Barwell Motorsport made it two wins in a row when the #33 Lamborghini Huracán, driven by Phil Keen and, across the line, Jon Minshaw, won race Two (Round Eight) of the 2016 British GT Championship at a sun-drenched Snetterton.
In second place was the #17 TF Sport Aston Martin GT3 driven by Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam. Completing the podium positions was the #7 AMDtuning.com BMW Z4 GT3 driven by Lee Mowle and Jon Osborne, the car that was first across the line but demoted to fifth in Race One.
Phil Keen, in the #33 Barwell Motorsports car, led from pole position, chased by the #17 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with Jonny Adam at the wheel. Both drivers pushed hard as fastest laps were exchanged.
After the pit-stop and driver changes, Minshaw in the #33 car held the lead over Osborne in the #7 BMW Z4 GT3 and was able to extend his advantage as the #7 AMDtuning.com BMW Z4 GT3 was chased hard by Derek Johnston in the #17 TF Sport Aston Martin. Johnston eventually caught and passed Osborne for second.
“I came here hoping to have a great first race after working hard on my qualifying, which obviously went well and allowed us to fight at the front in race one,” said Jon Minshaw, driver of the #33 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3. “But what I didn’t expect was to win the second, which I have to say was down to the team and Phil. We came in knowing we had the 10 seconds to serve and nailed it. OK, we were a bit lucky with Derek being delayed but everyone still has their jobs to do.”
In GT4, victory went to the #407 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4 driven by Jack Bartholomew and, back in GT4, Ross Gunn. The #50 PMW World Expo Racing / Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4, driven by Drivers Championship-leading Graham Johnston and Mike Robinson came home in second in a result that see their advantage in the championship down from 17.5 points to 2.5 as the championship moves to the final round at Rockingham.
Third in GT4 was the #51 Lanan Racing Ginetta G55 GT4 driven by Alex Reed and Joey Foster.
“It’s amazing to win again, especially as we’ve still got a few issues to iron out before Donington,” said Jack Mitchell, driver in the #407 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4. “I didn’t have the qualifying I wanted for race one but I’m glad we were able to make the best of it in the races. Ross has been a great help in coaching and brining me on, so a bug thanks to him and everyone at Beechdean AMR for continuing to plug away and get the result we needed.”
The final round of the 2016 British GT Championship takes place at Donington on September 11.
