SD Team racing drivers Nick Jones and Sven Müller continued their strong run of form in the British GT Championship, twice matching their season-best result last weekend in a positive double-header at Snetterton.
The #66 Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was a threat throughout the brace of one-hour sprint races in Norfolk, with Jones and Müller adding a third consecutive sixth place finish in the opening encounter before extending that run to four consecutive top sixes in the second later in the day.
From as early as Saturday it was clear that the SD Team Porsche was likely to be a serious threat over a heatwave-hit weekend, as the rapid Müller clocked a time just 0.038s away from the fastest effort in Pre-Qualifying.
When the two all-important Qualifying sessions came around later that afternoon, the pace was just as hot as the soaring temperatures around the 2.969-mile circuit. Jones was first to take to the circuit, putting the #66 machine ninth on the grid for the opening race, handing the car over to Snetterton rookie Müller for the second 10-minute outing. The German surged to the sharp end of the times with his early efforts, but had to settle for a mightily close seventh place come the chequered flag.
With Sunday came two chances to progress through the field. Jones would be tasked with starting the Porsche in the first hour-long race. After a clean start Jones took advantage of a spinning Honda to climb up to eighth spot.
Jones switched with Müller for a fast-paced second stint to the chequered flag, the Porsche emerging from its mandatory pit stop still in eighth. Keeping tabs on the three-car fight for fifth ahead of him, Müller snapped up another position when Hugo Cook’s Lamborghini slithered wide after contact with Marcus Clutton’s McLaren. The latter was then also handed a time penalty that benefitted the SD Team further, with Jones and Müller coming home sixth overall in the final result.
Müller took the wheel for the second sprint of the day, and was instantly on the attack. During a chaotic first lap, he eased his way by Callum MacLeod’s McLaren at the Agostini hairpin, then set off after Jonny Adam’s Aston Martin. That fight lasted all the way up until the driver change, with Jones joining the action in a strong fourth place after the pit stops had cycled through, with his eyes set on the podium.
Holding his own in what became a tight three-car battle over fourth position, the Porsche ran wide under braking for the first corner and slipped to the back of the fight. Undeterred, Jones regained his rhythm and held off the chasing Simon Orange to confirm another sixth place finish – the fourth in succession for the SD Team crew.
Nick Jones said: “It’s all good! We’re very happy with the progress from the weekend. Just gutted I made a little mistake in the second race, so we could have finished fourth, which would have been a great result for us, but these things happen. If you’d have offered me sixth place before I think I would have taken it, and that’s now four sixth-place finishes on the bounce, so it’s getting closer to where we want. It’s been a good weekend, I’ve managed to stay close to Sven in lots of places and learned a lot after not being here for years and not much testing, so it’s good steps forward and I’m looking forward to Brands Hatch.”
Sven Müller said: “It’s my first time at Snetterton; I’d trained a bit on the simulator, but it’s a nice track and I really enjoyed the weekend. In qualifying we were just missing a little of bit of pace, but in the race it looked a bit better. Overtaking obviously is quite tricky here, but I had some good fun in both races. Race two at the start was a bit chaotic, but we managed to get a few places and it was looking good for the podium. Otherwise, I think we could have finished in the top three or four. Two P6 finishes; next race at Brands or at Donington it could come! I’m happy that Nick is improving all the time, with good pace this weekend, and I’m looking forward to the next race.”
The SD Team is next in British GT Championship action over the weekend of 23/24 August, the series returning to its endurance format with a single two-hour race at the Brands Hatch GP Circuit.
