Team Parker Racing has announced the return of Seb Morris and Derek Pierce for the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in a second-generation Bentley Continental GT3.

Seb and Derek combined last season in the series’ Pro-Am Cup class, taking second place finishes at Monza in April and at the six-hour Paul Ricard 1000km in June.

Derek and Team Parker Racing will contest all of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup meetings, which includes the prestigious 24 Hours of Spa, while Seb will partner up for four of the five races as he is rewarded with a drive in one of the factory Bentleys for the marquee event in July.

2019 marks 100 years since W.O. Bentley founded his prestigious car company in London, and Team Parker Racing is proud to continue its relationship with the legendary British manufacturer for the fourth-straight season.

The new Bentley Continental GT3 race car was developed in tandem with the recently launched road car and utilises the mostly aluminium structure to deliver an ideal racing weight. The engine is a new development of the race-proven 4.0-litre Bentley twin-turbo V8 and, despite reduced exhaust noise, the sound is still unmistakably Bentley.

“I’m delighted and excited to be coming back to have another good go at it,” said Derek Pierce. “Last year I don’t think the results reflected the car’s performance; we had some really bad luck but Blancpain can be like that. You just have to try your hardest to keep out of trouble.

“I drove the new Continental GT3 on a test day and the mechanical grip and improved aero is amazing. The old car was good so this will be even better. I get on really well with Seb and I am excited about driving with him again and hopefully there’ll be plenty of podiums this year.”

“I’m really happy,” said Seb Morris. “We got the deal done nice and early at the back-end of last season and it is great to be back with Derek. He is a brilliant driver and very keen to learn which makes life easier for me. We’re just working out who will be the best possible person to have in the third seat and we’ll be ready to go.

“The car lost a little performance at the end of last year with how the development is going, so now we have the new Continental GT3 I am confident we can compete at the front of the field.

“We are very happy to welcome Seb and Derek back for another season in the Blancpain GT Series,” said Team Manager Stuart Parker. “Derek has done a fantastic job over the past two years as a Bronze driver and has worked really well with the team.

“We all know how talented Seb is and are delighted he will be back in the car for another year on the European stage. We’re obviously sad to be losing him at Spa but we are extremely happy that all of his hard work has paid off with a seat in one of the factory Bentleys and we’ll be cheering him on all the way.”