Lamborghini takes first British GT one-two of the season at Spa-Francorchamps and two podiums at Imola GT Open round
Lamborghini sealed its second British GT Championship race victory of the season, and first one-two of the year, at the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium with Barwell Motorsport’s Dennis Lind and Leo Machitski leading WPI Motorsport’s Michael Igoe and Phil Keen. Lind and Machitski, driving the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo, started from pole position and duly dominated proceedings throughout the two-hour race to win by nearly a minute. In doing so, the pair have moved into the lead of the points standings heading into the next round at Snetterton.
After a disappointing outing at Donington Park last time out, Lind and Machitski started the Spa weekend in the best possible fashion in Friday’s opening practice session by setting the fastest time around the 7.004km circuit by just over half a second. The #63 car then finished the second session third fastest before claiming pole position in the combined qualifying.
Machitski started the race from pole and duly led off the rolling start as chaos reigned behind which forced an early safety car. Once the race resumed in earnest, Machitski maintained his advantage at the head of the field to build a lead over the Aston Martin of Andrew Howard. Machitski set several fastest laps before handing over to Lind just after the one-hour marker.
Now at the wheel of the #63, Lind was just as rapid in the lead Lamborghini and extended what had been a 21-second margin before the pit-stops to over 30 seconds after them. The Dane continued to assert his dominance throughout his stint and came home some 48 seconds ahead of the WPI Motorsport Huracán of Keen and Igoe to score a convincing victory.
The action doesn’t stop for Lamborghini Squadra Corse at Spa-Francorchamps as it’s straight into the jewel-in-the-crown GT3 endurance event of the season, the Spa 24 Hours. Eight crews and 28 drivers will take part in the around-the-clock race, which will take place next weekend.
Meanwhile VS Racing’s Michele Beretta and Frederik Schandorff maintain the lead of the International GT Open points standings after the latest round of the season at Imola. The pair claimed a pair of second place finishes in each of the two races: the first a sterling drive despite having to serve a 20-second success penalty for winning the second race at Spa-Francorchamps last month, and the second coming after a charging second-stint drive from Beretta. Beretta and Schandorff now head into the summer break with a five-point cushion over their nearest rivals.