Mitchell battles 'Mission Impossible' 24 | 05 | 2021
SCOTS ENDURANCE RACER and British GT champion, Sandy Mitchell, was left with a ‘Mission Impossible’ after his team-mate was spun into the gravel in the opening round of the British GT Championship at Brands Hatch. (Related: Mitchell fired-up for British GT defence)
The 21-year-old from Forfar and team-mate Adam Balon qualified their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, prepared by Barwell Motorsport, fifth on the grid for the two-hour race at the Kent circuit.
But 40 minutes into the opening stint, as Balon comfortably held sixth place in the damp conditions, the Lamborghini was pitched into a spin after contact from a rival car as they both entered the fast right-hander at Paddock Hill Bend. (Related: Scot Sandy Mitchell wins British GT Championship)
The rear impact to the No1 Lamborghini slewed the two cars backwards across the circuit leaving them both beached in the gravel. When Balon’s car was finally extracted from the gravel it had dropped four laps to the field, meaning when Mitchell started his stint with 57 minutes remaining, he was 21st overall and eighth in the GT3 Pro-Am class.
“It’s certainly not the way we wanted to start the season,” Mitchell, who powered through the backmarkers to eventually finish 12th overall and seventh in class, said. “It’s hugely frustrating and disappointing that Adam was taken out by the other car, but it was just one of these things. (Related: Mitchell named Lamborghini factory driver)
“Adam was doing exactly what we’d discussed; he did really well in qualifying, then was staying out of trouble in the race and maintaining a good pace. I think it would have allowed us, eventually, to probably finish fourth or fifth in the race.
“As it was, when I took the car over it was carrying a load of gravel and dust from the contact, plus we opted to fit used tyres rather than waste new Pirellis in the second stint as we were so far back,” Mitchell, personally backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky, continued. (Related: Mitchell extends Tunnock's link)
“It’s testament to the way the boys at Barwell build the car that it was able to not only survive the impact, but that we were able to race it hard for another 75 minutes to the finish.”
Mitchell, a Lamborghini factory driver, in addition to being a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s elite SuperStars programme, knows the points harvested in the fightback could prove crucial at the end of the season. (Related: Mitchell strengthens Scots Lamborghini ties)
“We were left with something of a mission impossible after Adam was punted off,” the Scot said. “But the fact Adam was able to get the car back on track, we still had excellent pace, and we were able to finish the full race distance to score some GT3 Pro-Am points was crucial.
“We both know how close this championship is going to be, so every point is vital. We’ve eight races left in the season, and we’ve proved today we’re going to fight all the way in the championship.”
Related: Mitchell wins Allan Simonsen Award
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Jim McGill
All photographs copyright of Jakob Ebrey