BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP POLE CLAIMED BY BARWELL MOTORSPORT’S SANDY MITCHELL AND ALEX MARTIN
Donington Park – In a nail-biting qualifying session for the British GT Championship, Barwell Motorsport’s Sandy Mitchell and his co-driver Alex Martin claimed pole position, edging out their team-mates Rob and Ricky Collard in a dramatic finish.
The duo’s impressive performance was largely credited to Martin’s remarkable battle with Rob Collard in the Am section of qualifying. The two Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 drivers traded fastest times, setting the stage for an intense Pro session.
When it was Mitchell’s turn to take the wheel, he put in a storming lap that appeared to be enough for pole. However, Ricky Collard’s attempt to topple the time was cut short as his fastest lap was deleted due to track limits violations.
“It was an interesting one!” said Mitchell. “First of all, the Am guys did such an amazing job. You could see how close all the cars were in the Pro session – a tenth or two puts you from pole to outside the top five, so just so close. For Rob and Alex to come one and two, they did a fantastic job in that session, and that made my life a little bit easier so I could just focus on trying to put it all together and do a good lap.”
The Barwell Motorsport squad has been impressive throughout the Donington Park weekend, with Mitchell topping the Pre-Qualifying session after finishing Free Practice in second. The team credits the improved performance to their successful adaptation to the latest evolution of the Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
“I think in the past it’s been somewhere with the Evo1 that we were maybe weren’t as strong as some of the other cars in the second sector, but I think now that we’re fully on top of this Evo2 that we’ve got it working in a really nice window round here,” Mitchell explained.
With a three-hour race on the horizon and a yellow weather warning issued by the Met Office for rain, Mitchell is aware that the team will need to remain vigilant and adaptable to any strategy changes that may arise due to full-course yellows and safety car periods.
“These three-hour races are super-tricky because the strategy can change a lot depending on the Full Course Yellows, so yeah, we’re just going to have to play it by ear,” he added.
The three-hour British GT Championship race at Donington Park is set to get underway at 1 pm local time (2 pm in Europe) and will be broadcast live on GT REPORT.
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