Rick Parfitt Jnr and Seb Morris will play no part in qualifying for the second round of the Pirelli British GT Championship this weekend, having badly damaged the Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 in the first free practice session at Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby.
Parfitt Jnr, a podium finisher last time out at Brands Hatch, found the left-hand wall on the exit of Gracelands after hitting a patch of oil laid down by a rival.
The incident at the end of FP1 brought out yellow flags and the car was returned to the pits where the Team Parker squad quickly discovered the extent of the damage.
“I followed a pair of Aston Martins into Gracelands and the first one chucked out some oil which made the second one slide and I went right afterwards,” commented Parfitt Jnr. “The Traction Control didn’t even have a chance to kick in, it happened that quickly.”
Showing solidarity and support for his team-mate Morris added, “we knew it wasn’t an error by Rick, he’s shown himself to be comfortable in the Bentley and doesn’t really make mistakes like that. It’s unfortunate, but we definitely won’t be out today.”
Both drivers confirmed the car wouldn’t take part in the second free practice session nor qualifying, but remained hopeful that it would join the Sunday morning warm-up and take part in the two-hour race tomorrow, which is scheduled to begin at 13:00 BST.
