Ecurie Ecosse GT4 young guns bag debut winposted in GT07 | 08 | 2016

    BLACK BULL ECURIE ECOSSE young guns Sandy Mitchell and Ciaran Haggerty re-wrote the British GT Championship record books again when they won their first race at Snetterton (GT4 young guns aim for third time lucky).

    Mitchell, who took the opening stint in the first one-hour race behind the wheel of their Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse McLaren 570S GT4, became the youngest-ever British GT winner aged 16 years 169 days.

    Forfar ace Mitchell fought his way through from sixth to hand the car over to Haggerty in second place, and the 19-year-old from Johnstone was then forced to fend off a late charge from the second-placed Aston Martin to seal a nailbiting win by 0.336secs.

    “I’ve got to thank the whole team, who have put in a huge effort throughout the season, and especially here, to put us in the position to get this win,” Mitchell, who earlier in the season became the youngest-ever polesitter, said.

    “When Ciaran went out after the pitstop, he came under severe pressure towards the end, but he did a great job bringing the car home.

    “Youngest-ever winner in the British GT Championship: yeh, it’s got a nice ring to it. It’s not sunk in yet, but I’m sure it will over the next few days.”

    BBEE-GT4-Win-2-copy.jpg

    Haggerty, naturally, was also delighted with the pair’s debut win, which comes after they bagged pole position at both Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

    “I’m just really, really chuffed that we’ve finally got not only our first podium of the season, but we’ve done it with a win,” he said.

    “This race was really a case of everything just coming together with the team, the car, and Sandy and I delivering on the track.

    “I could see the gap closing over the final laps, but it was just a case of concentrating on staying cool and controlled, and doing the job. I’m so happy to be on the top step of the podium.”

    In the day’s second one-hour race, Haggerty, starting from sixth on the grid, was forced to pit on the second lap after the McLaren was hit on the formation lap by a Ginetta.

    After the pitcrew removed the bodywork which was rubbing on the front-right tyre, Haggerty rejoined trailing the back of the 17-car GT4 field.

    Handing the McLaren 570S GT4 over to Mitchell, the young Scot then stormed through from 16th to finish fourth, just 13s off another podium.

    “I’m very happy with my drive in Race 2,” Mitchell said. “To come through from P16 to P4, just 13s off a podium, was great fun: it was a real adrenaline rush with all the overtaking. It was brilliant.

    “We were good on the brakes, so I was able to pull off a few good moves. The tyres were going off a bit towards the end of the race, but the car was excellent again.”

    BBEE-GT4-Win-3-copy.jpg

    And Haggerty explained the collision which forced the unscheduled pitstop, which cost the car around 25s.

    “We were on the formation lap and the two rows in front of me were lining up to get ready for the start,” he said. “Then the Ginetta alongside me decided he was going to start weaving to put more heat into his tyres, and he tapped the side of me.

    “I tried to avoid him, but he just clipped me and that dislodged some bodywork which then rubbed against the front-right tyre, forcing me to pit after a couple of laps to get it fixed.

    “A bittersweet end to the day, but to come away with our first win, and be so close to another podium, is brilliant.”

    QUOTES:

    Sandy Mitchell — Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse McLaren 570S GT4 driver

    “At the start of the race it was a case of knuckling down and picking the cars in front of me off one by one. I was really happy because I made some good overtaking moves, and everything went to plan.

    “When Ciaran went out after the pitstop, he came under severe pressure towards the end, but he did a great job bringing the car home.

    “I’ve got to thank the whole team, who have put in a huge effort throughout the season, and especially here, to put us in the position to get this win.

    “Youngest-ever winner in the British GT Championship: yeh, it’s got a nice ring to it. It’s not sunk in yet, but I’m sure the reality will sink in on the way home tonight.

    “I’m very happy with my drive in Race 2. To come through from P16 to P4, just 13s off a podium, was great fun: it was a real adrenaline rush with all the overtaking. It was brilliant.

    “We were good on the brakes, so I was able to pull off a few good moves. The tyres were going off a bit towards the end of the race, but the car was excellent again.”

    BBEE-GT4-Win-4-copy.jpg

    Ciaran Haggerty — Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse McLaren 570S GT4 driver

    “I’m just really, really chuffed that we’ve finally not only got our first podium of the season, but we’ve done it with a win.

    “This race was really a case of everything just coming together with the team, the car, and Sandy and I delivering on the track.

    “I could see the gap closing over the final laps, but it was just a case of concentrating on staying cool and controlled, and doing the job. I’m so happy to be on the top step of the podium.

    “In the second race, we were on the formation lap and the two rows in front of me were lining up to get ready for the start. Then the Ginetta alongside me decided he was going to start weaving to put more heat into his tyres, and he tapped the side of me.

    “I tried to avoid him, but he just clipped me and that dislodged some bodywork which then rubbed against the front-right tyre, forcing me to pit after a couple of laps to get it fixed.

    “A bittersweet end to the day, but to come away with our first win, and be so close to another podium, is brilliant.”

    Euan Shand, CEO of sponsors, Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky

    “This was a fantastic race and to finish first after pole positions at Silverstone and Spa is a brilliant achievement. We have just launched our Black Bull 40-year-old whisky, so we’ll be toasting their success with a dram or two tonight.”

    Related: Early woes for Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse GT3 duo

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    Jim McGill

     

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