British GT: Shoot-Out at Brands Hatch
Lamborghini Factory Driver Scot Sandy Mitchell, targets new record and second title in British GT shoot-out at Brands Hatch with Barwell and Black Bull.
Sandy aims to re-write the record books again this weekend (Sept 28/29) when he bids to win a second British GT Championship in the season finale at Brands Hatch. The 24-year-old from Forfar, who won the championship in a thrilling winner-take-all end-of-season battle at Silverstone in 2020, must overhaul a 24.5-point deficit at Brands Hatch if he is to lift a second title.
Sandy, partnered by team-mate Alex Martin in their No 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, prepared by Barwell Motorsport, is definitely up for the fight. And while McLaren duo Shaun Balfe and Adam Smalley retain an outside mathematical chance of lifting the title, the pairing Sandy must hunt down is the sister Barwell Lamborghini of father and son, Rob and Ricky Collard. Further intrigue is added by the fact that Rob not only partners Sandy in Barwell’s GT Euro Sprint Cup campaign this season, but shared the Lamborghini with Sandy when they lifted the championship in 2020.
“It’s certainly going to be interesting this weekend,” Sandy, personally-backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky and Tunnocks, said. “Our focus in the #78 Lamborghini has simply to be, win the race. After that, we just need to hope the other results go our way.” Should Sandy and Martin win the two-hour race, and bank the 37.5 points available to the winners, they then need to hope the Collards finish no higher than sixth. Finish second, and the championship-leading car needs to finish no higher than 10th to give Sandy his second title. “We’re certainly not thinking about the maths,” the Scot continued. “All we can do is focus on what we can control. After that it’s in the hands of fate.”
Sandy, already the youngest-ever race winner in the British GT Championship when, aged just 16 years 169 days, he took the GT4 chequered flag at Snetterton back in 2016, is fully aware of the size of the test facing himself at Brands. “No one has ever overturned such large deficit in the final race of the championship,” Sandy continued. “The current highest is 13 points, and that was achieved last year, so we know we have a massive task ahead of us. But it’s not impossible.”
The 2.4-mile, nine corner grand prix circuit at Brands Hatch is a daunting test at the best of times, but there’s a further factor to consider this weekend. By dint of winning the last round at Donington, the Collard car must serve an extra 20-second success penalty at their mandatory pitstop. Sandy and Martin are penalty-free. “We know what we have to do this weekend,” Sandy, who has already won at Oulton, Donington and Snetterton with Martin this season. “It’s going to be tough, but Alex and I are definitely up for the fight.”