Introducing: Parker Chase

Amid all the justifiable hype surrounding the Pirelli World Challenge at present, the Grand Touring Sport (GTS) field can sometimes be overlooked. And that’s a shame, because GTS can boast a 19-car entry of its own for the season opener at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend, with an array of KTM XBow GT4s, Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, Lotus Evoras, Aston Martin Vantage GT4s, Maserati GranTurismos, the SIN R1 GT4, and now the Ginetta G55 GT4.

The Yorkshire manufacturer has made steady inroads into the American market in recent years through Florida-based Ginetta importer Adolpho Rossi, but this will be their first foray into World Challenge, with a successful Balance of Performance test conducted at CoTA in February.

At only 15, Chase is one of the youngest SCCA Pro Racing
license holders in the US (Performance Motorsports Group/ Facebook).

Stuart Robinson’s Performance Motorsports Group will run the two cars, one for Nick Esayian and the other for 15 year-old Parker Chase, one of the youngest license holders in in SCCA Pro Racing. Texas native Chase, who has previous experience in the open-wheel F1600 racing and Spec Miatas, so impressed Ginetta factory driver Mike Simpson at the BoP test that he was invited back to make his PWC debut with Ginetta.

With prior commitments in the GRC Lites series and IMSA GT3 Cup, it’s set to be a one-off for the time being, but Chase is hoping to make a good impression nonetheless. 

“This is my first race in World Challenge and my first race with the Ginetta, so I want to do well and hopefully get on the podium,” he told Racing.GT. “It handles like a big go kart, it’s very responsive. I’ve been driving the Porsche a bit so the power isn’t such a big factor, it’s definitely a lot lighter than the Porsche.” 

“I’d like to stay with Ginetta and I know we might do St. Pete, we’ll just have to see as time goes.”

Parker’s father Eric Chase is the CEO of Enertech, a cellular phone infrastructure company operating across Texas, and has been very impressed with what he’s seen so far.

“Ginetta has done a fantastic job of trying to put this together in such a short time,” he said. “We have two cars this weekend running under the Ginetta brand, they have sent help in the form of parts, pieces and staff to help get this done. They’re really committed, you can tell that they want this to be successful.

“In the US you essentially have two choices. If you set your goals on NASCAR you typically come up through all the ranks, including dirt racing and Saturday night racing – it’s a long process before you are running at a national level. We’ve really enjoyed the level of professionalism that surrounds sportscars and road racing, it’s great for Parker to be at a national level event this early in his career.

“It will be very nice if we figure out a way to extend this and do a few more races with these guys. We’re still finding our way with the car, but from the standpoint of finding a group of people to work with, I don’t think we could be happier.”

Onslow-Cole "blown away" by Parker

Tom Onslow-Cole says he has been blown away by how quickly Team Parker Racing have gotten to grips with the Bentley Continetal GT3 they will enter in the Blancpain Endurance Series this year. 

28 year-old Onslow-Cole, who will also defend his 24 Hour Series crown with RAM Racing, will be joined by Callum Macleod and Ian Loggie at Stuart Parker’s team, which won the Am class title in 2015 with an Audi R8 LMS ultra. 

Onslow-Cole will campaign a Bentley Continental GT3 in
the Blancpain Endurance series in 2016 (VIPR Media).

“I’ve known Stuart and seen the team operate for quite a long time, so it’s great to finally drive with him and see how things work on the inside of his team,” says Onslow-Cole, who made the switch from touring cars to GTs in 2014. 

“We’ve already done a few tests together and I’ve been blown away by the team to be honest, they’ve done a brilliant job at getting a handle on the car. Quite often when you have a new car to a team, you’re expecting a bit of a learning curve, but if you didn’t already know then it wouldn’t be obvious at all, they’ve really taken to it quickly.” 

Initial impressions from testing have so far been encouraging, with Onslow-Cole particularly enthused by the Continental GT3’s agility. With the underrated Macleod and safe pair of hands Loggie providing capable support, Onslow-Cole is optimistic of a strong season ahead. 

