Barwell Motorsport made an impressive start to life in the top class of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup, narrowly missing out on a breakthrough podium finish on home soil at Brands Hatch.
The Pro class pairing of Hugo Cook and Sandy Mitchell were well in the fight for silverware before an unlucky pit delay set them back. Regardless, they walked away with two points finishes, highlighted by seventh place overall in Sunday’s second race. But there was no hiding the potential shown by the new #78 Dama Fortuna Premium Tequila/FindGoodSpirits.com/J&S Auto Accessories Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
On the other side of the garage, Christian Bogle and GTWC debutant Daniel Ali made great improvements in both pace and experience aboard the #76 Pelican Energy Consultants/Wing Venture Capital/BAM Motorsport Management/Lady Luck Irish Whiskey entry. Despite the challenge of learning one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar from scratch, a ninth place in the Silver Cup stands as a strong result.
The unique nature of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit makes it something of an outlier on the calendar. Testing is virtually non-existent on the historic layout compared to the well-used Indy track, meaning teams and drivers must learn quickly across a very compact event.
Both cars went straight into Free Practice on Saturday, with Cook and Mitchell immediately showing their potential by setting the third-fastest time of the 30-car field. That momentum continued with fifth overall in Pre-Qualifying, putting the #78 in a strong position for the decisive Qualifying run on Saturday afternoon.
With the tight sweeps of Brands making overtaking a real challenge, the entire weekend’s success would hinge on starting position, and this was where the #78 really marked itself out as one to watch. Cook bagged eighth for Sunday’s first race, with Lamborghini Squadra Corse star Mitchell putting in a stunning run to lead much of the Qualifying for race two before being shuffled back to third late on. However, the Barwell car would remain the top Lamborghini heading into race day.
Race one would prove a challenge but would also give vital experience. Cook got a solid start when the lights went out but was tapped wide heading into Druids hairpin before then being hit a second time on exit which forced him to lift off the throttle to catch the slide. Recovering from the moment, Cook kept the top 10 in his sights before handing to Mitchell, who chased down the #52 AF Corse Ferrari, completing a pass on the final lap and then gained a further place when the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche was hit with a time penalty to leave the #78 10th and inside the points on its first outing.
The real chance for big points came in race two, with Mitchell taking the start from third. The Scot dived alongside the #69 Verstappen Racing Red Bull Ferrari to briefly steal second at Paddock Hill Bend at the start, but the Ferrari’s greater grip around the Hairpin helped it hang on. Mitchell then set about hounding the 296, rarely more than a few tenths behind while also forging a useful gap back to fourth. However, a Safety Car right before the pit window wrecked his hard work and put the pressure back on. Mitchell pitted to hand to Cook when racing resumed, however when one of the car’s wheel nuts freakishly spun clear of the gun it caused a delay in the packed pitlane. While the team recovered impressively to limit the impact, Cook rejoined seventh when the order shook out. With a further caution period limiting his chances to attack, Cook still set the car’s fastest lap of the race on his way to seventh and another points score.
The story for the #76 was one of progress, with both Ali and Bogle improving their laptimes as they gained experience of the track. On their first visit to Brands and with limited testing beforehand, the pair set about dialling themselves into the demands of the circuit, with reigning British GT champion Ricky Collard on-hand to provide invaluable advice and experience.
A tough opening race struggling with dirty tyres and pickup limited them to 11th in class, but things would improve for the finale. Bogle fought his way inside the top 10 before handing across to Ali, who kept the forward momentum going, snatching ninth in class at the flag to seal their best GTWC result so far.
With the Sprint Cup back in action at Zandvoort in just two weeks, the team will look to continue their rapid learning curve.
“It’s been a good weekend for us, diving into the world’s toughest GT3 series and showing we can fight at the sharp end. We had some modest expectations coming in, and I know I have a bit of work to do on myself to find those final few tenths that make all the difference, but we have to be pleased with the potential we’ve shown. We got unlucky at the start of race one, with being hit at the hairpin, and then on our pit stop in race two, but I’m just loving driving this car and I’m excited for what we can achieve for the rest of the season.”
“It’s a very positive first weekend competing in Pro. We showed frontrunning pace across the entire weekend and to be up there fighting for pole in a grid this competitive is always great. Had it not been for a small wheel-nut delay we could well have been on the podium first time out. But these things happen and overall the team has done a superb job all weekend. Also, Hugo has driven so well and really showed that he’s here to fight for some big results. Bring on Zandvoort.”
“I feel we made another step forward here, both with experience and pace and we’ll keep chipping away and making improvements and hopefully get that bit closer at the next round. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the pace we showed and the progression we made across the weekend at a really challenging track.”
“It’s been a challenging weekend for us, having so little experience of this track compared to the guys we were racing against, but in the end we got down to some respectable lap times. I think if we’d have qualified better then we could have taken advantage a bit more, but this was only my second time in the Huracan GT3, so I learned a whole lot, and I’m happy with the all-round progress.”
“All in all we have to look at our first event competing in the Pro class as a real success. To be on the podium here you need to get everything 100% right, and we got about 87% right here – it’s the tiny margins that make the difference in a grid this tight. But Hugo was standout this weekend with his pace and progress and Sandy’s just a class act. We’re all really excited to see what the pair of them can achieve this year. With Daniel and Christian this weekend was always going to be a steep learning curve. It’s probably the most difficult track on the calendar to learn but they showed a great attitude and improved hugely from the start to the end of the weekend. Results will come for them if they keep pushing. We head to Zandvoort full of confidence after this.”
