With one day to go before the British GT Media Day, JRM have revealed their 2019 line-up. The team will field the 2017 Pro-Am winning duo of Rick Parfitt Jr. and Seb Morris.
Once again, the pairing will be at the wheel of a Bentley Continental GT3. However, this year will see them pilot the new generation model.
This deal will come as a shock for many due to Parfitt retiring at the end of 2018, having become a stalwart of the British GT grid after many years of competing, becoming the only driver to win both the GT3 and GT4 title.
Talking of his new deal he said, “It was always going to take something immensely special to bring me back to racing having achieved my aim of winning both GT4 and GT3 titles.”
However, the prospect of being able to “reform ‘the dream team’ with Seb and Bentley, who are in their centenary year, and the project is run by former GT1 World Championship-winning team JRM, it simply represented an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
2019 will see the return of both Morris and JRM who have not been present in the series since 2017. Last year, Morris spent the season racing with Team Parker and Bentley in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
His ability in the Continental GT3 has been acknowledged by Bentley’s factory team M-Sport. The team confirmed that Seb would be one of their drivers for this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa.
The relationship of the driver pairing was highlighted by Morris when he said, “Rick had obviously announced his retirement, which was serious, and when the team talked with him he said he wouldn’t come back unless he was with me.”
Credit: The Image Team
The last time JRM competed in British GT was on the same day Parfitt and Morris clinched the title. However, JRM is well-known in racing with success in a range of disciplines. From rally-cross to sports-prototypes the team has always impressed and even won the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship Drivers’ title. However, they will be looking to add the 2019 British GT title to this list of achievements.
This will be JRM’s first season as one of Bentley’s official customer teams. Managing director, Jason King added, “We are delighted to be part of the Bentley family and run the new Bentley Continental GT3 in British GT. In addition to the car we are thrilled to have secured two talented championship-winning drivers in Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jnr.”
This will be the team’s first full GT season in five years. However, the experienced driver line-up will prove vital in preparing the team ahead of the season. King believes that the “driver pairing puts JRM ahead of the game and we are looking forward to the season ahead.”
With yet another strong driver line-up added to the grid; the 2019 British GT season looks set to be a classic. In the words of Rick Parfitt Jr. “it’s time to ‘Bring the Thunder’ once again!”
