Oulton Park: Barwell Claims GT3 Pole; Götz Dominates Qualifying
In an exhilarating qualifying session for the opening round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park, Barwell Motorsport’s #1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO secured the pole position amidst fierce competition among amateur drivers, with just 0.158 seconds separating the top four contenders.
GT3 Highlights:
Rob Collard in the #7 Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo narrowly missed pole, finishing second with a time of 1:33.687, just 0.014 seconds behind Collard’s 1:33.673. Charles Dawson’s #42 Mercedes-AMG followed closely in third (1:33.736), while Kevin Tse’s #18 Mercedes-AMG rounded out the top four (1:33.831).
A strong performance from Simon Orange in the #67 Orange Racing McLaren placed him in fifth (1:34.214), while Alex Martin in the #78 Barwell Lamborghini (1:34.221) and Mark Smith in the #9 McLaren (1:34.313) completed the top seven.
For Race 2, 2 Seas Motorsport’s Maximilian Götz dominated, taking pole with a blistering 1:31.881, edging out Sandy Mitchell’s #78 Barwell Lamborghini by 0.062 seconds. Sven Müller secured third for Team Parker Racing (1:32.000).
GT4 Insights:
In the GT4 category, Josh Miller clinched pole for Race 1 in the #84 Mahiki Racing Lotus Emira GT4 with a time of 1:41.297, a significant 0.515 seconds ahead of Luca Hopkinson’s #17 Optimum Motorsport McLaren. Rami Ramyead’s #71 Century BMW M4 GT4 Evo qualified third, showcasing the competitive edge in GT4.
As rain began to impact the session’s dynamics, the second GT4 qualifying saw Charlie Robertson’s #71 Century BMW narrowly beat reigning champion Jack Brown’s #90 Optimum McLaren by just 0.001 seconds, with times of 1:41.456 and 1:41.457, respectively.
Context:
The drivers and teams will take to the track for two 60-minute sprint races on Monday, promising further action as they vie for crucial points in the championship standings.
This event marks the beginning of an exciting season in British GT, with both the GT3 and GT4 classes demonstrating high levels of competition and emerging talent. The results from qualifying set the stage for an unpredictable race day.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP.
