Parr Motorsport History
Parr Motorsport, holder of the 2001 British GT Championship GTO title, is part of the Parr Group, founded by the father and son partnership of Ray and Paul Robe. The company started operations in 1985 from small premises in Old Coulsden, Surrey. Such modest beginnings belied Paul's ambitious plans, and his ownership of a Porsche and admiration for the marque developed into a dedication.
During that first year a customer asked Parr to prepare his car for competition in a Porsche production racing series. Before long Parr Garage was responsible for a whole string of increasingly successful race cars, and the team was evidently good at what it did. By 1991 the outfit was running a Porsche 911 Carrera 2 in the BRDC Saloon Car Championship for Paul Edwards. The relationship remains strong over ten years later, with Edwards still winning classic races in the Parr-sponsored Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera RS.
In 1994 Parr moved to South Godstone. This coincided with a first foray into international motorsport and an association with New Zealander Bill Farmer. The team tackled the Donington Park round of the BPRO GT Championship, with Farmer co-driving with Paul Edwards and Robert Nearn. They brought the Porsche 911 GT2 home in third place. At Montlhery in France they finished second overall, and Parr's move towards endurance racing was assured.
Le Mans 1996 - Second and Fourth
From a new purpose-built race shop Parr Motorsport set its sights on the pinnacle of GT racing, the Le Mans 24 Hours. It took two years for Paul Robe to be convinced that they were suitably prepared, and in 1996 the team confirmed an entry of two Porsche 911 GT2s. An impressive international line-up included drivers from New Zealand, UK, USA and France. Bill Farmer, Robert Nearn and Greg Murphy drove 'Car One'’ and Stefan Ortelli, Andrew Pilgrim and Andy Bagnall drove 'Car Two'. It was an astonishing debut, with the lead car crossing the line 2nd in GT2 and the Ortelli/Pilgrim/Bagnall car 4th.
British GT Championship - GTO Winners and Runners-up in 2001
Since 1997 Parr Motorsport has regularly been represented in the British GT Championship. The squad ran Porsche 911 GT2s through until 1999, when Parr embarked upon a two-year association with Hayles Konig Motorsport and a pair of Chrysler Vipers. In 2001 Parr was appointed the official Porsche Cars GB entry within the GTO category, and achieved something quite remarkable.
Not only did Paul Robe's drivers clinch the title but they finished as runners-up as well. The squad's first-string Porsche 911 GT3-RS, driven by Kelvin Burt and Marino Franchitti, dominated the season from start to finish. Between them they set nine new lap records and won eight out of thirteen rounds. Parr's second pairing of Ed Horner and Matt Turner ran them close in the latter half of the season, securing the runners-up slot at the final round.
Porsche Competition Specialists - Titles Every Year!
Parr-prepared cars compete in most of the leading national Porsche championships. In 1998 Parr cars won all three classes in the Pirelli Porsche Championship and finished 1st, 2nd and 4th overall. It is possibly the only time this has ever been achieved. Cars prepared by Parr Motorsport continue to compete in and dominate the Porsche Classics series, with four entered in 2001; three finished in the top five and Spencer Griffiths took the title. In 2002 British ladies rally star Barbara Armstrong contested the Michelin Porsche Cup in the Porsche Cars GB entry managed by Parr Motorsport, and impressed everyone with her wet-weather skill and ready ability to adapt to the new discipline. Kevin Harrison, meanwhile, won Class 2 and finished third overall - in another Parr-prepared Porsche.
Official Works Team for Porsche Cars GB
Being selected to represent Porsche Cars Great Britain in the 2001 Privilege Insurance British GT Championship and Michelin Porsche Cup was testament to the experience and professionalism of Parr Motorsport, and something of which they are justifiably proud. The squad was delighted to have been retained for 2002, being responsible for the Autosport-backed "Young Driver" car in the Michelin Porsche Cup as well as those of three other championship hopefuls; Kevin Harrison, Mark Hazell and Nigel Rice.
Once again Parr has been contracted by Porsche GB to take care of Official Technical Support for the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, and is now the official engine builder and Dyno for the Championship.
Parr will also be responsible for the running of the Porsche GB VIP car which will take part in the Championship. This important role once again demonstrates the engineering abilities of Parr and our customer commitment. You can keep updated on the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship via our race report service.