Nick Jones and Scott Malvern have announced that they will campaign a Mercedes-AMG GT4, to be run by Desford, Leicestershire-based Team Parker Racing in the GT4 class of the 2018 British GT Championship. Although their entry was confirmed by the time of the British GT Media Day at Donington Park, the identity of the car had, until now, remained unannounced.
After two seasons racing the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, Jones and Malvern will be one of the first to enter the new-for-2018 Mercedes.
Malvern and Jones are confident that the Mercedes-AMG GT4 is the car of choice for the new season.
“Ever since I first started talking to Mercedes it’s clear the programme is just at another level,” said Jones. “This year is going to be exciting – easily the most exciting of our time in British GT so far, and Mercedes is going to give us a real chance to compete.”
“The car is a huge step forward,” continued Nick Jones, as he embarks on his third full season in the premier national GT championship. “We’ve been out testing it in Europe with the Black Falcon team, getting a grounding of it ahead of getting our own chassis this month. Team Parker has been with us every step of the way too, and that relationship will be important as they’re such a professional team.”
“Racing for me is about going out and having fun and having competitive machinery is key to that. Last year I felt I drove better than ever, but a lot of that progress was masked by the car’s outright pace. This year I think we can make a real step up the grid.”
Team-mate Scott Malvern is also looking forward to the new season.
“The Porsche last year proved quite tricky for the amateur driver whereas the Mercedes is accessible and has all of the technology to make it a real weapon in endurance racing.”
The 2018 British GT Championship gets underway over the Easter weekend – March 31 – April 2 – at Oulton Park.