British GT champion Sandy Mitchell thrust himself right into the title fight with a breathtaking last lap overtake to take maximum points from the three-hour Silverstone 500.
The Forfar 21-year-old Forfar – partnered by team-mate Adam Balon in the Barwell Motorsport-prepared No. 1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo – produced a scintillating final 30-minute stint to bag second place by just 0.640 seconds.
But with the first car over the line not registered for the full championship it meant a championship-boosting haul for the young Scot.
As the myriad of different strategies unfolded towards the end of the gruelling race, Mitchell rejoined following the third and final compulsory driver change trailing Dane Dennis Lind in the Barwell sister car by just over five-seconds.
He upped his charge in the closing stages, shrinking the gap to less than a second.
With two near identical cars, overtaking was always going to be a challenge.
But on the final lap, just a few corners from the chequered flag, Mitchell completed an audacious move round the outside of Lind as the two cars caught slower GT4 category contenders.
Rubbin' is racin'!
This is how @SMitchellRacing prised second from @BarwellMotorSpt team-mate @DennisLindRacin on the final lap.#BritishGT | #Silverstone500 pic.twitter.com/co5rdE6jns
— 🇬🇧 #BritishGT 🏁 (@BritishGT) June 27, 2021
“That was a great battle,” said Lamborghini factory driver Mitchell. “And the Barwell team, as usual, came up with the perfect strategy.
“I could tell watching in the garage that it was going to get interesting for the last half-an-hour because everyone was on different strategies.
“It’s not until the end of the race that you see where you are.
“Adam did a fantastic job in his two stints keeping us at the sharp end of the field.
“I came out of the pits for my final stint with fresher tyres and slightly lower fuel compared to Dennis, who had jumped us on track position.
“I knew I’d catch him, but I obviously also knew it would be desperately hard to overtake him.
“We just left each other enough space and I was able to get the position.
“It was a great way to end the race and I was super-pumped coming across the line. The result was crucial for the championship.”
Securing maximum points as the first championship-registered car means Mitchell and Balon have closed the gap to their table-topping Barwell teammates and rivals, Lind and Leo Machitski.
“This was the 10th running of the Silverstone 500 and it definitely delivered the result we needed,” said Mitchell.
“Now we head to Donington in a fortnight right back in the fight for the championship.”