By Paul Evans
British GT Champion Seb Morris will take on the very best GT endurance racing drivers in the world this season in the Blancpain Endurance Cup, driving a Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3.
The 22-year old Wrexham-born driver will spearhead the team’s Pro-Am assault, sharing the car with team-mates Ade Barwick and Derek Pierce.
Morris clinched the coveted British GT crown last season, sharing a Bentley with co-driver Rick Parfitt Jnr (son of the famous Status Quo guitarist). Morris has been in the celebrity spotlight himself recently, starring in Channel 4’s reality television series Celebs Go Dating. But it’s back to serious motorsport business from now on, as he undertakes his first full European motorsport campaign since he raced in the Formula One-supporting GP3 series in 2015.
“I am delighted to sign with Team Parker Bentley for my first proper assault on the biggest sportscar racing championship in the world at the moment, Blancpain”, said Morris. “It was the right time for me to leave British GT, off the back of winning the title, now I feel ready and experienced enough to mount a title assault with Ade and Derek.
“I know Team Parker well, and also the Bentley. It’s proven to be a championship-winning car against top competition in Pro-Am so I am extremely confident we can get out there to win. I’m looking forward to the season and feel I’m ready for Blancpain having raced in Formula Renault, GP3 and GT Open on the same tracks, plus I topped the Spa 24 Hours test in 2016. I can’t wait for it all to start!”
Since switching to GT endurance racing from single-seaters ahead of the start of the 2016 motor racing season, Morris has impressed. Adapting seamlessly and finishing his rookie season in British GT third in the standings, with one victory and five other podiums, Morris went on to win that year’s Sunoco Whelen Challenge which earned him a prize drive in the renowned Daytona 24 Hours.
Returning to British GT last year, the MSA Team UK driver and British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star went on to gave Bentley its first ever British GT title. Morris then went to Italy last October to race in the International GT Open, winning on his debut at Monza in a Lamborghini Gallardo.
The opening round of the 2018 Blancpain Endurance Cup takes place at Monza on 21/22 April, with Round 2 at Silverstone (19/20 May) and Round 3 at Paul Ricard in France (2 June). The biggest race of the season, the 24 Hours of Spa, takes place at the world-famous Belgian track on 28/29 July, with the fifth and final round taking place in Barcelona on 29/30 September.