The twin Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo IIs looked like ones to watch early in the weekend, but the combination of a puncture and a freak mechanical issue prevented them from taking the chequered flag, despite a heroic effort from the British team to battle against the odds.

 

To have a double dose of misfortune is almost unheard of for the team, especially given the impressive form Barwell’s Huracan GT3 Evo IIs have enjoyed since the start of the year. However, there were still silver linings to take from an otherwise disappointing weekend in Italy, with both cars once again showing enviable pace.

 

The #78 Dama Fortuna Tequila-backed car of Till Bechtolscheimer, Antoine Doquin and Sandy Mitchell starred on Saturday, and was set for a dramatic comeback on Sunday before a puncture and the resulting damage sidelined the crew at the midway point.

 

On the other side of the garage, the #72 JNKD/VIP Motors-supported car of Gabriel Rindone, Casper Stevenson and Patrick Kujala was firmly in the fight for some big points before it had to be withdrawn with a gearbox failure – an incredibly rare fault with the modern Lamborghini GT3.

Both of Barwell’s cars performed strongly prior to race day, in particular with the #78 finishing both Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying inside the top four overall amid the huge 52-car field.

 

Roll on Sunday, and the team’s fortunes began to change from the start of qualifying when the #78 developed an alternator issue that severely limited the drivers’ programmes. Restricted to just a few laps each, the car would initially qualifying 12th in class, but would later be dumped to the back when the team was forced to make repairs to the electrical system to prepare the car for the three-hour race. The #72 would have lined up alongside, but would now take the start from 12th.

 

When the lights did go out, both cars signalled their intent to push on early, with Rindone picking his way through a frenetic opening lap to run inside the top 10, while Bechtolscheimer enjoyed a super opening tour, making up five places to run 14th.

 

The momentum continued toward the end of the first hour, with Rindone and Bechtolscheimer making solid progress to put both the #72 and #78 on the fringes of the top 10 when the first round of pit stops was completed: Stevenson taking over the #72, with Doquin installed in the #78.

 

A quicker stop helped Doquin jump ahead of the sister car and the Frenchman continued the forward momentum, carving his way up to eighth in class and, with Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory driver Sandy Mitchell still to drive, a challenge for the top six looked well and truly on, regardless of the car’s starting spot.

 

However, the crew’s efforts were undone when the car suffered a damaging front-right puncture at mid-distance, the shredded tyre causing heavy front-end damage. Doquin was forced to park the car at the side of the track, ending hopes of a comeback.

 

That left the #72 to soldier on and Stevenson duly got his head down and picked up more places during his stint to run eighth before pitting for Kujala, but almost as soon as the Finn was installed the car’s gearbox developed a fault that proved terminal, consigning the car back to the pits inside the final hour. While neither entry took the chequered flag, the #72 crew did at least do enough to be classified as finishers. Even though it was scant reward, Barwell scored a point in the Bronze Teams’ title chase.

 

While the result proved hard to take, the team can still be proud of both its early performance, and the hard work of the technical team in the face of some extreme challenges.

 

Barwell Motorsport’s form has been so strong this season that the squad still runs second in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Overall Bronze Teams’ Championship and fourth in the Endurance Cup Teams’ points.

 

Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer said: “There’s not a lot of enjoyment to take from a weekend like this, but they happen and we just have to regroup, reset and move on. We can take a lot of positivity from our performance on Saturday: to have a Bronze class car within the top four in a grid of this quality really is something. I feel for all of our drivers as they all deserved more after such a strong start to the race. The way Gabriel and Till managed a chaotic first stint was great, and then Casper and Antoine were making great progress until we got hit with a double dose of terrible luck. We now have a job on our hands to get the cars repaired and ready for both Brands Hatch and Barcelona in the coming weeks, but I have no doubt our terrific technical team will rise to the challenge.”

 

Barwell Motorsport is straight back to action this coming weekend at Brands Hatch when it will aim to wrap up the British GT Championship GT3 Drivers’ title to add to the GT3 Teams’ crown it secured last time out at Donington Park.