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15 April 2025 Barwell beds into new GT World Challenge Europe season

Barwell Motorsport’s new GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS recruits came through a challenging opening Endurance Cup event at Circuit Paul Ricard unscathed last weekend, with a heap of knowledge and experience added to their armoury.

The new team of Bijoy Garg, Adam Ali and Christian Bogle acquitted themselves well aboard the #76 Pelican Energy Consultants/Wing Venture Capital/BAM Motorsport Management/Lady Luck Irish Whiskey-badged Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

The team was faced with a host of new challenges across the opening six-hour race of the year, going on to take the chequered flag and bank some vital track time.

With all three drivers new to GT3 competition this year, and competing in the largest Silver class field in recent GT World Challenge seasons with a strong 17-car entry, the opening event in France was always going to be a steep learning curve.

While the crew got their first laps aboard the Huracan GT3 during the Prologue test last month, they still went into the event up against far more experienced crews, and with the Lamborghini carrying some extra weight under the balance of performance demands for the event.

Regardless the trio set about bedding both themselves and the car into Ricard’s fast 3.6-mile layout. With Endurance Cup events being condensed into just two days of running, the team would only have Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying to prepare before Qualifying would set the grid on Saturday morning.

All three drivers reduced their laptimes without incident as the weekend went on, meaning the car was in a good position to push forward when the lights went out at 18:00 local time on Saturday, with the race running into the dark to midnight.

Ali took the wheel for the start and produced a superb opening few laps, surging up five places and picking up a few spots in class when two rival Aston Martins hit trouble. Ali pitted at the end of the opening hour having made up a fine eight places, and stayed in for a double stint as the sun began to set and ambient temperatures began to drop.

The Canadian relayed Bogle two hours in, with the American driver getting his first experience of not only GT3 racing, but GT3 racing at night, which can test a driver’s skillset to the limit. Bogle kept things clean and racked up great experience in low-light, something which will stand the team in good stead heading into the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa later this year.

Garg took over for the final two hours, with the race now in full darkness. Choosing to reserve his fresh set of tyres for the final stint, Garg began his running on scrubbed Pirellis on a track now littered with rubber pickup, which made for some balance issues. Regardless, Garg pressed on and managed to pick up a few more spots as both the CSA Racing McLaren, Dinamic GT Porsche and Team WRT BMW all suffered delays, opening the way for Garg to bring the car home 14th.

Despite the steep learning curve, the signs point to the fact there is plenty more to come from the #78 this season.

The 78 Lamborghini on track at night

Adam Ali said: “I had a lot of fun in my stint at the start, got into some good fights and managed to stay out of trouble, which a few people in front of me didn’t. I was determined to keep it clean and not do anything silly and I really enjoyed it.”

Christian Bogle said: “It was a real learning experience out there. My stint transitioned into night, which was easier than going out straight in the dark as you have some reference points. I learned a load, but there’s still work to do.”

Bijoy Garg said: “By the time I got in the track was covered in rubbish and the balance was changing corner-to-corner and the rear was pretty all over the place. Things got a lot better on the newer tyres, and it was great to bring the car home with no issues. I’m looking forward to some more testing before the next round.”

Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer said: “The first GT World Challenge Europe round can be a culture shock for anybody, but I was really pleased with how Adam, Christian and Bijoy handled the weekend overall. This championship operates at such a high level so diving into a hugely competitive field as GT3 newcomers makes for a real learning experience. But all three drivers got on with it and made it to the end of what is, traditionally, a very tough race into the night without issue. It’s absolutely a good foundation to build on. Perhaps the Huracan GT3 being that little bit heavier with the BoP this year hurt us over a stint length, and we suffered a bit with excessive tyre pickup, which made life difficult a few times. We’ve got some more testing planned soon to help identify any issues, and we’ll come back fighting.”

Barwell Motorsport is next in action for round two of the British GT Championship, the three-hour Silverstone 500, over the weekend of April 25-27.