We like to look after our drivers as much as possible here at 7 Racing, and this year has been no exception. As part of our 2023 championship prizes, and as a little extra incentive and reward for our racers, we offered the sort of prize you would be hard pushed to find in other championships at this level.
At the start of the year we announced that our 2023 420R and 310R championship winners would be rewarded with a fully supported test day in the superb Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car, whilst the winners of our 420R Sportsman Championship and Chapman Trophy would have the pleasure of a fully supported test day in a Porsche Sprint Challenge car.
Following the end of our UK racing season in September, this prestigious test day finally came around a few weeks ago, and what a day it was!
Donington Park was the venue for the day and our four drivers were beyond excited, understandably. Sharing the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car was our 420R champion, Anthony Barnes, and 310R champion, David Baldwin. Meanwhile, 420R Sportsman champion, Gary Tootell, shared the Porsche Cayman Sprint Challenge racer with the 2023 Chapman Trophy champion, David Yates.
To say all four drivers enjoyed the day was a slight understatement. Although all four are somewhat well versed behind the wheel of a race car, this was something they hadn’t experienced this far in their racing career.
“This was a day I will never forget, a huge thank you to 7 Racing. I’m still smiling from ear to ear. I was just like a 10-year-old at Christmas,” beamed Baldwin.
With professional outfit, Team Parker Racing, on hand all day, firstly supplying the two cars, as part of their exploits in both Porsche championships, and secondly to advise and delve through the data, it gave our winning quartet a taste of what it’s really like to race at this level. And yes, they did get rather competitive once the data was rolled out.
Commenting on the experience, Tootell said: “It was a very special day for all four of us. The cars are epic, the team were brilliant with advice. I’ve raced in a few different championships, but I’ve never had anything that comes close to this as a prize. It was a great day, a huge thank you to Andy McMillan and Sean Bicknell for organising such a fantastic prize.”
Sean Bicknell, manager of 7 Racing commented “We have worked hard to be able to provide this awesome prize for our championship winners. We invest heavily in every aspect of our Championship and we wanted our prize package to be the same. So working with Team Parker Racing we purchased the track time, cars and support for what has turned out to be an excellent, well enjoyed day here at Donington Park.”
