Hot off the heels of the team’s twin second-place finishes during the Sprint Cup event the previous weekend at Hockenheim, the short trip to the Eifel region presented an entirely different challenge, with a three-hour race on a weekend of constantly changing conditions.

 

Till Bechtolsheimer, Antoine Doquin and Sandy Mitchell shone in all weather, bringing the #78 Dama Fortuna Tequila-backed Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2 through to third place at the chequered flag.

 

That result came against frustration for the #72 JNKD/VIP Motors-supported Huracan shared by Gabriel Rindone, Casper Stevenson and Patrick Kujala, which had shown podium-challenging pace but lost time with a fuelling issue. The crew still scored a top-10 finish on a tough weekend, and their podium finish from the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa back in June was the catalyst for the team’s current podium run.

While the previous weekend at Hockenheim was baking, the Nürburgring brought polar opposite conditions, with both testing and practice days hit by persistent rain. It meant much of the early running of the weekend proved a washout, so the first anybody got to see of the potential of the twin Barwell Lamborghinis came when the weather finally cleared up for qualifying on Sunday morning.

 

With the grid set by the average lap time across all three drivers, Stevenson immediately laid down a marker for the #72, going second fastest in the opening qualifying segment. Mitchell then lit up the timing screens with his run in the last, going fifth fastest of all and topping the Bronze class. The combined results meant the #78 would start third in class, with the #72 eighth.

 

Bechtolsheimer took the start aboard the #78 and his reflexes were immediately tested when a multi-car tangle through turn one forced him to swerve a pack of stranded cars before filtering back into second. Rindone did an even more impressive job, rising from eighth on the grid to run fifth early on. However, with the race being held in significantly warmer temperatures than previous sessions, the tyre pressures on the #72 soon began to climb, hindering the car with significant understeer. Rindone faced a big task to hold on, one made even harder after a clash with an AF Corse Ferrari.

 

As the #72 fought on, Bechtolsheimer settled into a tight battle with Chris Froggatt’s Sky Tempesta Ferrari, Sam De Haan’s Oman Racing BMW and Darren Leung’s Century Motorsport M4. And it would be this trio that would prove the biggest rivals to the #78 for the rest of the race. While Froggatt and De Haan found a way by, Bechtolsheimer did superbly to hold off reigning British GT champion Leung and pit from fourth at the end of the first hour to hand to Doquin.

 

Doquin rejoined in fourth but lost out to the Century BMW now driven by IndyCar racer Toby Sowery soon afterwards. Undeterred, Doquin pushed on and successfully hunted down Ahmad Al Harthy in the #30 Oman BMW, making a fine pass to recover fourth. Doquin then resisted intense pressure from Eddie Cheever, who had taken over the Sky Ferrari, for much of his stint. While the Pro driver did manage to sneak by through traffic, Doquin boxed from fifth to hand to Mitchell with the Ferrari only marginally ahead entering the final hour.

 

With Mitchell installed and fresh Pirellis bolted on, the Scot got the hammer down and his pace was sufficient to leapfrog back ahead of the Ferrari when Cheever finally did stop inside the final 50 minutes. Clearing the Ferrari was key to setting up a tense final stint, as Mitchell rejoined just nine seconds shy of Jake Dennis in the Century BMW that occupied the final podium place. Mitchell began to eat into the advantage, setting the fastest lap in class and halving the gap with 40 minutes remaining as he began to pile the pressure on the former FIA Formula E world champion.

 

Mitchell closed within striking distance into the Dunlop Curve and showed the Huracan’s nose up the inside, only to be squeezed at the apex forcing Mitchell to react and hold the resulting slide after light contact with the BMW. After the brush, news filtered through that the M4 would be handed a time penalty for an infringement during its final pitstop. With the need to get a move done on-track gone, Mitchell sensibly held station behind the BMW, and was elevated onto the final podium spot when the penalty was applied at the chequered flag.

 

The result means the #78 scooped its third Fanatec GT podium finish in succession, following the car’s brace of second places during the Sprint Cup event at Hockenheim the weekend prior. It also extends the team’s run of podium finishes to four from the last four events, including the #72’s impressive result at Spa.

 

Barwell could easily have had two cars on the podium too, had bad luck not blunted the #72’s challenge. Rindone kept the mishandling car on track to pit from 12th at the end of the first stint, with Stevenson taking over and immediately showing strong pace with fresh tyres and corrected pressures, which restored the car's handling.

 

With many teams using the middle stint to run their Silver-graded drivers, Stevenson was a standout performer, faster than any driver his grade as he attempted to make up some of the lost time. However, a human error during the refuelling procedure at the stop meant the car would need to make a second pit visit to top up.

 

The unscheduled extra stop meant Stevenson was limited to 11th when he handed across to Kujala for the final stint. Again, the Finn showed the car’s potential by setting the third-fastest race lap in class, only fractionally down on Mitchell’s best, putting both Barwell cars inside the top three on ultimate pace. It was this speed that helped Kujala hunt down and pass Jef Machiels’ AF Corse Ferrari to bring the crew back inside the top 10 after a battling performance.

 

The results keep Barwell Motorsport second in the overall Fanatec GT World Challenge Bronze Teams’ Championship, now just 14pts down on the class-leading Sky Tempesta Ferrari. Barwell is also third in the Endurance Cup Bronze Teams’ standings.

 

Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer said: “The Nürburgring couldn’t have been a more different weekend to Hockenheim, but I’m very pleased about how both our crews rose to the challenge. To have secured four podium finishes from the last four European events is quite the achievement and is great reward for a huge team effort across a busy last few months. It’s also testament to the skill of both our sets of drivers, with both cars contributing to this run.

 

“The performance of Till, Antoine and Sandy in the #78 this weekend was superb. They didn’t put a foot wrong and third place was the least they deserved here. I feel for Gabriel, Casper and Patrick in the #72. All three drivers performed brilliantly during what became a very challenging race for them. Gabriel kept his head during a tough stint, Casper was the fastest Silver out there, and Patrick again showed the car’s potential with an impressive last stint. The fuelling issue is something that will be thoroughly investigated to ensure there will be no repeat of it, and I have no doubt the #72’s luck will turn and we’ll see the drivers fighting for trophies again.”

 

Barwell Motorsport now enters the summer break, with action resuming at Magny-Cours on August 23-25 for the next round of the Fanatec GT Sprint Cup.