Photo: Andy Lloyd
Current British GT Championship GT3 champion Rick Parfitt Jnr will be joined by Ryan Ratcliffe for the 2018 premier national GT championship season, driving one of two Bentley Continental GT3s entered by Team Parker Racing.
Parfitt sought a new driving partner after former team-mate Seb Morris decided to seek fresh challenges in Europe this season.
Parfitt and Ratcliffe are not strangers, however, having won the British GT GT4 title in the Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G50 GT4 in 2013.
“An opportunity came up to drive with Rick in 2018 and to say I was a kid in a sweet shop is a bit of an understatement!” said Ratcliffe. “I have a great relationship with Rick and to work alongside him this year is going to be fantastic! Working with Team Parker is something I am really looking forward to. Looking from the outside they definitely seem like one of the most professional teams on the grid and after seeing the progress they have made with Rick I can’t wait to get started!”
Rick Parfitt Jnr is relishing the challenge ahead.
“After such a tough yet amazing year in 2017, where I achieved more than I could have ever imagined, the 2018 season needed to represent a fresh challenge for me,” said Parfitt. “There was never any doubt that I wanted to stay in British GT but I wanted to return with a new hunger and no expectations.”
“So when the opportunity came up to reignite the partnership with Ryan it was a hugely exciting prospect and felt absolutely right. We have a long history together, having been team-mates and rivals in Ginetta GT5s before uniting to win the GT4 title together in 2013.”
“In short, this is a proven partnership and I couldn’t be more excited about Ryan and I bringing the original dream team and the #1 TPR Bentley back to the best domestic GT championship in the world.”
The 2018 British GT Championship season gets underway at Oulton Park on March 31 – April 2.
