Rob Collard and Sandy Mitchell claimed second place in the Bronze Drivers’ Championship aboard the #78 Dama Fortuna Tequila/Collard Group Huracan GT3 Evo2 after a battling display netted them two more podium finishes to cap an impressive campaign. While they fell agonisingly shy of scoring Barwell a second championship in two weeks, the pair pushed all the way, twice battling the rival Paradine Competition BMW shared by Darren Leung and Dan Harper to the chequered flag.

 

While results ultimately didn’t go the way of Patrick Kujala and Gabriel Rindone in the #72 JNKD/VIP Motors Huracan, Kujala made a piece of history with a sensational qualifying display on Saturday morning, out-shining the entire 31-car field to score Barwell Motorsport’s first outright Fanatec GT World Challenge pole position.

Both of Barwell’s crews showed great potential across practice on Friday, with the #78 and #72 proving challengers for the outright top 10 as the field got to grips with the 2.9-mile Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, boding well for Qualifying on Saturday morning, but few expected what was to come.

 

Having topped the Bronze class during Pre-Qualifying, Patrick Kujala was outstanding on Saturday morning, putting on a star show to score the team’s first outright Fanatec GT pole position – a remarkable achievement in a field packed with Pro class entries. Kujala wound up almost 0.3 seconds clear of everybody after nailing his flying effort aboard the #72 to lay down an unbeatable benchmark and make a piece of history. Mitchell wasn’t far behind as the #78 scored fourth in class and a place inside the top 10 overall.

 

Starting at the front and with an undeniably quick car, Kujala was ready to fight against the Pro cars, but he never got the chance as the opening race fell victim to freak monsoon-style rain and a lengthy safety car period.

 

The grid formed up on a drying track, with light rain having abated shortly before the cars headed out. However, with the circuit still damp off-line and some spots of rain still in the air, it led to a mixture of tyre strategies. With the #72 starting at the front and having everything to lose from making the wrong call, the team played it safe and fitted slick Pirellis with no further rain on the radar. The #78 crew followed suit. But as the cars began their two formation laps, the rain returned… in force.

 

Kujala got a strong start when the lights went out, but was powerless to stop the Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG that had started on wet tyres running around the outside to claim the lead as the slick-shod cars slithered around the damp first turn. Kujala was squeezed back, but settled into sixth overall and second in class.

 

And that was the only chance the car got to attack as a heavy crash between a Winward Mercedes-AMG and Tresor Attempto Audi behind left the Audi in flames. Both drivers emerged unharmed, but the safety car would be needed for a lengthy cleanup. The caution period got even longer when the heaviest of the rain arrived. Running further back in 12th overall and fourth in class, Mitchell made the choice to stop for wets early, which meant the #78 gave up track position but would filter back through the field as those in front made the same choice, including when Kujala was forced to call it quits a few laps later and stop for treaded Pirellis.

 

Such was the rain, and the number of cars littering the circuit that had tried to hold on with slicks and failed, the race didn’t resume until the final five minutes, setting up a breathless finish. Collard took the #78 over and was running fourth in class, right behind the Rutronik Porsche driven by Dustin Blattner. Collard tried a move alongside the Porsche at the restart but lost grip in the sodden conditions, falling back to seventh. But that only fired up the newly-crowned British GT champion, who carved seconds out of his rivals in the wet, working his way back up to fourth and even attempting to get past the championship-leading Paradine Competition BMW of title rival Darren Leung at the final turn. Having lapped three seconds faster than the BMW on the final tour, Collard missed out by just 0.1s at the flag. However, with Blattner picking up a penalty for hitting the Sky Tempesta Ferrari into the gravel on the last lap, the #78 would be elevated onto the podium.

 

Rindone brought the #72 home in fifth, with his first laps of the day taking place in the worst of the conditions after the changes. It was far from what the crew deserved after the car’s stellar qualifying, but at least brought more points for Rindone and Kujala.

 

The results from Saturday meant Collard and Mitchell went into the final race of the season trailing Leung and Dan Harper by 12pts, with Barwell third in the Overall Teams’ standings, just four points off top.

 

Season finales are always cagey affairs, and this one proved no different as Collard qualified the #78 second in class, a row ahead of Leung’s BMW, while Rindone took the start from sixth.

 

Collard bolted when the lights went out, attempting to cling onto the rear of the class-leading Rutronik Porsche of Blattner. Leung briefly threatened to upset the plan, getting alongside Collard through turn one, but some stern defence saw off the BMW and allowed Collard to once again focus forward. He ate into Blattner’s lead and the pair pitted together at the midway point. Barwell’s pit work has been standout all season, more than once helping its Lamborghinis gain places during the stops, and another exemplary service got Mitchell installed and back out into the class lead, inches ahead of the Porsche now driven by Dennis Marschall.

 

Mitchell was immediately forced to defend from the flying 911, but was eventually squeezed onto the turn eight kerbing, which allowed the Porsche through. Second was the limit for the crew, and marked their fifth podium appearance in the last six races. However, with the Paradine BMW finishing right behind, it also cemented runner-up spot in the championship, 9.5pts down on 2023 British GT Champions Leung and Harper.

 

The weekend ended on a sour note for the #72, despite some consistent early work from Rindone. After avoiding some early chaos, Rindone was pushed wide at the start but battled against dirty tyres to settle into a tight fight over fourth with the Sky Tempesta Ferrari, Tresor Attempto Racing Audi and Imperiale Racing Lamborghini, keeping all three well in sight as the pit window approached. However, an unlucky spin just before he was due to hand across to Kujala sent the #72 into the gravel at turn two and out of the race – a huge shame for a crew that had shown immense promise since the start of the weekend.

 

The results from Barcelona also mean Barwell Motorsport finishes the Sprint Cup season second in the Bronze Teams’ Championship. With just one round of the year remaining, Barwell sits second in the Overall Bronze Teams’ Championship, just 5.5pts behind Sky Tempesta Racing heading to the season finale in Saudi Arabia next month.

 

Barwell Motorsport team principal Mark Lemmer said: “Barcelona was a weekend of real mixed emotions for us. Saturday could not have started better, with Patrick producing a lap that will live long in the memory of everybody in this team. We’re so proud of our Viking warrior, and that was a proper milestone moment. That said it was such a shame he never got the chance to capitalise on what was clearly a very quick car in the race, due to the freak change in weather. With no further rain on the radar, the majority started on slicks, so almost everybody got caught out to some degree. Had things been more stable, we could easily have been celebrating a first class win for that car, such was the potential.

 

“I’m delighted for Rob and Sandy, finishing second in a championship as tough as this one is no mean feat. They gave it all they could. Sandy made the early call to switch to wets in race one, and Rob put on a monster final stint to bring them onto the podium in the few racing laps we had. I had no doubt they’d be up there fighting again in race two, and another podium is the least they deserved. Congratulations to Darren, Dan and the team at Century Motorsport [Paradine Competition], they’ve proven superb competition all season and it’s a deserved title.

 

“Now we’ll get the cars refreshed, and on the freight to the season finale in Jeddah, where we’ve got an Overall Teams’ Championship to fight for!”

 

Barwell Motorsport’s final outing of the 2024 season takes place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia from November 28-30, where the squad will continue its challenge for the overall Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Bronze Teams’ title.