Seven weeks after a podium finish at Portimao in Portugal, Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell is back from British GT’s summer break and eyeing a repeat at Brands Hatch.
The one-time home of the British Grand Prix hosts the penultimate round of the ultra-competitive GT endurance championship this weekend.
And 23-year-old Mitchell – series champion in 2020 – says he is looking forward to the challenge of the famous Kent circuit.
The Forfar star and teammate Shaun Balfe sit fourth in the 2023 drivers’ standings in their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, prepared by Barwell Motorsport.
Fellow Scot Jonny Adam leads the championship and is homing in on a fifth British GT crown.
Good form at GP track
Mitchell said: “It’s been a long summer break since we finished on the podium in Portimao.
“So it’s going to be great to get back on-track in the Lamborghini and go racing again.”
He finished second in the corresponding race at Brands Hatch 12 months ago and is looking forward to again maximising the Huracan’s performance over the 2.43-mile, nine-turn circuit.
“We’re racing on the full grand prix circuit which allows us to really stretch the Lambo’s legs to the full.
“We’ve proved in the past the car’s quick at Brands.
“The whole team at Barwell is fired-up for the challenge over the final two races of the season – we’ll be battling at the front of the field again this weekend.”
Success penalty
But success last time out in Portugal will impact on Sunday’s two-hour race.
“Having finished third at Portimao, we have a 10-second success penalty which we have to serve at our compulsory pitstop,” explained Mitchell, a race winner at Snetterton earlier this season.
“So we’ll be hoping the safety car makes an appearance in the second half of the race to bunch the field up again.
“Shaun and I, plus everyone in the Barwell team, overcame a number of issues during the three-hour race in Portugal and in the end we only narrowly missed out on second place by 0.347secs.
“We know we have the pace and the strategy to get the results, and we’re all confident we can deliver again at Brands this weekend.”
