Gabriel Rindone, Patrick Kujala, Casper Stevenson and Mattia Michelotto guided their JNKD-backed Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II through a frenetic 24 hours in the Belgian Ardennes to finish third in the Bronze class. And they could have had more, had it not been for a late puncture that cost them both a shot at the class victory and a place inside the top 10 of the impressive 66-car field.

 

Fortunes were different for the #78 Dama Fortuna Tequila-backed car, with Till Bechtolsheimer, Sandy Mitchell, Antoine Doquin and Ricky Collard suffering more than a few doses of bad luck. Despite the setbacks, they still brought the car home inside the top 10 from a hugely competitive class that boasted 20 cars at its start.

The Spa 24 Hours is the biggest event of Barwell’s season, and both sides of the garage duly brought their A-game across the week to put on a show in front of a bumper 99,500 fans that turned out to be a part of the Belgian classic.

 

The Dama Fortuna Tequila machine proved a hit on the traditional parade into Spa city centre, where thousands of fans flocked to get up close and personal with over 200 GT cars before track action got underway in earnest on Thursday. The crews of both cars set about dialling themselves into the demands of the 4.35-mile Spa circuit across two practice sessions.

 

Qualifying on Thursday evening was the first chance to show the pace of the twin Lamborghini Huracans. Things went to plan for the #78 crew with the combined efforts of Bechtolsheimer/Mitchell/Doquin/Collard placing the car fifth in class – Mitchell in particular producing a stellar lap to go fifth fastest of the entire grid. In contrast the #72 didn’t quite hook things up, with traffic costing more than one of its drivers the chance to improve. Rindone/Kujala/Stevenson/Michelotto would start down in 15th, but with the longest race of the season to turn things around. And that’s exactly what they did.

 

During the early stages it looked like the #78 would be Barwell’s best bet to challenge for the podium, with Mitchell producing a superb opening double stint to bring the car up to second by the time he handed across to Bechtolsheimer. The forward progress looked to be continuing, until Bechtolsheimer received a rude shove from behind from a Mercedes-AMG heading into Les Fagnes which sent the #78 into the gravel, costing a heap of time and dropping the crew down the order.

 

That placed the emphasis for a big result on the #72, and its drivers responded in superb fashion. A brilliant opening stint from Stevenson brought the car up to 11th before Rindone and Michelotto cycled through their opening turns, staying clear of trouble to rise into the top five and then onto the fringes of the podium as strategies began to diverge by the fifth hour.

 

That early progress would be key, with heavy and persistent rain arriving that made much of the night a washout, controlled by long safety car periods with conditions deemed too unsafe to unleash the pack. The #72’s drivers rotated to tick down their minimum drive time requirements, surviving the rivers on track to keep the car in contention.

 

Morning brought more stable conditions, with a dry line soon appearing after sunrise, and that allowed the #72 to stretch its legs. Thanks to slick strategy and consistent pace, the car ran an impressive second overall at times, while engaging in a fight for the class lead with both the #66 Tresor Attempto Audi and #52 AF Corse Ferrari. With Rindone’s drive time completed before the closing hours, the team rotated between Stevenson, Michelotto and Kujala for the final stints, with the #72’s pace helping it trade the class lead with the Audi.

 

The signs were good for the win, until Michelotto suffered a rear-right puncture inside the final 90 minutes and had to crawl the car back to the pits without the flailing rubber causing too much damage. The team fuelled the car and bolted on fresh boots before sending Kujala out for a final push. While the delay meant the Audi was long gone, Kujala rejoined ahead of the Ferrari and battled hard across the final half hour, but even the flying Finn could do nothing against the Ferrari’s straight-line pace advantage. Third was the limit, but it still marked a remarkable achievement for the drivers and team to score a place on one of GT racing’s most coveted podiums.

 

Sadly, things weren’t so straightforward for the #78. During the crew’s spirited climb back up the order, the car developed an oil leak – a suspected legacy of the early contact – which eventually led to an unscheduled pitstop to make repairs and cure the resulting low oil pressure. That cost the car around 20 minutes, realistically putting it out of contention. However, even with the delays all four drivers made great progress across the ever-changing conditions of the race, with the #78 still showing front-running pace to climb its way back inside the top 10 by the finish, a feat the drivers can be proud of given the way their luck fell. The car’s engineering team was also a credit, performing a major mechanical repair in superb time to help make the result possible.

 

Gabriel Rindone said: “Amazing… just amazing. My first time at Spa, experiencing this incredible race, and we finish on the podium. It’s hard to believe. It was a case of great car, great team-mates, amazing mechanics and amazing work from the team that helped us achieve this. I’m delighted.”

 

Patrick Kujala said: “I’ve finished on the podium a few times in this race and they always feel very special. This result is really well deserved, with the bad weather that made things very difficult in the night and the pace we had in the car. Qualifying did not go as we’d have liked, but we kept things clean during the race, stayed out of trouble and minimised mistakes. To finish on the podium is great.”

 

Mattia Michelotto said: “I love this race… it’s just crazy! The car felt so good for most of the race but it was quite scary when I got the puncture so late. I saw the warning lights on the dash and was on the radio to my engineer screaming ‘I have a puncture’ but the team did a brilliant job to get it fixed. It’s a very hard race to finish. This is all part of it. To finish on the podium… I’m just so happy.”

 

Casper Stevenson said: “What a fantastic result. I was fortunate enough to finish on the Pro-Am podium here last year, but I think this result beats that. The Bronze class this year was so competitive. I would say it’s as competitive as the top Pro class with the teams we were up against, so for us to come through that in third… what an achievement. The car never missed a beat. It’s a real credit to the team.”

 

Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer added: “What an incredible race. I’ve not known a Spa 24 Hours quite so unpredictable in a long time, with the insane weather that got thrown at us, so many full course yellows and safety cars to navigate and we had to constantly react and call strategy on the fly. I’m delighted for the #72. They put in a superb performance and showed how an endurance race should be run, keeping things consistent and taking their chances when they arose. The puncture was sheer bad luck, but even that could have been so much worse, so perhaps Lady Luck didn’t totally desert us there. At the end of the day, a podium in the Spa 24 Hours is a podium!

 

“I also want to congratulate the drivers of the #78 on a great performance. Luck certainly wasn’t on their side, but they never let their heads drop. All four drivers showed great pace and there’s no doubt that they would have also been in the mix for a trophy had it not been for circumstances beyond their control. Overall, the technical team worked wonders this weekend. We executed pit stops brilliantly and their dedication, knowledge and expertise played a huge part in this result. As a team, we can all be very proud of this achievement.”

 

Barwell Motorsport is next in action for round six of the British GT Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk over the weekend of July 12-14.