The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mitchell bags second Silverstone 500 title
A second British GT blue riband event victory in three years has put Angus star Sandy Mitchell back in the motorsport history books.
The Forfar 22-year-old produced a masterful performance to become the first ever two-time winner of the Silverstone 500.
The Lamborghini ace did it by a margin of just 0.529 seconds after three hours of racing at the Northamptonshire track.
It came after the 2020 British GT champ set a new qualifying lap record to secure pole position for the No 72 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, prepared by Barwell Motorsport, which he shares with Adam Balon.
Mitchell had been on fire in practice with a recordbreaking lap of 1min 57.1 secs, before lowering it to 1:56.765s for a new qualifying lap benchmark.
“That lap was perfect,” said the Lamborghini factory driver and British Racing Drivers’ Club member.
“It definitely confirmed we had a car capable of winning the three-hour race.”
Balon took the opening stint in Sunday’s enduro and handed over to the young Scot after around three-quarters of an hour.
Race rules require three driver changes and Mitchell maintained the lead in his opening spell, for Balon to then stay right in the hunt with their closest rival, the No 88 McLaren 720S GT3 of Marvin Kirchoeffer and Alexander West.
With 43 minutes of the race remaining, Mitchell, personally backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky and Thorntons Solicitors, was back in the hot seat.
“Adam’s second stint was really important,” said the former Dundee High School pupil.
“He maintained the gap to the 88 car in front which meant I could do a few really quick laps when I got in the car to have a chance of being ahead when they pitted.
“Thankfully that’s exactly what happened.”
It saw the two main protagonists separated by just a few car lengths when the McLaren made its final stop, but crucially the Lamborghini was in front.
“Managing to get ahead of the 88 car when it rejoined the circuit after its final stop was the be all and end all of the race,” added Mitchell.
“That was the result right there. The Barwell guys did a fantastic job not just with the timing of the pit calls but also with the actual pitstops.
“If I’d been one or two seconds further back on the track after the last pitstop then I probably wouldn’t have exited ahead of the McLaren. It was that tight.”
Mitchell masterfully held off the challenge of German star Kirchoeffer.
“I knew I would have to soak up the pressure right to the chequered flag,” said the Lamborghini driver.
“That final stint was really tough in terms of intensity. He was within a second for most of the stint.
“But I always knew I was in control of the race and it was fantastic to cross the line 0.529secs ahead.”
The win, which boosts Mitchell’s championship standings, was his second Silverstone 500 win in three years. It was the race which sealed the 2020 British GT title for the Letham lad and Rob Collard.
Twelve months ago Mitchell also took maximum points when he finished second, behind a car not registered for the championship.
“From this year’s championship point of view, the result is huge,” he said.
“We had a difficult first round of the championship, and quite a lot of the guys who had a good first round had a difficult round here, so it’s basically all to play for again.
“It puts us in a great position for the rest of the season. We’re right back in the mix.”
He returns to British GT Championship action at Donington Park on May 28-29.