Mitchell maintains British GT title pushposted in GT20 | 09 | 2020
SCOTS ENDURANCE RACER Sandy Mitchell emerged from the latest round of the British GT Championship having consolidated his title hopes, despite having to serve a 20-second success penalty. (Related: Mitchell storms to British GT win)
The 20-year-old from Forfar, sharing his Barwell Motorsport-prepared Black Bull Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3 with Rob Collard, finished the three-hour race at Donington sixth, just 23.8secs behind the winners.
“I think we maximised what we could get out of this weekend,” Mitchell, part of the Lamborghini Squadra Corse GT3 Junior Program and a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s elite SuperStars programme, stated.
“To finish just 23s behind the winners, after we served the additional 20s success penalty we received after winning last time out at Brands Hatch, shows just how quick a car we had today.” (Related: Mitchell bags two British GT podiums)
Indeed, so quick was Mitchell’s No78 car that he was able to do back-to-back personal fastest laps at the beginning of his second stint in the car with just under an hour remaining.
Rejoining the track in 12th, he quickly climbed to sixth as others ahead of him pitted. And with 24mins remaining, the Scot found himself 16s behind the fifth-placed car. After a storming few closing laps, Mitchell had slashed the gap to just 5.5s by the chequered flag. (Related: Mitchell seals British GT Silver win)
“Obviously it would have been fantastic to have finished in the top five, but we only just missed out,” he said.
“The crucial thing this weekend, knowing we had the extra 20s pitstop, was to bank a healthy haul of championship points and ensure we’re still in the battle for the championship as we head into the closing rounds.”
With just two rounds, and three races remaining — including the three-hour season-finale at Silverstone in November — Mitchell and Collard are currently second in the overall championship, just nine points off the leaders. In the Silver Cup, the gap to the leaders is even closer, just six points.
“There’s a lot of points yet to be won this season, and we head to the next round at Snetterton right in the mix for the title,” Mitchell, personally backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky, said. “It’s game on for the last three races.”
Related: Mitchell returns to British GT with Black Bull
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Jim McGill
All photographs copyright of Jakob Ebrey