Mitchell eyes sprint double at Snettertonposted in GT05 | 08 | 2021
SCOTS ENDURANCE RACER and defending British GT champ, Sandy Mitchell, heads to Snetterton this weekend for the first double-header in the 2021 championship season. (Related: Mitchell storms to Spa24H podium)
With three two-hour races and one three-hour race already contested this year, this weekend sees Mitchell tackle two one-hour sprint races. And the 21year-old from Forfar has fond memories of the Norfolk track.
“Snetterton has definitely played an important role in my sportscar career,” Mitchell, personally backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky and Lamborghini Edinburgh, explained. (Related: Mitchell fastest at Donington British GT)
“It’s where I won my first-ever British GT4 race, and I’ve regularly either won a race on my visit, or finished on the podium.”
Mitchell became the youngest-ever British GT winner, aged 16 years 169 days — a record which still stands today — when he won the GT4 race at the fast Norfolk circuit in 2016.
Now the Scot, fresh from his Pro-Am podium in the world’s most competitive GT3 race, the Spa24H last weekend, returns to the British GT scene determined to further boost his title hopes.
“This is the midpoint of the season, so it’s crucial we finish the weekend with a good haul of points,” stated Mitchell, who will partner team-mate Adam Balon in the No1 (#1) Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, prepared by Barwell Motorsport.
“We’re only 19.5 points off the championship lead, and with five of the season’s nine races remaining we’re right in contention for the championship. (Related: Scot Sandy Mitchell wins British GT Championship)
“We took maximum points in the season’s longest race, the three-hours at Silverstone, but switching to two one-hour sprint races demands a completely different set-up for both the drivers and team.
“Snetterton’s a pretty cool circuit,” the Scot, a Lamborghini factory driver, in addition to being a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s elite SuperStars programme, continued. (Related: Mitchell bags maximum British GT points)
“It’s quite long, which is nice, and a good mix of demands, with tight, twisty bits and long fast sections. It’s a good combination.
“The last section of the circuit is the most demanding. But it’s also somewhere you can definitely make a lot of time up by getting it right.
“We’ve won sprint races at Snetterton before, and we know how good the guys at Barwell are at setting up the car, so we head to Norfolk with a really strong chance of achieving the results we want.”
Related: Mitchell named Lamborghini factory driver
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Jim McGill