Balfe and Bell among British drivers having successful Barcelona GT Open meetings

There was plenty of British success at Barcelona last weekend as Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell clinched the International GT Open Pro Am class after Balfe was runner-up last year.

The Mclaren 650S duo had an eventful opener, colliding with Valentin Pierburg two corners from home but survived to take two third places in class.

“A fantastic year for us, we had our problems but it was a great team effort,” said Balfe. “We had a lot of scary moments going on around us, but we made it.”

The second race was won by British pair Michael Meadows and Jordan Witt, who returned to the category in a Bentley Continental GT3. The pair were robustly passed by Bradley Ellis on the final lap but the positions were later reversed with Ellis penalised.

Elsewhere, Radical UK Challenge champion Oliver Barker made a successful Radical European Masters debut, sharing John Harrison’s SR8.

Harrison spun in race one dropping him to third behind Louis HamiltonSmith but Barker chased him down, snatching second with a lap to go.

Another second followed in race two before the pair took a win in the finale.

Jack Manchester won the SR3 class in races one and two, but a first-lap off in race three secured the class spoils for Mark Crader/james Littlejohn. The SR3 title went to Jani Hjerppe.