Rick Parfitt Jnr ended his 2014 Avon Tyres British GT Championship season in perfect style with a superb victory in the final round of the season at Donington Park, showing blistering pace as he battled from behind to take a hard-earned first win of the campaign.
Parfitt headed into the weekend with victory the only target after a season plagued by misfortune alongside teammate Tom Oliphant, and that showed as they worked hard throughout Saturday practice to find the best set-up for their Century Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4.
The RPJ band lead singer was able to reap the rewards in qualifying, posting a best lap of 1m 38.962s, his quickest of the day, in his fifteen minute session. That time, combined with Oliphant’s best, put them fourth on the grid as the top Ginetta GT4 for the two-hour race the next day.
Parfitt started the race in car #42 and after holding the place over the first couple of laps, he gained a spot when a rival retired. Settling into a rhythm behind the lead Aston Martin’s from there, Parfitt consistently lapped as the fastest in the class whilst implementing the team’s plan of staying behind the top two into the pit window.
As the race headed towards the fifty minute mark though, Parfitt sensed an opportunity to move forwards and executed a pair of great overtakes into the hairpin in his final five laps in the car to brilliantly grab the class lead just before handing the Ginetta over to his team-mate.
Parfitt’s peerless stint proved to be the foundation for a hard-earned victory for the team, as Oliphant overcame a problem with the pit limiter on his out lap to overhaul the Aston’s once again to bring the car home for a richly deserved victory, with Parfitt’s stellar contribution earning him the Mobil 1 Master of the Weekend accolade.
Rick Parfitt Jnr – #42 Ginetta G55 GT4:
“The strategy was to sit behind the Astons at the beginning and try to build a gap with them, as we knew they had time penalties in the pits so we could jump them. It was all going to plan, I was driving with my head and said to myself to only make a move if it presents itself. It did and I took second, and it did again and I took first.”
“I brought the car into the pits in first which is great, a real confidence booster for me, and I handed the car over to Tom thinking we’d have a healthy lead. Sadly that didn’t happen as our pit limiter stuck on, losing us time and leaving us at the back of the fight.”
“From then on it was probably one of the most stressful thirty, forty minutes of my career. Tom really got into the groove though and drove amazingly. We both had to come from behind to take the lead in our stints and it was a really hard-fought and thoroughly deserved win.”
“It’s really emotional, it’s been a season of massive heartbreak and everyone in the pitlane knows we deserved a win. For me to get Mobil 1 Master of the Weekend as well is really flattering.”