Jones and Malvern recovered from a difficult qualifying session that left them at the back of the GT3 field to rampage their way up the order, taking full advantage of the drenched conditions to move their Team Parker Racing Porsche GT3 into third place before the race was halted.
The red flag with still 20 minutes of the race to run was brought out due to the deteriorating conditions, which both sealed the team’s third place, but also denied them the chance to improve on what was already a superb result.
Much of the Portimão weekend was blighted by rain, with both qualifying and the race taking place in mixed or worsening conditions. But that actually played into the hands of the rear-engined Porsche, which enjoys strong traction in the wet that effectively makes up for the car’s heavily restricted power output under the series’ Balance of Performance rules.
Having dialled the 992-spec 911 GT3 R into the 2.9-mile Algarve track during practice, qualifying proved a very difficult test with rain starting to fall as the session went green. Jones took the wheel and headed out on slicks in the hope that he could take advantage of what grip there was to set a quick time, but with the rain intensifying as he went out, it meant the gamble didn’t pay off. The #18 Porsche would start from the back of the GT3 order.
However, with nothing to lose and persistent rain drenching the track for the 110-minute race, it only added to the drama of the team’s comeback on Sunday morning.
Jones took the race start on full-wet Michelins and immediately made progress, passing GMB Motorsport’s Honda NSX driven by Lars Engelbreckt Pedersen before pulling more moves to ease the Porsche up to ninth. At this stage in the race Jones was in full flow, lapping seconds faster than those ahead of him and, despite having to throttle back for several safety car and full course yellow interruptions as others fell foul of the worsening conditions, Jones brought the car up to sixth by the time the pit window opened and he could relay to Malvern.
Despite being briefly blocked in the pits, the team got the car serviced and Malvern back out in position, and the Pro driver put on his own charge. Zapping past Anders Fjordbach’s older-generation Porsche before then pulling a fine pass on Patrick Kujala in the Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan. With a podium in sight, the result was confirmed when Charles Bateman spun the sister Team Parker Porsche, allowing Malvern through for third before the race was again neutralised by the safety car as the standing water grew, and then eventually halted when conditions became too dangerous to continue.
Regardless, a third podium of the year was a superb way to cap Jones and Malvern’s maiden season of European GT3 racing, and leaves them fifth in the GT3 drivers’ championship.
Nick Jones said: “What a weekend that was! We had good pace through the entire event but we rolled the dice in qualifying and it didn’t pay off. But Sunday was a total turnaround. The Team Parker crew gave me a mega car for the conditions and I don’t think I’ve ever driven a better stint in my life. It was tricky with the increasing standing water and spray, but I just had confidence in the car and once I started overtaking people, I just kept on pushing. It’s the best I think I’ve ever driven. The team performed a near-perfect pit stop and Scott did what Scott does, moved us even further forward and we got the result. Champagne never tasted so good! I want to thank the entire team for their efforts and making this happen, not just for this race, but for the entirety of a memorable season. Let’s see what 2024 brings.”
Scott Malvern added: “What a turnaround! Nick had mega pace during the early stages and did a superb job to bring us back into the mix. That really set us up for the result. We actually got a bit unfortunate mid-race with the amount of full course yellows we had instead of full safety cars, which would have bunched the pack up more, and if that had happened I reckon we could have won this. But a podium is still a superb way to round out the year. The car was fantastic in the conditions, and I got to make a few strong moves to make up a few more places and then spent the rest of the race pretty much hanging on as the standing water was increasing with every lap. But I had a lot of confidence in the wet, even with the rivers forming around the undulations of the circuit. This was a result taken purely on skill and pace, and that’s a brilliant way to go into the winter. I couldn’t be happier.”
