Parr Motorsport head to Brands Hatch for the first rounds of the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season in confident mood after a good winter of testing. The Crawley-based squad treat the event as a home race given the Kent speed bowl’s proximity to their base and enjoy local support. The team have previously won around the 1.2 mile, six turn circuit, most recently with Ben Barker taking two wins as a guest driver in the 2014 event.
For 2016 the team return with a two-car entry for Peter Kyle-Henney and Sean Hudspeth. Peter has run with the team for the past three years competing in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge before moving up into the Carrera Cup in 2014. He endured a tough 2015 season, being taken out of the first race at Brands Hatch which necessitated a new chassis. A spectacular crash at Oulton Park after again being hit from behind ruled him out of the rest of the season but he returns fresh and ready to fight in 2016.
Sean will be making his debut in the championship having previously raced in the Formula Masters China series. He also has diverse experience in GT racing competing in Asian GT, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Suisse as well as the 24-hour race at Zolder.
Both drivers will benefit for the presence of 2014 Champion Josh Webster, who will act as the team’s drive coach for the weekend. The team and drivers therefore set for a competitive showing in the opening races of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season.
Qualifying for rounds one and two takes place at 11:25 on Saturday 2nd April with race one starting at 10:00 on Sunday and race two following at 15:30. Race two will be shown live on ITV4 with highlights of race one also expect to be shown during the Sunday broadcast.
Sean Hudspeth (Number 29 – ProAm1)
“I’m really looking forward to the first race. We’ve been doing a lot of testing but to actually get to race and go head-to-head with these guys will be a lot of fun. Testing has gone well and we were the fastest ProAm1 at the Media Day, which was good. The hope for Brands is to target a good finish. I’m focusing on the fundamentals and then everything will come after that so that’s our target.”
Peter Kyle-Henney (Number 22 – ProAm2)
“It’s great to be back in the championship. Testing has gone well but I’m really looking forward to it. The car is fantastic and we should give them a run for their money. We’re really looking forward to starting at Brands. It’s a circuit I know fairly well and it’s a great track to drive and a great track for the spectators as well. These cars are fantastic around there so it should be a great opener. I hope it’s a bit kinder than last year but it should be good.“
Paul Robe (Team Principal)
“We’ve had a very good time testing. Peter has driven very well and I’m really impressed by the step forward he has taken with his driving. There is still more to come but I can only say it bodes well for the season. Sean is unbelievable really. He has never raced in the UK before so all of the tracks are new but I’m really impressed with his development. He’s set some good times in testing, he’s still learning but he’s going to be there and it’s going to come very soon. You can’t rush it and his development has got to take a natural progression but he’s firmly on the right path. He’s looking very good for ProAm1. I almost can’t wait for the season to start.”