Angus endurance hotshot Sandy Mitchell will take his place on a bumper Silverstone grid this weekend knowing a win in the season finale will clinch his first British GT Championship.
But the Forfar 20-year-old, driving his Black Bull Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3 alongside team-mate Rob Collard, is fully aware the duo face a huge challenge if they are to seal the title – including the threat of Formula One World Champion Jenson Button as well as Courier country friend and rival, Aston Martin factory driver and four-time series champ Jonny Adam.
“The three-hour Silverstone 500 is the blue riband race of the British GT season,” said Mitchell, fresh from winning the Pro-Am class alongside Collard in the gruelling Spa 24-Hours.
“Winning any race in the British GT Championship is a major achievement, but to win this weekend will demand a Herculean effort not only by Rob and I, but everyone in the Barwell Motorsport team who prepare the car.”
Mitchell, part of the Lamborghini Squadra Corse GT3 Junior Program and a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s elite SuperStars programme, was a winner at Brands Hatch and sits just six points off the championship lead heading into the showdown.
“We’ve shown throughout the season how strong the Barwell package is, now we need to maintain that level of pace, consistency and reliability.
“We know a win will seal the championship for us, but we also know there are many other cars and drivers capable of winning the race.
“All we can do is go out there are do our best. “If we can stay out of trouble, the championship outcome is in our hands,” he said.
A season-high 38-car entry comprising 20 GT3, 13 GT4 and five GTC cars will do battle over three hours around the full 3.661-mile, 18-turn Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
Crucially, the raft of race-by-race additions that have swelled the entry list are not eligible to score points on Sunday, so while the likes of Button and Adam will be battling for a standalone result, their final positions will have no bearing on the main championship protagonists.
RAM Racing pair Patrick Kujala and Sam De Haan lead the title chase but will serve an extra 10-second pitstop success penalty, a handicap Mitchell and Collard do not have to contend with and one they hope could prove pivotal in the final outcome.