“The Bentley is very light on its toes, I was very impressed,” he said. “I was expecting it to drive like quite a big car – I was thinking of my experience in the Nissan and the SLS – but actually it’s incredibly nimble, they really have done a great job of engineering the car. 

“Everything I’ve seen of my team-mates so far has been brilliant, we’ve got what we think is a very strong line-up across the board. Callum has flown under the radar in recent years, but in testing he’s been very quick and Ian is last year’s Am champion, enough said. We’re really excited to go to Paul Ricard and check out the opposition because at the moment we don’t really know exactly what we’re up against.” 

Did you know? 

Budget issues have meant Callum Macleod has had to sit on the side-lines more often than he would have liked in recent seasons, but did you know the 28 year old beat the likes of Nick Tandy and James Nash to dominate the 2007 British Formula Ford title, taking 14 wins from 25 races? His record was subsequently broken by Scott Malvern (18 from 24) in 2011 and Dan Cammish (24 in 24 starts) in 2013.

This article, as well as many more like it, can be viewed on Racing.GT.

Kelvin van der Linde – Determination pays off

“You dream your whole life about becoming a professional racing driver, so when that dream comes true, you’re left thinking what now? That’s the kind of feeling I had last year. There was a lot of self-development as a result of that and now I’ve got different goals that I can work towards both on and off the track which keep me motivated. It’s important to have a balanced lifestyle and to realise that racing isn’t everything. You have to lead a healthy life away from the racetrack to help you rebound better from the bad moments.” 

You would hardly expect that such a perceptive clarity might escape the mouth of a racing driver aged only 19, but then Audi factory driver Kelvin van der Linde isn’t like most 19 year olds. 

van der Linde is one of few 19 year olds that can call themselves a fully
fledged factory driver, but that's not to say his journey has been easy (Audi AG).

Born into a motorsport family – his father Shaun van der Linde was a BMW factory driver who contested the 1994 FIA Touring Car World Cup at Donington, while uncle Etienne beat Jenson Button in the 1999 Zandvoort F3 Masters – van der Linde was always likely to follow suit and following a fruitful karting career, made his car racing debut in a VW Polo aged just 14, going on to win the South African national championship in 2012. 

But in order to further his career, van der Linde would have to start from scratch in Europe, knowing all the while that the family coffers would only be enough to see him through one year in the DTM-supporting VW Scirocco Cup. The pressure to perform was well and truly on. 

“It definitely hasn’t been easy!” he laughs. “To keep your head above water in the world these days you have to mature quite young. It’s actually quite strange, looking back it still feels like yesterday when it all happened, the last few years have absolutely flown by. In the moment I wasn’t really conscious about it all, it’s only looking back on it now that I realise how everything played out so perfectly. 

“I’ve always had a very strong mindset. When I came from South Africa that first year for Scirocco Cup I was adamant that I had to win it to keep my career alive, and it happened, which ticked off the first box! I got some prize money from that and then I got some support from Audi Sport to do GT Masters, although at that stage it wasn’t an official thing.” 

Van der Linde was posted at C.Abt Racing alongside Rene Rast (“the best GT3 driver in the world at the moment” according to van der Linde) and despite having only two days of testing before the first weekend at Oschersleben, was immediately on the pace. The 17 year old pipped Christian Engelhart’s Porsche by 0.002 seconds to earn the first pole position of the year and went from strength to strength thereafter, scoring three wins – including a clean sweep of the Sachsenring – on his way to the title. 

"I've never had a team-mate that I've had so much respect
and trust for," says van der Linde of Rast (Audi AG).

It didn’t go unnoticed over at Audi HQ either, and van der Linde was duly entered in the season-ending Baku World Challenge alongside Christopher Mies, only for a brake failure to rob them of a top-ten finish in the closing minutes. 

“[Oschersleben] really opened Audis eyes and they took a special look at how I was getting on for the rest of the season,” he says. “Rene and I had a dynamite combination, it was a fantastic learning experience to have him as a team-mate in my first year of GT3. I’ve never had a team-mate that I’ve had so much respect and trust for and even now I still believe that he’s the benchmark for all of us. 

