Lamborghini claims victories in British GT and GT Open to boost title chances

Lamborghini heads into the closing stages of the British GT and International GT Open championships firmly in title-winning contention following another successful weekend which yielded a pair of victories. Michael Igoe and Phil Keen at the wheel, gave WPI Motorsport its second British GT win of the year at Oulton Park, while VS Racing’s Frederik Schandorff and Michele Beretta take a 24-point lead into the penultimate round at Monza following a dramatic victory at the Red Bull Ring.

With just one round left to run in British GT this season, the focus was naturally on the tight and twisty confines of the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire where Barwell Motorsport’s Leo Machitski and Dennis Lind could have wrapped up the title a weekend early had things gone their way. Alas, the pairing driving the #63 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo had something of an up-and-down meeting, finishing third on the road in the first race (but picking up points for second due to a guest car winning the race) before ending Race 2 just off the podium in fourth. Nevertheless, Machitski and Lind head into the season-finale at Donington Park with a 13.5-point margin over their nearest rivals.

By winning Race 2, Igoe and Keen are only 17.5 points adrift of the top of the standings going into Donington, meaning the title is still very much up for grabs. The nature of their second win of the season may have been fortuitous - following a drivethrough penalty for the leading Mercedes - but nonetheless deserved after a terrific opening stint from Keen. The British GT veteran made inroads early in the race to lie fifth before the mandatory pit-stops and emerged a net second in the hands of Igoe after the window closed.

The rain, which had been persistent since the start, began to worsen during the Am stint, meaning that Igoe had the worst of the conditions during his drive time. Despite this additional challenge, Igoe - who was racing at his home track this weekend - kept it on the track and duly extended his lead over the second Barwell Huracán of Adam Balon and Sandy Mitchell in the closing stages. Balon recovered from a late-race spin at Old Hall to complete a Lamborghini one-two finish.

Over in Austria, the weather played an equally important role in another Lamborghini success. Schandorff and Beretta secured their fourth victory of the season despite aquaplaning into the gravel trap from the lead with three minutes remaining after a torrential downpour hit the circuit. Schandorff had earlier made the bold call to remain on slick tyres amid heavy rain due to the fact that nearest rival Charlie Eastwood in the Aston Martin had also not elected to pit. The Dane therefore treaded as lightly as he could around the circuit, but eventually lost all grid under braking for the uphill Turn 3 late on.

The #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo seemed to have beached in the gravel before Schandorff reversed out to continue. The race was soon red flagged with the result taken back one lap, leaving Schandorff and Beretta as race winners. Race 2 was run in full dry conditions and Schandorff and Beretta backed up their Saturday victory with another solid points haul by finishing fourth, ahead of their nearest title rivals. Lamborghini did record another podium though, in the hands of the sister VS Racing #19 car of Yuki Nemoto and Baptiste Moulin, who came home an impressive second.

Heading into Monza, Schandorff and Beretta lead the points by 24 points, while Nemoto and Moulin a further nine points adrift in third.