Sandy impresses in Euro GT Pro Sprint opener at Brands Hatch

Lamborghini Factory Driver, Scot Sandy Mitchell, impresses in Euro GT3 Pro Sprint at Brands Hatch but wheel glitch stalls podium push.

Sandy delivered impressive performances in the opening double-header of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup campaign at Brands Hatch. And only a rogue wheel nut denied him a potential podium. The 25-year-old from Forfar, partnering team-mate Hugo Cook in the No78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, prepared by Barwell and backed by Dama Fortuna Premium Tequila, was one of the fastest drivers over the weekend. And this on Barwell’s debut competing in the GT3 Pro class.

In qualifying, Sandy posted the third-quickest time of the 30 leading Pro drivers in what is one of the most competitive GT3 series in the world. Then in the opening 60-minute race, the Scot posted the quickest lap of the race, a 1min 23.631sec, only to see it beaten in the next couple of laps by a rival who went 2/10ths faster.

Starting their #78 Lamborghini from seventh on the grid, Cook was hit twice on the opening lap and had slipped to 11th when he pitted to hand the car to Sandy with 34-minutes remaining. The former British GT champion immediately set about hauling in the #52 Ferrari in 10th, but though he quickly reeled the car in, overtaking proved difficult. The Scot though persevered and finally eased ahead of the Ferrari on final lap.

Sandy: “The cars in this series are so, so close because of the Balance of Performance, that, combined with the very high level of drivers in the Pro Cup, plus the tight Brands Hatch circuit made passing very difficult. Hugo did really well, especially after being roughed-up at the start of the race.”

Sandy then started the second one-hour race from third on the grid and immediately battled for second place on the opening lap, eventually settling back into third. Having set what was then the fastest lap of the race with a 1:24.393s, the Scot hounded the second-placed #69 Ferrari for the opening 20 minutes, often within touching distance, being less than 0.2secs behind. A full course yellow period, followed by a Safety Car after a rival car became beached in the gravel stalled Sandy’s progress and erased his two-second advantage over the fourth-placed car. With 27 minutes remaining, he pitted from third to hand the Lamborghini over to Cook.

Sandy:  “Unfortunately the pit crew had a problem when one of the car’s wheel nuts bizarrely spun out of the gun and caused a delay in the packed pitlane. They recovered really quickly to limit the delay, but it did cost us time and positions on-track,” Sandy, personally backed by Tunnocks and Dama Fortuna Tequila, explained. “Hugo delivered an excellent stint and as the fuel load lessened he was rapid, bringing the car home in seventh. “It’s not the results we wanted, especially in Race 2 where we were on course for a podium before the pit stop. But these things happen and overall the team did a superb job. We’ve banked good championship points, plus shown again the Lamborghini is super-quick and our driver and team combination is definitely capable of winning races”

Sandy, Cook and the Barwell Lamborghini are back in action on May 17-18 when the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup heads to Zandvoort in Holland.