Lamborghini racer Balfe heads to Portugal’s Algarve for round seven of the British GT Championship

Fulbeck racing driver Shaun Balfe heads for Portugal this weekend for round seven of the British GT Championship which will take place at the Algarve Circuit near Portimao.

Balfe and team-mate Sandy Mitchell currently lie third in the Championship with their Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3, following their recent victory at Snetterton.

It will be a new experience for Balfe though. “I have never raced there and tested just the once in 2019 with the McLaren 720 GT3,” said Balfe.

“It’s a three-hour race starting at 12.45, so tyres and temperature will be a big issue. Some teams have gone out a week early to test, so it’s not going to be ideal for us, with possible track temperatures of 60 degrees,” he added.

So is a top six the target for the race again? Balfe said: “Let’s be brave and say top five, but it’s so close at the top end and we have a right to be there.

“It’s down to both luck and pace to get further, but the humidity could help our car performance-wise. It’s a bit of getting into the unknown.”

There is testing on Friday before a further session on Saturday morning. Qualifying is just 10 minutes per driver, starting at 3pm (CET), and after a 15 minute warm-up at 9.35am on Sunday, it is lights out for three hours from 12.45pm.

Forecast for the weekend is wall to wall sunshine and temperatures of 28-30C.

There is live streaming of the race via the British GT website too. Visit www.britishgt.com/watch-live