British sportscar racer Matt Parry will tick another circuit off his bucket list later this month, after teaming up with R-Motorsport to contest the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hours.
The 25-year old from Cardiff has already raced at many of the world’s iconic venues in his career – including Monza, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps – but this latest opportunity will take him ‘down under’ to Australia’s premier circuit to compete in one of international motorsport’s now-traditional season-opening endurance events.
Parry will share the wheel of the #760 Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3 with team owners Andreas Baenziger and Florian Kamelger, as well as Australia’s Peter Leemhuis, in the search for Pro-Am class honours and, having raced against R-Motorsport in last season’s Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, the Briton is excited to join forces with the Swiss operation.
“R-Motorsport was one of the teams to beat in Blancpain last season so it will be interesting to see the team from the other side of the fence, so to speak,” said Parry.
“It will also be great to make my debut at a fantastic circuit like Mount Panorama, which is a definite goal for any driver. I have to thank Andreas and Florian for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to chasing Pro-Am honours alongside them.”
R-Motorsport made an impact on its first appearance in the Blancpain Endurance Cup last season, claiming a maiden victory second time out at Silverstone and setting a new series record with three consecutive pole positions.
It will continue to run the same Vantage V12 GT3s at Bathurst while it waits for the latest Aston Martin racer to be cleared for competition, and Parry is looking forward to returning to the marque with which he made one of his earliest sportscar forays.
He added: “I got the chance to test an Aston Martin when I first considered moving over from single-seater racing, but the R-Motorsport car is very different to the GTE Vantage I drove in Bahrain.
“It will also be different to the Nissans that I have driven for the past two Blancpain seasons, but I’m keen to get behind the wheel and see what it can do. It was obviously competitive at different circuits last season, so I’m optimistic of a good weekend.”
Despite first being staged in 1991, the Bathurst 24 Hours has grown in popularity since its rebirth in 2007, and now ranks amongst the must-see – and must-do – races on the international endurance calendar. The 6.21km Mount Panorama layout, made famous by the annual V8 Supercar Bathurst 1000 touring car event, is one of the most challenging in the world and, even though he has had the chance to try virtual versions, Parry can’t wait to sample the circuit for real.
“Bathurst is definitely a bucket list track,” he confirmed, “I’ve had the chance to try it on both the PlayStation and R-Motorsport’s simulator and there’s a bit of everything in the layout. It’s both a technical circuit and one where you need a lot of confidence – in both yourself and your car – especially over the mountain section.
“The organisers have added a Thursday test session to the schedule this year, which will give everyone a chance to learn their way around, and that should make for an exciting race come Saturday.”
The 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hours takes place between Thursday 31 January and Sunday 3 February and expects to feature 43 cars spread across four classes., including a pair of R-Motorsport entries.