Having already sealed the GT3 Teams’ Championship in the previous event at Donington Park, Barwell doubled its glory with Rob and Ricky beating the odds to finish fifth in the #63 Black Bull Scotch Whisky/Collard Group Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II, the result being enough to give the father-and-son crew the 2024 title.

 

Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell took the chequered flag second overall aboard the #78 Dextra Commercial Lighting-supported Huracan, but took home maximum points to secure second in the Drivers’ points. The results cap a stunning domestic season for the team, with Barwell Motorsport becoming the first entry to record a one-two in the British GT Drivers’ Championship since the start of the GT3 era, and finishing with a record points haul in the Teams’ standings.

Heading to the finale in Kent, both of Barwell’s crews were vying for the title, with Rob and Ricky holding a 24.5-point advantage over Martin and Mitchell. A top-five finish would guarantee the Collards the title, and while that sounded simple for a crew that had yet to finish outside the top-five all year, the reality proved far from straightforward.

 

Despite the usual immaculate preparation from the Barwell technical crew, which included installing a fresh engine into the #63 for this event, a freak failure of a minor part led to a major oil leak that ruled the car out of both practice sessions on Saturday. The team executed a full engine change in under two hours to have the car running in time for qualifying, but with zero meaningful running both Rob and Ricky would be going into the session cold – especially seeing as the last time Rob drove a single lap of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit was during his title-winning season back in 2020.

 

That set up something of a heroic effort during qualifying, as Rob almost unbelievably managed to register the fourth fastest time, with Ricky backing up his father’s hard work to put the car sixth overall on combined times in what stood as an incredible effort from both drivers.

 

Meanwhile Martin and Mitchell laid down their own marker, putting the #78 third on the grid with Mitchell pulling out all the stops to shatter the lap record in his qualifying segment.

 

With both cars back in the mix and firing on all cylinders for the two-hour race, it would be a case of the best crew would win, with both cars being given freedom to race for the result free of team orders or strategic intervention.

 

Martin made the most of the opportunity when the lights went out to sprint into second and cling to the rear of the race-leading RJN McLaren ahead. Martin kept the leader honest, despite being pushed wide at one point when lapping a GT4 car. Knowing the RJN car was running as a guest entry and therefore not scoring points, second would be as good as a win for the #78 crew.

 

The Collards knew that. And had to react. Rob and Ricky’s win last time out at Donington meant they would have to spend an additional 20 seconds stationary in their pit stop against the #78, so early progress would be essential to their chances. Rob put it all on the line to stick close to Martin, pulling a string of great passing moves on the brakes to rise to third before the race was neutralised by a full course yellow after a McLaren GT3 crashed at Stirlings.

 

This could have wrecked the Collards’ race had it resulted in an immediate safety car, but instead the race director opted to keep the cars circulating at 80kph until the pit window was closed and all crews had completed their mandatory stops. This acted as something of a blessing for the #63 as not only did it not destroy the car’s gap to its rivals, it also limited the damage of the pit penalty.

 

Both Barwell cars stopped together and two slick changes got the #78 back out with Mitchell at the wheel still in second, and the #63 with Ricky installed back up and running in fifth, which kept the collards still in the championship driving seat.

 

Knowing he could even drop a place and still secure the title, Ricky played it safe across a second half littered with caution periods, opting to allow the Optimum McLaren driven by Tom Gamble through instead of risking a high-stakes battle. Thanks to the disruption, the #78 never really got the chance to truly attack the leading RJN McLaren, but second on the road meant maximum points regardless as Mitchell staved off late pressure from the chasing Garage 59 McLaren.

 

But the day belonged to the Collards, with Ricky crossing the line in sixth (fifth in the points) to put the title beyond doubt, sparking emotional scenes in the Barwell garage. Ultimately the #63 would be bumped back up a spot by a post-race penalty for the Optimum McLaren, but it didn’t matter. The team brought the curtain down on a stunning season with a double of Drivers’ and Teams’ titles, plus a piece of history with its one-two finish in the Drivers’ standings and record score in the Teams’ points.

 

It also marks Rob Collard’s second British GT Championship following his 2020 success alongside Mitchell, and makes the Collards the second father-and-son team to ever win the British GT title.

 

Rob Collard said: “I’m just speechless… it’s so weird to say I’m a double champion! This year was a huge challenge as I haven’t raced these tracks for years before coming here, but everything has clicked with the Lamborghini and the entire Barwell team has been faultless all year. To win alongside Ricky is just extra special. We really had to work for it this weekend after the engine failure… I had to remember where the track goes pretty quick in qualifying! Things were more settled in the race and I took every chance I got, then I had no doubt Ricky would bring it home. What a year it’s been.”

 

Ricky Collard said: “This was the dream at the start of the year, and I can’t believe we’ve done it. As a family you want to do as much as you can together and make as many memories together as you can, and this year we’ve made memories that we’ll treasure for a lifetime. It’s really emotional. The last few laps were so stressful as I knew the clock was ticking down but it wasn’t worth taking the risk of fighting when we didn’t need to. I can’t describe the emotion at the chequered flag… it’s just incredible and huge thanks to the entire Barwell team.”

 

Alex Martin said: “Huge congratulations to Rob and Ricky, we did all we could possibly do to take the fight to them but ultimately it wasn’t meant to be for us. Still, we’ve won four races on the road this year [including the Snetterton win they were stripped of] which is more than any other crew and we’ve enjoyed so many great moments. It’s still been a brilliant year and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

 

Sandy Mitchell said: “There was nothing more we could have done this weekend to try and win the championship, but I’m delighted for Rob and Ricky, they’ve been amazing team-mates and competitors. The entire team effort this year has been sensational and I’m proud to have been a part of it. To have won as many races as we have done, and made a bit of history by finishing one-two in the championship, that’s something really special.”

 

Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer added: “This has been the sort of season that you just don’t want to end, but what a way to cap an incredible year… winning both the GT3 Teams’ and Drivers’ championships. It feels amazing and I’m incredibly proud of the entire team. Also huge thanks to Lamborghini Squadra Corse for building what is an incredible car in the Huracan GT3 Evo II. Rob and Ricky have been sensational all year, rarely ever putting a wheel wrong and the engine issue on Saturday was probably their first real bit of bad luck all season, yet they rose to that challenge like champions do. Alex and Sandy again produced an incredible performance to take things to the wire and can be proud of all they have achieved this year. Overall, it’s been an incredible season, with so much effort from everybody involved. This really is the ultimate reward for everybody’s hard work.”

 

Barwell Motorsport next travels to Barcelona for the season finale of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, where Collard can aim for a title double alongside Mitchell.