Great Bookham-based Barwell Motorsport made it two-in-a-row at Snetterton on Sunday May 19 when the team’s #72 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, driven by Phil Keen and, taking the chequered flag Adam Balon, crossed the line to win Race Two of the 2019 British GT Championship double-header at Snetterton.
The #72 Lamborghini finished just .538 seconds ahead of the sister #69 entry piloted by San De Haan and Jonny Cocker. Completing the podium positions was the #22 Balfe Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 driven by Rob Bell and Shaun Balfe.
Victory in the GT4 category went to Tolman Motorsport and its #5 McLaren 570S GT4 driven by Lewis Proctor and Jordan Collard, the McLaren crossing the line 3.313 seconds ahead of the #97 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT4 piloted by Ash Hand and Tom Canning. The podium places in the GT4 class were completed by the #57 HHC Motorsport McLaren crewed by Callum Pointon and Dean Macdonald.
Nicki Thiim, at the wheel of the #2 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 he shared with Mark Farmer, led the field away from pole position but with Phil Keen in the #72 Lamborghini starting alongside the Dane, the #2 car could not pull out an advantage and the two cars stopped for driver changes at the same time.
Mark Farmer inherited the #2 TF Sport Aston Martin with a 10-second advantage over Adam Balon in the #72 Lamborghini due to the success penalty for the win in Race One.
Balon in the #72 car and De Haan in the sister #69 entry started to pull back the gap to Mark Farmer and were able to pass but De Haan was unable to put further pressure on Balon and the #72 took the chequered flag to secure back-to-back wins, the second double victory at the Norfolk circuit, the first being in 2016 when Phil keen achieved a pair of wins with then-teammate Jon Minshaw.
Balfe Motorsport completed the podium positions with its #22 McLaren, Rob Bell handing over to Shaun Balfe who was able to pass TF Sport’s Mark farmer in the closing stages.
In the GT4 class, what looked liked a definite win for the #66 Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 fell apart when the #66 car picked up a puncture in the closing stages, allowing the #5 Tolman Motorsport McLaren to claim the win.
Scott Malvern, at the wheel of the #66 Mercedes, led the field from pole position and had pulled out a gap of some 17 seconds as the race approached the GT4 driver change window. A pit window infringement resulted in a penalty for the #57 HHC Motorsport McLaren and the #20 Balfe Motorsport McLaren also received a 10 second Stop/Go for causing avoidable contact.
The #29 Steller Performance Audi R8 LMS GT4 driven by Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding took GT4 Pro-Am honours on-track but were subsequently disqualified for a technical infringement.
After Rounds Three and Four Adam Balon and Phil Keen head the GT3 drivers standings on 80 points, 13 ahead of Barwell Motorsport teammates Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker. The Pro-Am duo of Rick Parfitt Jnr and Seb Morris lie in third on 37 points.
Dean Macdonald and Callum Pointon enjoy a four-point advantage at the top of the GT4 drivers standing with Tolman Motorsport’s Jordan Collard and Lewis Proctor in second on 48 points.
The 2019 British GT Championship now moves to Silverstone for the blue-riband event of the 2019 British GT Championship. Track action gets underway for the Silverstone 500 at 09:30 on Saturday June 8 with practice with the race getting underway at 12:35 in Sunday June 9.