Team Parker Racing will field a brand new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in the 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship with soon to be 16-year-old Seb Hopkins the first named driver.
Seb, who turns 16 on New Year’s Eve, made his racing debut in the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2020, taking an overall podium finish at Brands Hatch en route to third in the Rookie standings, and followed up this year with 11 podiums from 25 races, finishing third in the main rankings. Prior to that he competed in karts, in the IKR series, before following in the footsteps of his dad, Jamie, who raced for several seasons himself.
Remarkably, despite his youth, Seb will fall short of Tom Canning’s participation record (16 years and 35 days) and Sandy Mitchell’s pole position mark (16 years and 100 days) but can potentially take the fastest lap and race victory accolades also held by Mitchell and undercut Jamie Chadwick’s championship-winning benchmark.
After success with the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R for Nick Jones and Scott Malvern in the British GT Championship in 2020, the team will field the first GT4 Porsche in the series since 2019, with the newly launched 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. The squad is also expected to remain in GT3 as well in 2022.
The car is powered by a naturally aspirated six-cylinder boxer engine, delivering close to 500 hp at 9,000 rpm, subject to Balance of Performance. It boasts optimised aerodynamics and improved driveability, has several safety features, including an escape hatch, and comes homologated to SRO GT4 regulations, meaning it will fit seamlessly into the British GT Championship.
The 2022 season gets underway with the traditional Easter weekend meeting at Oulton Park on April 16th and 18th, before heading to Silverstone, Donington Park, Snetterton, Spa-Francorchamps, Brands Hatch, and back to Donington Park to close the year, in October.
Further information on a second driver alongside Seb Hopkins, as well as a livery for the Team Parker Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport will be released in due course.
Seb Hopkins
“I’m extremely excited. It’s a massive opportunity for me and it was something that we weren’t expecting to do, but we’re going to do our best to do as well as we possibly can. It’s going to be a big step and I think I’m probably going to be one of the youngest on the grid, but it’s something that we need to do and will hopefully benefit my career.
“My dad is really interested in racing, and he loves cars, just like me. It was one of those classic things where I went to one of those indoor go karting places, I really enjoyed it and I wanted to pursue it. When I was younger, I used to go to his races and it’s amazing for it to now be the other way around where he comes to watch me race.
“I’ve had one day in the Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 Clubsport and I think we’re going to try and get some more testing in as soon as possible. Team Parker Racing, I think, is the best team to be with. They’re very well established, especially in the Porsche side of it, so I think realistically my aim is to do as well as we possibly can. Of course, it will be a learning year, but there’s no reason why we can’t be fighting for wins.
“My driving style definitely suits the more endurance style of races and championships. The aim would be Le Mans like many other people, I’m sure, and I think this is the first step that could bring me to the top of that ladder.”
