British GT championship-winning outfit Team Parker Racing will contest the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup this year with a one car entry.
The Leicester-based team will embark on a full-time campaign with a Bentley Continental GT3 driven by Josh Caygill and British Touring Car Championship convert Árón Taylor-Smith.
The pair conducted their first test at the Navarra circuit in Spain last week, ahead of their programme in the Silver Cup category of the European-based series.
Team Parker Racing won the British GT title in 2017 with Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jr (above), and will defend its national crown alongside the recently announced continental programme.
The team will continue to run two Bentleys in British GT, one for Parfitt Jr/Ryan Ratcliffe and the other for Callum McLeod/Ian Loggie.
It previously entered the Blancpain GT Series in 2016, when it entered a single Bentley in the Am class.
"Joining Team Parker and their Bentley programme is literally a dream come true," said Taylor-Smith, who is transitioning to sportscars after six years in the BTCC.
"Having completed our first test in Spain last week it is extremely evident that [team principal] Stuart Parker has managed to create a team filled with some of the industry's most impressive talents in their respective fields."
"I feel extremely lucky to be able to learn from some of the best as I embark on a new chapter in GT racing."
Unlike Taylor-Smith, Caygill has some prior experience in the Blancpain GT Series, having joined the WRT Audi squad for selected rounds of last year's Endurance Cup.
However, the 28-year-old Briton will also be embarking on his first full-season sportscar programme, with previous full-time drives focussing on touring car competitions such as the Audi TT Cup.
"There’s a really good atmosphere within the team, which is very positive and I am sure we are going to have a great year," said Caygill.
"Both myself and Árón are already working well together; it’s great to have such a competitive team-mate that you can push and measure yourself against."
"I was also blown away with the Bentley and how comfortable I felt driving it from day one. I know from first-hand experience how competitive the Blancpain GT Series is, but I’m also looking forward to the shorter Sprint races where it’s even more cut and thrust than Endurance."
"Árón’s BTCC background is well suited to that style of racing, while my recent touring car experience should also prove useful.”
The Bentley factory M-Sport squad won't feature in the BGTS Sprint Cup this year, having committed solely to the Endurance wing of the series.
Bentley is using 2018 as a development year for its new Continental GT3 racer, which is set to make its debut at Monza in April.
Team Parker's first-generation Continental is the only Bentley confirmed for the 2018 Sprint Cup so far, and will compete against rival efforts from the British GT fold including TF Sport and Barwell Motorsport.
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