“By the end of the year we’d won the championship and it was clear that I would be a factory driver for the following season. It was all a blur really because it happened so quickly – before I knew it, I was back here in Germany for 2015 with my own apartment and set up on my own. But I definitely didn’t have it all my own way – if I hadn’t won the Scirocco Cup then my career probably would be over. 

“My parents made a lot of sacrifices to get me started in Europe, so to get the factory seat at the end was the icing on the cake.” 

Having served his apprenticeship alongside Rast, Van der Linde would face the very different challenge of leading 20 year-old team-mate Stefan Wackerbauer in 2015. Hopes of defending his crown were swiftly dispensed with after a rough start to the year, but an upturn in form in the second half of the season produced another victory at the Sachsenring and two further podiums at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim, proving there is more to Van der Linde than one-lap pace. 

van der Linde and Wackerbauer scored a first win at the Sachsenring (Audi AG).

“Those results gave me a lot of satisfaction to say yeah, I could achieve the same kind of results without Rene,” he admits. “I did get criticism in the beginning because it’s not often that people get promoted so quickly and have such a big responsibility on their shoulders, so last year was really a character-building year for me. 

“Coming off the high of 2014, I wanted to show Audi that they’d made the right decision and get a good result in the championship – I was perhaps not as patient as I should have been at times, but I do definitely see years like that as ones that make you work harder and learn about yourself. 

“I actually started doing triathlon races at the end of last season to help keep my mind away from the racing, which I think I need every now and then because you can start to go a bit crazy if you’re constantly thinking of negative weekends!” 

With a little more polish, Audi could have a real gem on their hands in a few years, but so far Van der Linde is taking it all in his stride. His grounded approach is refreshing in a sport often driven by ego, and at such a tender age, he can only get better. 

“You’ve just got to treat it as a job,” he says frankly. “I’m very lucky to be in a position that I get paid to do my passion, and it’s important to be reminded of that fact.”

Palmer eyeing “long term growth” with Bentley

Andrew Palmer has set his sights on a long term future with Bentley after switching Lamborghini for Bentley Team Absolute over the off-season. 

Ahead of the Pirelli World Challenge curtain-raiser at COTA this weekend, the 21 year-old told Racing.GT that he hopes to “grow” with his new team, having previously been part of the Grasser Racing squad which took the Lamborghini Huracan’s first victory in the Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza last year. 

Palmer is excited to "grow" in the Bentley brand (Bentley Team Absolute/ Facebook).

Palmer, who finished fifth in PWC in 2014 driving a Global Motorsports Group Audi, will join the Hong Kong single-seater convert Adderly Fong in a two-car line-up. 

“It made sense for my career, I was looking for a place to call home for the next years of my career and the chance to grow within a brand,” Palmer said. “I really enjoyed working with Lamborghini; they signed me as a junior driver and helped me get my start in the sportscar world where a lot of drivers struggle to be in a car, but I see some long term growth with Bentley and I found the chance to return to Pirelli World Challenge and be involved in a marque which is looking to appeal for a younger generation was very attractive. 

“I really enjoyed getting to go and race in Europe because I grew up following everything in Europe and it was a little bittersweet because I think of the Lamborghini guys as a family; we’ll always be friends but now we’re also competitors!” 

PWC differs from most other GT championships in that one driver is entered per car. Without the luxury of five other team-mates to confer with, getting setup right will be crucial, but Palmer is looking forward to the challenge. 

“I’m really excited to get back to sprint racing with my own car where there can be no excuses, it’s 100% on you,” he said. “You can’t rely on your team-mates to pick up the loose ends, it will expose me more as a driver.” 

With PWC adopting the same Balance of Performance as used by SRO, Palmer is optimistic that the Bentley will fare well at COTA, but is wary of the threat posed by factory-supported efforts from Porsche, Cadillac and McLaren. 

“Going to the SRO BOP this year should be a good thing for all competitors,” he added. “I know from Blancpain last year that each weekend the Bentleys were always in a position where they could win, so hopefully it will be a similar story this year. 

