Lamborghini ace Sandy Mitchell wrapped up his sparkling 2020 season with a podium finish in the six-hour decider in southern France.
The result at the Paul Ricard circuit guaranteed the Angus 20-year-old – who seven days earlier won the British GT Championship at Silverstone – a top three finish in the GT World Challenge Europe Pro-Am series.
“To finish on the podium again, and third in the European championship is a very solid end to the season,” said Mitchell, who shared the No77 Vimetco Extrusion/Asterus Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3 with Rob Collard and Leo Machitski.
“We knew we needed to win the race to win the GT World Challenge Europe Pro-Am, and we came really close.
It’s been a terrific season, with my first overall championship win.
Endurance racer Sandy Mitchell
“We fought hard and gave it everything, and in such a competitive field we did well to finish second
“Everyone in the Barwell Motorsport team did a terrific job this weekend. The pitstops were super, and both Rob and Leo drove brilliantly in the demanding day-night conditions”
Letham’s Mitchell, part of the Lamborghini Squadra Corse GT3 Junior Program and a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s elite SuperStars programme took a host of positives from the Euro campaign.
Spa 24 Hour win was Euro campaign highlight
“We won the blue riband Pro-Am race of the season, the Spa 24-Hours, and had great pace in the two other races in the series at Imola and the Nurburgring.
“But for contact from another car at the Nurburgring we would have finished on the podium, and potentially won the race. But that’s motorsport.
“It’s been a terrific season, with my first overall championship win plus the British GT Silver Cup, and a number of race wins and podiums,” said the Black Bull Whisky-backed racer.
“It’s been a hectic second-half of the year because of Covid, and I have to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to make it possible to go racing.
“Now I can take some time to reflect on the successes of 2020, and start planning for next season,” he said.
Engine woes end challenging season for Hutchison
Dundee’s Finlay Hutchison saw hopes of a strong end to his season ended less than halfway through the six-hour finale when engine valve failure in his Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 triggered a disappointing retirement.
“The car was running well, it was handling nicely and we were able to run pretty competitively”, said the 20-year-old Hutchison Technologies, Evoson and In-Home Displays backed racer.
“We’ve had some positives to take from this season, but overall we have been pretty unfortunate with various incidents and issues,” said British Racing Drivers’ Club Rising Star Hutchison.
“Sometimes that’s how it goes in motorsport, but the main thing is to learn and gain as much experience as possible. The focus now is to work hard for next year, that all starts now.”
