Mitchell Fastest In Damp Donington Pre-Qualifying

Sandy Mitchell Leads Pre-Qualifying at Donington Park

Donington Park, UK – In a damp yet competitive pre-qualifying session for the British GT Championship, Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell clocked the fastest lap, steering the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 to a time of 1:33.616. The session, which took place under mixed conditions following a light rain, saw Mitchell setting the benchmark towards the end of the 60-minute run.

Maximilian Götz, driving the #18 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for 2 Seas Motorsport, secured second place with a lap of 1:32.717, showcasing the performance of the Mercedes-AMG platform. Sven Müller, representing Team Parker Racing in the #66 Porsche 911 GT3.R, followed closely behind in third with a time of 1:33.049.

The McLaren teams also demonstrated competitive speed, with the #9 Paddock Motorsport McLaren GT3 Evo driven by Martin Plowman and Mark Smith taking fourth place after a combined effort that yielded a lap time of 1:33.221. Marvin Kirchhöfer’s #77 Optimum Motorsport McLaren rounded out the top five at 1:33.533.

Defending drivers’ champion Rob Collard finished sixth in the #1 Barwell Lamborghini with a time of 1:33.575, while four-time champion Jonny Adam’s #7 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo was seventh at 1:33.667. Kiern Jewiss, driving the championship-leading #42 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG, placed eighth with a time of 1:33.698. The top ten was completed by Callum Macleod in the #3 Optimum McLaren (1:34.100) and Sam Neary of Team Abba Racing in the #8 Mercedes-AMG (1:35.012).

In GT4 pre-qualifying, Luca Hopkinson led the field in the #17 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 with a best time of 1:38.893. Owen Hizzy finished second in the #31 MKH Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo (1:40.344), followed by Charlie Robertson in the #71 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 Evo (1:40.933). Marc Warren in the #90 Optimum McLaren took fourth (1:41.071), while Seb Morris completed the top five for Team Parker Racing in the #12 Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Note that the #88 Mahiki Racing Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo did not participate in the session due to a prior collision in free practice, raising concerns ahead of the final qualifying session, set for 15:50 local time.

Top Times:

• GT3

  1. Sandy Mitchell (Barwell Lamborghini) – 1:33.616
  2. Maximilian Götz (2 Seas Mercedes-AMG) – 1:32.717
  3. Sven Müller (Team Parker Porsche) – 1:33.049

• GT4

  1. Luca Hopkinson (Optimum McLaren) – 1:38.893
  2. Owen Hizzy (MKH Aston Martin) – 1:40.344
  3. Charlie Robertson (Century BMW) – 1:40.933

Images courtesy of SRO/JEP