Mitchell and Kujala climbed aboard their respective cars for the session, with the Scotsman continuing to show rapid pace by going 10th fastest overall and second in class. Kujala was right behind, 14th overall and fifth in the Bronze order, but with every chance of moving forward during the race.
 
When the lights went out for the first hour-long sprint, track temperatures had climbed above 50 degrees, making for brutal conditions inside the cars and in the pitlane. With little margin for error in the one-hour sprint races, the emphasis was on avoiding early trouble and settling into a rhythm. Both Mitchell and Kujala negotiated the frantic opening lap well, Mitchell holding third and Kujala fourth in class, despite the #72 car developing an inconsistent brake pedal.
 
While the charging Century Motorsport BMW enjoyed a pace advantage at the head of the class in the conditions, the Garage 59 McLaren that had initially pipped Mitchell to pole did not, and Mitchell put in a superb stint to slice the gap to the McLaren ahead.
 
By the time the pit window opened, the #78 ran just 0.5s shy of its rival, and eventually vaulted past when the McLaren was forced out with an alternator belt failure. Collard took over for the second stint and proved unshakeable, cruising clear of his pursuers to secure second with a masterful drive in the draining conditions.
 
The #72’s race was made more difficult during the second half when Rindone was punted off during what was otherwise an impressive defensive display. Kujala brought the car in from fourth, which became third after the retirement of the McLaren. However, with the car on its final track limits warning, Rindone faced the tough task of rejoining with the Sky Tempesta Ferrari driven by the experienced Jonathan Hui right behind. Rindone put up a determined defence – especially impressive given the braking issue – but eventually lost out to the Ferrari, only to then be rudely spun off after an over-ambitious move by the Imperiale Racing Lamborghini. Sixth at the flag was the limit after that.

 
Come Sunday and hopes were high of continuing the team’s momentum. Qualifying proved trickier however, with Collard going fifth fastest in the short, sharp session and Rindone seventh.
 
When the lights went out things again took a turn as a car spun right in front of Collard through turn one, sending him wide at the start and down the order, while Rindone picked his way through superbly to run an early third.
 
Collard then engaged in a tight fight with the Sky Tempesta Ferrari, finding a way past before again being pushed wide and holding station in sixth. A safety car needed to recover an Aston Martin from the gravel bunched the pack and played into Collard’s hands.
 
When the pit window opened, the entirety of the class runners opted to pit as one, aside from the #78, which had to stay out to allow the Barwell team space to service the #72 in the tight pit lane. Collard put in a great in-lap, diving in a lap later to hand to Mitchell and the combination of some incredible work from the car’s technical crew and a textbook driver change meant the #78 was up and running again perfectly on its minimum pit time. The turnaround was so smooth, that Mitchell rejoined in second, making up four spots across the window.
 
While the Century BMW was again untouchable up front, Mitchell put in his now customary stellar stint to pull clear of the Sky Ferrari and secure a second set of trophies for the team.
 
Despite the car's braking limitation recurring, Rindone drove a great opening half of the race, holding off more experienced drivers to pit from fourth, however the crowded fast lane meant the car lost a second when it had to be held before rejoining after its stop. Regardless, Kujala got back running still in fourth and was piling the pressure on the Imperiale Racing Lamborghini ahead as the pack ran together, only for the #72 car to be assaulted for a second time in two races by an over-ambitious lunge from a Ferrari into the hairpin. Sixth was again the limit for the luckless crew.
 
The results move Collard and Mitchell up to third in the Sprint Cup points, with Barwell Motorsport also running third in the Teams’ Championship.
 
Rob Collard said: “Between this and British GT that’s now four second places in four sprint races… and that’s never bad! The car’s been great all weekend and the team did a superb job on our pit stop in race two which really turned things around. It was like an old-school touring car race at the start as I was hit all over the place, but the car held on and we brought the result home. Finish second in every race and you’ll win a championship, so we’re very happy.”
 
Gabriel Rindone said: “This was just a luckless weekend for us. We showed pace that could fight for the podium, but then we had a brake issue with the pedal going long that we were managing, but you cannot do much when people are hitting you in every race. It is a shame after how well things went for us at Spa, but we will be back fighting at the Nürburgring.”
 
Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer added: “Hockenheim turned out to be a very challenging event for a number of reasons, not least the heat, but I'm proud of the job the team did this weekend. The pit stop that changed the game in race two was exceptional… superb work from the drivers and pit crew of the #78, and to bring home two second places is brilliant. But on the other side I really feel for Gabriel and Patrick as they deserved more from this weekend, especially with the work both drivers did to manage the braking issue. This is the highs and lows of GT racing and I have no doubt they’ll bounce back. Now we reset, make the short trip to the Nürburgring, and come out fighting again in the next round of the Endurance Cup.”
 
Barwell Motorsport is next in action for the final part of its Deutsche double header, with a 3-hour race for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS Endurance Cup at the Nürburgring this coming weekend, July 26-28.