Davey Nicholas - Biography
Engines, speed, racing, competitions, and winning are all of the things I love about my job.
Here are some highlights of my career so far:
In 2001 I joined Parr Motorsport as a race mechanic, in what was to prove a very successful and exciting year for the team.
Marino Franchitti and Kelvin Burt, and Edward Horner and Matt Turner brought their Porsche GT3s home in 1st and 2nd place, making Parr the outright winners of the 2001 British GTO championship.
I spent the next few years with Parr (who later became the official technical support provider for Porsche GB), in which time I had the good fortune to work with many more high profile drivers, such as Vicki Butler-Henderson, John Cleland, Tim Harvey, Robbie Kerr, Marc Lieb, Patrick Long, Tiff Needell, Paul Radisich, Mike Rockenfeller, Gordon Shedden, Aaron Slight, and Danny Watts, in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.
Parr also participated in the Britcar 24-hour race in 2005, in which we claimed 3rd position.
In addition to acting as No.1 mechanic and technical support to other teams at race meetings in the UK, I assisted ASM, a Portuguese team, from 2003 to 2005, in their effort in the Spanish GT with the Porsche GT3 RSR.
As a member of the official 'works' team in the Porsche Carrera Cup I have undergone extensive testing and research on the new Porsche 997 Cup Car. I have been fortunate enough to attend courses and training at Weisach, (Germany) where I received 1 to 1 training in how to work on the car.
In 2006 I was offered the once in a lifetime opportunity to be a team mechanic for the JCB Dieselmax Project, and we succeeded in setting a new land speed record for a diesel-powered car.
During the project, I gained much experience of land speed motorsport, where safety of the driver (Wing Commander Andy Green) and the Dieselmax team was paramount.
In 2007, as part of the team James Watt Automotive (JWA), I ran a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in the Spa 24 hour race and in the Le Mans Series GT2 class, with drivers Paul Daniels, Joel Camathias, Dave Cox and Oliver Morley.
I also acted as the No.1 mechanic for Hisaq Competition in the 2007 Porsche Supercup, running Michael Schrey and Marc Basseng in the 997 GT3 Supercup car. I also ran Richard Westbrook in the Porsche Supercup, who won the championship.
In 2008 I took the role of No.1 mechanic for Virgo Motorsport, running the Ferrari F430 in the Le Mans Series GT2 class with drivers Rob Bell and Gianmaria Bruni. We gained 4 out of 5 pole positions and won 4 out of 5 races. We also took part in the Le Mans 24 hour race, qualifying 3rd. We were running 2nd in the actual race until 22 hours when we had an unfortunate engine failure.
I was the No.1 mechanic for Motorbase Performance running Steven Kane in the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, who secured 2nd in the championship. I also ran the BMW 320si E90 in the 2008 British Touring Car Championship for the same team, with driver Rob Collard, who took several podiums throughout the season. I am continuing to work with Motorbase, running Michael Caine in the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB.
I am currently chief mechanic for JMW Motorsport, running the Ferrari F430 in the Le Mans Series GT2 class with drivers Rob Bell and Gianmaria Bruni.
