.”