Silver Cup triumph for ace Macdowall
CUMBRIA’S Alex Macdowall celebrated a class win and title victory as he ended the 2020 season on a high.
The 29-year-old from Carlisle pulled-off an inch-perfect drive in the final round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at Paul Ricard to take a race win and seal the Silver Cup title.
It’s been a strong season for Macdowall and his Barwell Motorsport team-mates Frederik Schandorff and Patrick Kujala.
At the wheel of the number 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO, the team has taken two Silver Cup wins on the way to claiming the championship by 31 points.
Last week they arrived at the famous French circuit 17 points clear at the top of the class standings, but knew they still had to produce a solid race if they were to take the class crown.
The trio had qualified second in class and 19th overall ahead of the six-hour battle, with Schandorff selected to start the race.
After a chaotic opening lap where a number of cars tangled, Schandorff dropped briefly to fourth but was soon making the places back up as he began to pick off his rivals.
Macdowall took over at around 65 minutes in and wasted no time pulling back the class leader to move into the lead on lap 51.
The team continued to lead as the race reached the threehour mark and rain began to fall as Schandorff returned to the hot seat before handing over to Kujala.
As he took the wheel, Kujala had more than 12 seconds lead on the Tech 1 Racing Lexus squad but had extended this to more than a minute by the time he reached the chequered flag to seal the win and class championship.
“What a way to finish,” said a delighted Macdowall. “To win the race and to win the championship, after a dramatic Spa where we should have won, to come back and to win this race is a dream come true.
“We were the most consistent driver line-up all year, so I think we’ve deserved it.
“It was a faultless race. We had the pace to win throughout this weekend and we smoked it. All year we’ve had the potential to win every race, all three of us deliver similar lap times and stint times so we’ve been a perfect combination.”
The coveted GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Silver Crown marks MacDowall’s second title in international endurance racing. He won the LMGTE championship in the ELMS in 2016 with Aston Martin.
“I’ve got to thank everyone at Barwell for an amazing season, it’s a fantastic team and the car has been incredible all year – the Lamborghini really has been amazing to drive”, he added.
“It’d be nice to be back in GT World Challenge next year but it’s too early to say yet.”