No mountain too high
If you look at the mix of drivers, the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux is taking on an increasingly international character. This development is also starting to take place at team level, with Parker Revs Motorsport, a Dutch-British collaboration as a prime example. No sea is too high to introduce talented drivers from Great Britain into the championship.
Riders who want to make a career for themselves cannot avoid looking beyond the limits. This is also warmly encouraged within the Porsche Pyramid, for example via the Talent Pool that the organization of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux has created, intended to help young virtuosos to a higher step on the racing ladder. Parker Revs Motorsport even derives its raison d'être from creating opportunities for promising talent, especially from British soil. Harry King, currently leading the Pro division of the Benelux Championship, is currently the most striking example of that mission. English race stable owner Stuart Parker (Team Parker Racing) and Dutch team principal and engineer Patrick de Groot (Revs Motorsport) joined forces to lower the barrier for drivers from overseas to gain experience on the European mainland. The latter explains: “Great Britain mainly has compact circuits and really only two longer tracks, which fit well into the picture of competitions with fast Porsches. We also anticipated that Brexit will make it more difficult to transport cars, which is why we decided to start a collaboration two years ago.”
Decision by corona
The two teams know each other from the period when Team Parker Racing engaged the Dutch engineer Patrick de Groot to coordinate cars and drivers. “I provide my consultancy in various places in the world, including Asia. I even help to set up teams on a regular basis.” To this end, De Groot can boast of extensive personal experience, which dates back to 1997, when he put Kroon Racing on the map on behalf of a Renault dealer. A successful era of different (make) classes followed, which in 2006 culminated in participation in the then Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Benelux, later renamed Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. “Total asked me to run Olav Mol and Phil Bastiaans' car.” Afterwards, the focus shifted to the Dutch GT4 Championship with a 997 GT4, but in 2018 De Groot returned and took the 991's GT3 Cup that Sandra van der Sloot and Jeroen Kreeft raced in technical management, at that time still as a freelancer. Corona made him decide to position Revs Motorsport as a full-fledged team. “I could no longer fly around the world and I still wanted to stay active in motorsport at a high level.”
Gain extra experience
In the cooperative form under the name Parker Revs Motorsport, economies of scale have been realized, with participation in international championships. This includes the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, on two levels. “Jeroen Kreeft will compete in the Am category with our support,” says De Groot. “Step by step he works his way up the field, although more available driving time would enhance his progress. Perhaps next year's Porsche Sprint Challenge Benelux is worth considering, where you get a relatively large amount of track time in one day and race between other gentleman drivers. In addition, this season we have added Harry King to the team, the young English talent who immediately took the title in his first season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain - 2020. He will be riding Supercup this year, but was looking for a class in addition to that to gain extra experience.” During Jack's Racing Day at TT Circuit Assen, Parker Revs Motorsport further expanded its overseas mission by featuring British rider Will Aspin in a guest race. "He may opt for the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux in 2023, just like a few other interested parties from England." Recently, Rik Koen has been helping to uphold the Dutch honor of the team, alongside the aforementioned Jeroen Kreeft.
Welcome with open arms
As captain of the Pro field, Harry King has found his niche within the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. “He finds it very pleasant within the championship, where he was welcomed with open arms at the start of this season and immediately felt welcome,” says Patrick de Groot. “According to him, it is all very pleasant, something that I can only confirm. At the same time, professionalism is increasing, which is reflected, for example, in the decoration of the hospitaly, which sponsors appreciate. The organization is also actively involved in convincing drivers towards the teams and it shows its good will to listen to possible improvements.