Nick Jones and Sven Müller put on an eye-catching display during SD Team’s return to the British GT Championship at Donington Park last weekend, with the pair looking like top-six challengers before an unfortunate accident ended their race early.
The Team Parker Racing-operated Porsche 911 GT3 R showed strong pace in a cagey two-hour race, with Jones putting in a battling stint at the heart of a thrilling four-car fight. With Porsche factory star Sven Müller set to take over for the second half, the team looked certain to push on for a big points finish, but an unlucky accident just before the pit window opened led to heavy frontal damage and denied Müller the chance to show his considerable talent on his championship debut.
After a wait of two years, the SD-liveried Porsche returned to the British GT grid for the first time, flying the flag for the Stuttgart brand as the sole 911 GT3 in the field.
The team wasted little time in making its mark, with Müller going fifth fastest in opening practice on what was also his first official session ever driving the 2.5-mile Donington Park Circuit.
Qualifying yielded a starting place in the top 10 for Sunday’s race, but with every chance to push forward knowing the Porsche would be both fast and consistent in race trim rather than single-lap performance.
Jones took the wheel for the start and immediately got stuck into the action as he took on the #3 Optimum McLaren, #9 Paddock McLaren and #1 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan in what soon became an enthralling four-car fight.
After passing the Paddock McLaren with a strong move at Goddards, Jones looked set to press on and attack the Optimum car, however a big slide coming out of the chicane tested Jones’ car control and, while he impressively held the car, it opened the door for the Paddock McLaren to slip past again.
Jones recovered to fight back, once again hauling in the two McLarens ahead and, once the field had been bunched thanks to a mid-session safety car needed to clear a stranded GT4 Lotus from the gravel, Jones found himself in a prime position to attack.
Chasing down the Optimum McLaren ahead, Jones got a slipstream down the back straight and lined up a move into the fast left-right chicane, going for a gap just as the McLaren turned in to defend. There was contact and the Porsche was sent spearing through the tyre stack at the apex, heavily damaging the front bodywork.
Jones somehow continued until pitting on schedule to hand to Müller for the second half. The Team Parker crew did what they could to patch up the Porsche and sent Müller out, but the resulting lack of downforce meant the German could never push to the limit. With the car so damaged, it made sense to park it early and reset ahead of Silverstone at the end of the month.
Nick Jones said: “It’s a disappointing way to finish what was otherwise a really good race for us. That’s probably the best racing performance I’ve ever put in in British GT. We got properly stuck into a tight four-car battle and I definitely held my own. Had we not had the accident then I know Sven would have been pushing for the top six, but it’s just one of those things that can happen in motorsport.
“I got a good run on the McLaren and he left a gap. I’m never not going to go for a gap as a racing driver, but he turned in at just the wrong moment and I was a passenger from then on. It’s quite impressive how the car took the hit and still was able to continue, but with so much damage, little to gain and on safety grounds we decided it was sensible to park the car. Still, the team did a great job all weekend, Sven’s been a joy to work with as usual, and we’ll be back at Silverstone pushing for a top result.”
Sven Müller added: “I really enjoyed my first British GT round, and my first trip to Donington Park. I was surprised to see how many fans came out and the atmosphere was great. Donington is probably now one of my favourite English tracks – a load of fun to race there! Obviously, it was not the result we wanted and the accident was very unfortunate for us. From my view Nick was up the inside and the other driver must not have seen him, so it was a racing incident that was just unfortunate and broke our car so I couldn’t continue. But overall the team was very good, the car was quick and we are looking forward to the next race at Silverstone.”
SD Team is next in action for the biggest race of the British GT season, the Silverstone 500, across the weekend of April 25-27.
