Current British GT4 Champion Rick Parfitt Jnr finally found a break in his poor run of luck so far this season at the previous two rounds of the championship in Snetterton. A double podium for the RPJ Band lead singer was somewhat overdue having lead the majority of the races so far this season before bitter luck hampered his results.
Making his debut at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps, Parfitt was keen to continue his podium run particularly given the historic nature of the Belgian circuit.
The weekend got off to a good start on Friday for teammates Tom Oliphant and Rick Parfitt Jnr. The Ginetta G55 duo comfortably improved their pace throughout the free practice sessions knowing that it was their race pace that would be key to getting them on the podium this weekend. Qualifying the car for race one, Rick set the fifth fastest time in GT4 before Tom took over to place the car in sixth for Saturday afternoon’s final race of the weekend.
Without the benefit of a 10-minute morning warm-up at this event, it was straight into race one on Saturday morning at 9.15. Rick Parfitt Jnr was starting the #42 Ginetta G55 for the first of the day’s pair of one-hour races. Falling to the back of the field at the start, the hard charging champion fought his way back up the order before pitting to hand over to Tom Oliphant for the final stint. Emulating his pace, Tom put in a superb stint and at the flag just missed out on grabbing the final podium position.
Keen to secure a podium at this iconic venue, the Century Motorsport duo lined up in sixth for the final race of the weekend. Having completed qualifying two, Tom Oliphant started the race and enjoyed a strong start to the session. Running in fifth position, Oliphant pitted to hand over to Parfitt for his stint to finish the race. Rick set a blistering pace throughout his run and on the penultimate lap moved the #42 Ginetta into third in GT4, a position he would secure to the flag.
Rick Parfitt Jnr – #42 Ginetta G55 GT4:
“This was always going to be a difficult circuit for us, as the Ginetta was just plain underpowered on a circuit with so many long straights. Our strategy was to hang on to the Aston’s, Lotus and Porsche’s for as long as we could, and try and jump them in the pitstop. In race one we still had the success penalty from Snetterton to deal with so to finish fourth was a great result, and to go one better in the second race was amazing! We couldn’t compete in straight-line speed but what we lacked in that area we made up in stealth and determination. Tom and I both drove our hearts out and I’m just happy that we brought home solid points and finished the weekend as the top Ginetta entry.”