The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Race star Sandy’s showdown with French football legend
Les Bleus ace Fabien Barthez will be on grid when teenager races at Monza
A teenage Angus speed sensation has a football World Cup winner and TV Top Gear ace to contend with in a 190mph quest for glory at one of the world’s most famous racetracks this weekend.
Former British karting champion Sandy Mitchell will make his Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup debut at Monza in Italy on Sunday behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracan – a V10 monster most 18-year-olds would be happy to have as a poster on their wall.
The Forfar star hopes to take the fight to the rest of a grid featuring French football legend Fabien Barthez and Top Gear presenter Chris Harris when the flag drops at the legendary circuit.
Mitchell has moved to Europe’s premier sports car series after two years competing with famous motor racing marque McLaren in the British GT Championship, where he became its youngest-ever race winner at just 16. A member of the prestigious British Racing Drivers’ Club Rising Star scheme, he is stepping up to the faster, more powerful GT3 class targeting more podium places and, ultimately, race wins.
The Scots young gun will share the Barwell Motorsport-prepared Black Bull Whisky Lamborghini with 23-yearold Italian Michele Beretta and Croatian 20-year-old Martin Kodric, having already got to grips with the 400 horsepower machine at test sessions at Portimao in Portugal, Paul Ricard in southern France, Monza and Silverstone.
“I’ve been really happy with the process and how quickly I’ve adapted. I’m enjoying the increase in speed, power and sheer cornering ability of the Lamborghini Huracan,” said Mitchell, a former Dundee High School pupil now in the first year of a Motor Sports Association course at Loughborough Sports College.
The Lambo trio will contest the new, ultra-competitive five-round Silver Cup junior pro class, which will also see Mitchell take on Blancpain GT’s blue riband race, the Spa 24 Hours, in July.
More than 50 high performance race cars will line up for Sunday’s opener, including the Mercedes AMG of former French goalie Barthez, who moved into motorsport as both a driver and team boss after an 87-cap career for Les Bleus that included the 1998 World Cup win.
BBC TV Top Gear presenter and seasoned racer Chris Harris is piloting a McLaren 650S, but the Angus hotshot is hopeful he can carry good pre-season pace on to the asphalt of Monza.
“We know from testing we have a good car, a good team, three good drivers, and good pace. But as always, we won’t know exactly where we stand until the first qualifying session at the weekend,” said Mitchell. “That said, we know we’ll be competitive and I can’t wait to get into the Lamborghini to finally go racing again.”