Mark Sumpter and Mike Jordan recorded an excellent seventh place in the second round of the FIA British GT Championship at Magny Cours in France.

Had it not been for a spin early in the race, their Porsche 911GT3RS would probably have finished in the top four of the N-GT category.

With support from Paragon Porsche and John Guest, the team travelled to France for the second race in the ten-round championship that is contested by the best GT teams and drivers in Europe.

In qualifying, they posted tenth fastest time in N-GT but went into the three-hour race confident of making up places.

With the car needing to make two pit stops during the race, Jordan took the first driving stint of about 50 minutes. After half an hour of racing the car spun and slid into a gravel trap.

Although the Porsche was pulled clear by a recovery vehicle, they lost about four minutes.

Sumpter, from Five Ashes in East Sussex, jumped in at the first pit stop to take over for a long middle stint of 85 minutes, the maximum that the car can run on a full fuel load.

At the second, Jordan took over once more to race the last 50 minutes to the flag, by which time they were up to seventh place.

Sumpter said: "Our pace was good enough for a top four finish. Everything about our whole performance is getting better."

The third round of the championship is at the Brno track in the Czech Republic on May 11.