Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell admitted he needed good fortune during his fervent chase for overall victory at the Donington Park British GT season-opener last weekend.
The #78 Barwell Motorsport driver was tasked with chasing down 2 Seas Motorsport’s Keirn Jewiss, at the wheel of its #18 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
Both set near identical lap times when the race entered its closing stages, with Mitchell finding a way to gradually close the gap to Jewiss ahead.
GT4 traffic management played a pivotal role in the intense lead fight, which required patience from both protagonists to avoid any costly errors.
Half a second separated the two during the final few laps, with the Mercedes-AMG looking strong with straight-line speed in comparison to the Lamborghini, which appeared to make its gains under braking.
“[It’s] just a shame on the last lap not to have it be a little bit closer after a bit of traffic in sector one but no, it was a really good race from us,” Mitchell said.
“I think I caught up a few times in the traffic and kind of got right onto [Phil] Keen’s bumper, but yeah, just difficult to follow through the middle sector to really get close enough to make a move where we were strong in the last sector.
“So yeah, just one of those races where I needed a bit of luck with traffic to help me out, but it just didn’t quite come this time.”
Mitchell set the fastest lap time out of anybody during his final pursuit, a 1:25.256.
Nevertheless, the pivotal moment which gave Jewiss – in his maiden GT3 race outing – a break from Mitchell was when they approached the #30 Team Parker Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Keen.
Furthermore, the final sector at the Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit incorporates two tight hairpins which pose little opportunity for a straightforward overtake from Mitchell.
Jewiss overtook Keen, who was fighting for third with the other #12 Mercedes-AMG GT4, before Mitchell caught the #30 Mercedes-AMG a few seconds later.
The #78 Lamborghini waited until after the two hairpins, doubling the 0.5 second gap before the flag.
“It’s great,” said Jewiss after securing his maiden GT3 victory with co-driver Charles Dawson.
“It’s a real testament to all the work that’s gone in with Charles and the team.
“Throughout this weekend we’ve been pushing each other so hard.”
DSC’s coverage of the 2025 British GT Championship is powered by Birch – world-class automotive asset management at Gatwick.
2 Seas image courtesy of SRO/JEP
