Ahead of this year’s British GT season finale at the Derbyshire track, both drivers have had time to regroup and reflect on the year, which hasn’t quite lived up to the glory of their GT4 Pro-Am title-winning campaign of 2018. While the duo got to celebrate outright glory in the showpiece Silverstone 500 endurance event back in June, their title defence sadly came to an end last time out at Brands Hatch after exhaust damage added to a string of technical issues and bad luck that has restricted their season.
However, the outgoing GT4 Pro-Am champions are keen to get back on track and go hunting for glory in the category once more at the wheel of the Solseal-supported Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. While the title defence is over, Nick and Scott are still well in the fight for a top-three finish in the GT4 Pro-Am Championship. They currently sit fifth in the points, just nine outside the rostrum places.
The pair head into Donington in good stead, having shown strong pace at the venue back in June when British GT made its first visit of the year for its fourth round. Back then the Mercedes-AMG fared well around the fast, undulating track, with Nick qualifying second in class before Scott blew the entire field away by setting the outright fastest qualifying time by almost half-a-second in the Pro driver session. The pair looked odds-on to be in the fight for at least an overall podium, but slight contact with a rival McLaren during Nick’s first stint caused radiator damage that hobbled the car and ended their hopes of another strong finish.
Both Nick and Scott go into the final race of the season with nothing to lose, and carrying no pit stop success penalty. Meaning they are set up for a weekend on full attack.
Nick Jones says: “I’m really excited about Donington Park ‘Part II’ and can’t wait to just get there and get back out in the Mercedes-AMG. It’s been a long old wait since Brands Hatch and everything has been busy outside of motorsport, so it will be great to jump back in. We have nothing to lose this weekend, so it’s just a case of going out, having fun and doing our absolute best to finish the season with a flourish. It’s been a bit of a frustrating year overall, but that’s the ups and downs of this sport. It doesn’t change the fact that we just love racing and we’re well and truly ready to go again. The car will undoubtedly be strong, so it’s up to us to go out there and get the sort of result we deserve to end the season on.”
Scott Malvern adds: “I’m really up for Donington – it’s the last round of the season and we just have to go for it. I think it will be tough, as we’re all expecting the Aston Martins to go really well at Donington under the new Balance of Performance settings, but that doesn’t really affect us or what we’re aiming for. The Mercedes-AMG will be mighty in the second sector of the lap, although our lack of torque usually hurts in the final sector with the two hairpins. But I’m confident in Nick – he’s been driving brilliantly all year – and I know what I can do. There’s still a top-three finish in the championship at stake, so we have to push for that and just aim to end the year on a high note.”
Qualifying for the British GT Championship Donington Decider is set for 1635hrs on Saturday 14 September, with the two-hour season finale getting underway at 1315hrs on Sunday. The entire race will be streamed live via the official British GT Championship website, and live timing will be available all weekend via TSL-timing.com.
