Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Champion Mitchell finally gets hands on 2020 British GT silverware before ‘mission impossible’ start to title defence

Sandy Mitchell with the prestigious Allan Simonsen Award.
Sandy Mitchell with the prestigious Allan Simonsen Award.

Reigning British GT champ Sandy Mitchell can finally add his 2020 silverware haul to the trophy shelf of his Angus home.

The 21-year-old Forfar ace took last season’s series crown with Rob Collard in the Barwell Motorsport-prepared Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, a success which also helped the outfit secure the teams’ championship.

Barwell Motorsport with Sandy Mitchell (second left) and their 2020 British GT trophy haul.

Covid-19 prevented SRO Motorsports Group from staging its annual global awards evening before Christmas.

So it was the opening round of the 2021 title race at Brands Hatch which saw the trophies presented.

Lamborghini factory driver Mitchell went on to land the prestigious Allan Simonsen Award, traditionally won by a driver with the same speed and spirit as epitomised by the late Dane who tragically lost his life at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013.

Jonny Adam (left) presents the Allan Simonsen Award to Sandy Mitchell. Pic: British GT

Fittingly, Fifer Jonny Adam, a two-time Simonsen award-winner handed over the series’ highest non-championship accolade.

The pair are pals off the track but now fierce rivals on it, with four-time British GT champion Adam returning full-time to the series this year.

Aston Martin factory star Adam has resumed his partnership with Andrew Howard in the Beechdean Vantage GT3 in a quest to repeat their 2015 title triumph.

The Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Jonny Adam/Andrew Howard. Pic: British GT

They made a terrific start to their campaign with a second place finish in the Brands Hatch opener.

Mission Impossible

Mitchell, on the other hand, was left with a ‘mission impossible’ after his new teammate, Adam Balon, was spun into the gravel of the Kent circuit.

The incident a third of the way into the two-hour race left the No. 1 Lamborghini crew four laps down on the field.

British Racing Drivers’ Club Super Star scheme ace Mitchell was 21st overall and eighth in the GT3 Pro-Am when he took over.

He powered through the backmarkers to finish 12th overall.

“It’s certainly not the way we wanted to start the season,” said the Black Bull Whisky-backed driver.

The 2021 championship features a packed field. Pic: British GT.
Pace

“It’s hugely frustrating and disappointing that Adam was taken out by the other car, but it was just one of these things,” added Mitchell.

“Adam was staying out of trouble and maintaining a good pace.

“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,

“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.”

The No. 1 Sandy Mitchell/Adam Balon Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Pic: British GT.

“We were left with something of a mission impossible after Adam was punted off.

“But the fact we still had excellent pace, and we were able to finish the full race distance to score 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’re going to fight all the way in the championship.”