“It will be interesting to see how the Porsche BOP is. Growing up, I always looked up to Pat Long, he’s such a well-rounded driver so he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with, Johnny O’Connell will always be there, the Cadillacs are good and Johnny’s still got it. Those two guys will be up there, and Parente will be super-quick in the McLaren. 

“We might not be as quick as the Ferrari down the straights, but I think COTA will be a good circuit for the Bentley, we’re good in the mid to high speed corners and we’re also good on the brakes, so I think it will be a good debut track for us and the team.”

Barker: WEC another chance to impress Porsche

Porsche Supercup graduate Ben Barker is determined to make an impression on the German manufacturer after signing for Gulf Racing in the World Endurance Championship. 

Despite driving for a different team in each of his three seasons in the championship, the 24-year-old never finished outside the top ten, adding two podiums in the equally competitive German Carrera Cup last season, but now aims to impress the factory on his return to Gulf, which ran him in the European Le Mans Series in 2014. 

Barker will run the full WEC campaign with Gulf (Ben Barker/ Twitter).

“I’d like to think that I’ve got myself another opportunity with Porsche – I know the car, I know the team, so hopefully I can impress and make a name for myself,” Barker told Racing.GT. “The format of Supercup events is very different to the WEC. I’ve always thought of myself as being more suited to endurance racing because I’m quite a consistent driver and don’t make too many mistakes. I’ve just got to try and do the best job that I can and then we’ll see where it goes from there.” 

Silver-rated Barker will share the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with owner Michael Wainwright and former A1 GP champion Adam Carroll in the GTE-Am class. Having lapped at a similar pace to the Northern Irishman in 2014, Barker is hoping that the two will push each other on to further success in 2016. 

“Adam is obviously an exceptional driver and a great benchmark for me,” Barker said. “In 2014 we were fairly comparable, I did two hours of the race and he was doing one, but it was really handy to have him pushing the car as much as possible and bouncing ideas off each other. Quite often we would be feeling the same things and giving very constructive feedback to the team, so from my point of view we were quite similar. 

“Adam can also prove a lot to the Porsche factory and if we can do it together and come out on top at the end of the season, it would be testament to how good Gulf Racing is and our driver line-up as well.” 

Barker in the thick of the action in Carrera Cup Germany (Ben Barker/ Facebook).

Contesting the full WEC season will also afford Barker a first opportunity to enter the Le Mans 24 Hours, although it won’t be the first time he has raced there. Back in 2014, the French Carrera Cup and Carrera Cup GB series came together for a 45-minute invitational on the morning of the 24 hours, which Barker won after Kevin Estre suffered a puncture on the final lap. 

“It was amazing, all the Le Mans teams were building up and getting ready for the start of their race so I’m not sure they were paying too much attention, but generally from a media perspective it got some attention,” Barker recalls. “It was quite a patriotic weekend with the Carrera Cup France versus Carrera Cup GB and all the fans who were there for the big race had their flags out. We got a great response from the crowd, so that was very cool and it enthused me even more to take part in the 24 hours itself. 

“In the end I was slightly fortunate in that Kevin got a blowout, but that was all part of the game in saving tyres with all the kerbs you take. It’s a circuit that always makes for great racing because of the straights and with the tow, we were reaching higher speeds in the Cup car than you do in a GTE car! I’m really looking forward to doing it in something with a bit more aero for the commitment corners and of course it’s nice to go to a track where you’ve won before.”

Eaton: Maserati will have presence on track

British GT newcomer Abbie Eaton believes that her Maserati GranTurismo MC will have a “presence” on-track ahead of the Italian marque’s first appearance in the championship since 1998. 

Eaton, who will share the Ebor GT-ran machine with fellow GT Cup graduate Marcus Hoggarth, is a former Mazda Mx5 SuperCup champion and is confident that the Maserati’s pedigree in the Trofeo World Series will help smooth her transition to GT4 class after campaigning a BMW M3 E46 GTR last year.

