Snetterton 300 Circuit plays host to the penultimate race meeting of the British GT Championship season this coming weekend, 6th/7th August, where title challenger Seb Morris has his sights set on a major push for glory in the event’s pivotal pair of one-hour races.
Marking the last double-header of the campaign, rounds seven and eight at the East Anglian track really will be crucial to the outcome of the 2016 season – the Welsh 20-year-old’s first in endurance racing – with just 10.5 points separating Seb from the top of the standings.
Following this weekend’s action only one race will remain, at Donington Park in September, so the intensity of the battle will be ratcheted up another notch a few days from now as battle resumes over one of the most coveted crowns in GT racing.
Going into the Snetterton event, Seb and team-mate Rick Parfitt Jnr hold third place in the driver standings after an incredibly strong season thus far in 2016 sharing driving duties in the No.31 Bentley Continental, which is engineered by top entrant Team Parker Racing,
With one race win and three other podiums to their credit from the first six rounds, one of the most eye-catching parts of Marford-based Seb’s rookie campaign in GT racing has been his unmatchable pace and prowess in qualifying. Re-writing the record books by taking four GT3 pole positions from four attempts, he also set a new GT3 race lap record at Oulton Park.
As well as the British GT title battle, of course, Seb is also still leading the Sunoco Whelen Challenge which grades performances of a variety of competitors across several championships. The eventual winner of the Challenge will receive a fully-funded drive in the 2017 Rolex 24 Hour Race in Daytona.
“This is going to be a big weekend for everyone”, said the MSA Team UK driver and British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star, “With only three races to go, every single point really does count at this stage of the season and Rick and I will be going out there to try and qualify as strongly as we can at Snetterton and be in a position to fight for podiums in both races.
“It really has been a fantastic first season for me in GT racing, the guys at Team Parker have done an amazing job all year with the Bentley and the car has been incredible. Before the season started we didn’t know what to expect, but to be going into the penultimate weekend inside the championship top three is very satisfying. We’ll be pushing as hard as ever next weekend.”
Reverting to the short one-hour format for next weekend’s pair of British GT contests means there will be two standalone qualifying sessions, one for the ‘Am’ drivers which will determine the grid for the first race and another session for the ‘Pro’ racers which will set grid order for race two. Usually for races of two hours or longer, team-mates’ quickest times are combined to form the grid.
Following the usual pair of free practice sessions on Saturday, 6th August, British GT qualifying is provisionally set to begin at 16.10. On Sunday, 7th August, morning warm-up will get underway at 09.30 with round seven scheduled to start at 11.50 and round eight expected to commence at 16.05. Live timing will be available HERE
2016 British GT Championship GT3 Driver Standings (after Rd6):3rd Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt Jnr, 95.5pts
2016 British GT Championship Pro-Am GT3 Driver Standings (after Rd6):3rd Seb Morris & Rick Parfitt Jnr, 97pts
2016 British GT Championship GT3 Team Standings (after Rd6):3rd Team Parker Racing, 95.5pts
