Rockingham Motor Speedway played host to round three of the 2014 Avon Tyres British GT Championship last weekend. Rick Parfitt Jnr was keen to demonstrate that the front running pace he showed at Oulton Park was not by chance. The combined qualifying times from Rick and co-driver Tom Oliphant were good enough to give the pair pole position for Monday’s two hour race.
With just one race last weekend, Parfitt was first out in the #42 Ginetta G55. When the race got underway, Rick read the start very well and instantly opened up a gap to his nearest rival. Keen to make a break from the chasing Aston Martin of Jake Giddings, Rick set about lapping almost a second a lap faster than any of the other GT4 cars to open out a gap of over ten seconds before the safety car was deployed to remove a stricken car from the gravel.
The combination of blistering lap times from Rick, the safety car and a faultless pitstop from the Century Motorsport team meant when Parfitt handed his car over to Tom Oliphant for the second half of the race, their lead was extended to over a lap. The bad luck suffered at Oulton Park two weeks ago however raised its head again and Oliphant was forced to visit the pits early in the second half of the race with a broken wheel stud. The team quickly got to work and fixed the problem and #42 car returned to the race in the closing stages to score an eighth place finish, scoring some vital points for their efforts.
Rick Parfitt Jnr – #42 Ginetta G55 GT4:
“Yet again fate dealt us a blow! The weekend was going fantastic with us securing pole position and our race strategy was working perfectly. I was able to pull what should have been an unassailable lead on the GT4 pack, but sadly it didn’t work out due to three wheel studs shearing, and so far this season in two out of the three races a component has failed on the car that is beyond our control. I can’t tell you how utterly frustrating it is to have had two potential wins snatched away!”
“On a more positive note, my pace was great this weekend and both Tom and I have shown yet again that we are one of the fastest pairings on the grid.”
“I’m very much looking forward to Silverstone, but have an operation the weekend before for my Crohns Disease so I will be very sore and pretty strapped up, but you know me, I will give it 110%! All the Ingredients are there for the illusive win, we just need them to all come together for the rest of the season.”
Crohn’s and Colitis UK Ambassador Rick Parfitt Jnr continues the defence of this British GT4 title at Silverstone on Monday 1st June with the support of, IFS, FlatPackFurnitureDirect.com, Westward Tool Base, KA Recruitment, Bayfield Recruitment, The Swipe, Clearview Coaching and R&R Agency.