The Ebor GT Maserati will be a new addition to British GT in 2016.

“We’d been speaking to [Ebor GT owner] Adrian Snook for a while, he ran with Marcus last year and they’d always been quite interested in Italian machines,” she said. “They mentioned possibly buying a couple of the Trofeos and bringing them across to race in GT Cup or British GT, which seemed like a very good direction to go down. The car is proven, it’s got quite a lot of knowledge behind it as it’s been running for a couple of years abroad and the noise it produces is unreal! 

“It’s quite a big car as well, it’s a bit bigger than the Aston which is a bit of a tank as well, so it will definitely have some presence on track, that’s for sure!” 

Eaton is due to give the car its first shakedown at the Snetterton Media Day, and is hopeful that the Balance of Performance will allow it to compete against the array of Aston Martins, Ginettas and Porsches announced so far. 

Although this will be the GranTurismo MC’s first time in Britain, it has raced in GT4 spec before, taking a best finish of fourth at Misano in select GT4 Euro Series outings last year. 

“It had its Balance of Performance done last week and we’ve been assured that they won’t hamper it too much because it would be such a shame to jump into something and for it to be unable to compete,” Eaton added. “It’s track record when it came to Silverstone in the Trofeo Series I think was about three seconds quicker than the GT4 cars, but with the BOP done well it should hopefully be about right. It’s just down to us to hustle it and get it to do the things we want with it. 

“You always want to go into a championship hoping you can win. I’m not naïve; it’s a new car for the team and it’s a new championship for myself, but I’m an optimistic person and determined that we will get some good results along the year. I’ve already shared a podium with Marcus before; when I won at Silverstone he won his class as well, so I’m taking that as a positive! He proved that he was very quick last year, so hopefully he’s going to push me along and I’m going to push him along.”

van Splunteren: Lamborghini suits me better

Newly-signed Lamborghini GT3 Junior Max van Splunteren believes he will be much better suited to the Huracán than the Bentley Continental GT3 he drove last year.

Speaking to Racing.GT after a successful initial test in Catalunya, the Dutch 20-year-old was enthused by the Huracán and is itching to get started on his 2016 programme with Attempto Racing in the Blancpain GT Series.

The Dutchman was impressed by the Huracan at his
first test in Catalunya (Max van Splunteren/ Facebook).

“The Bentley was a very big car, you really had to throw it around the slower corners and the ‘Mickey Mouse’ parts of the track, whereas this car is the other side of the spectrum,” said van Splunteren, who completed a part season with HTP Motorsport last season with a best result of sixth at Zandvoort. “It’s light, agile and turns easily. The good thing about the Bentley was it was very good aerodynamically, but the Lamborghini is also very good aerodynamically – the biggest difference is in the sheer size of the car.

“I’m quite an aggressive driver, I use a lot of tyres and with the Bentley the rear tyres would degrade faster than the front ones because of the turbo engine,” he continued. “I think the Lamborghini will suit me a little bit better because I can throw the car around a little bit more and still have life in the tyres.”

In the Endurance Cup, Van Splunteren will benefit from sharing with countryman Jeroen Mul, who was part of Grasser Racing’s line-up last year. The team’s third driver is yet to be announced, although van Splunteren did confirm that they would look to enter in Pro-Am. 2012 GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi will make his GT racing debut alongside Van Splunteren in the Sprint Cup, in what ought to be a very competitive line-up.

“I know Jeroen from racing in Holland, so we already get along well. I think he’ll be very good team-mate to have, he’s already driven the Lamborghini for a year so he knows the car and the brand quite well," he said. "With Davide it’s the sheer speed; he looks like a pitbull, he goes straight towards the target and does everything he needs to do. He needs to get used to the weight of the car and being aggressive with the kerbs, but I’m sure he’ll get used to it very quickly.

“There will be a lot of very quick drivers and good teams in Sprint this year because now every manufacturer has to have two cars in Sprint to be eligible for Pro in Endurance. It will be very difficult, but I think we have a very competitive package to do some good finishes, and go for some wins in Endurance.”