Barwell Motorsport’s Balfe and Mitchell can still secure third in the British GT Championship with their Lamborghini Huracan GT3

It may have started back at Easter, but the British GT Championship has its penultimate weekend of 2023 at Brands Hatch at the weekend.

For Fulbeck driving ace Shaun Balfe and co-driver Sandy Mitchell it has been a fairly successful year, as they currently lie fourth in the Championship in their Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3, after a string of podium finishers.

Balfe said: “The competition has been so strong and we had hoped for a consistent top five from the start.

“But after our win at Snetterton we got the momentum and the results followed, as we had hoped for a stronger second half to the season.”

The Brands Hatch race is on the rarely used former Grand Prix Circuit, but Balfe is hopeful of another good result.

“Our Championship is unique as we have the GT4s racing hard too, so a good grid position is critical, as we expect safety cars during the race too. But back in 2019 I had pole position in the McLaren, ” Balfe added.

Third place in the Championship is still within reach. Balfe said: “We have to move our expectations and aim for top three in the race. It’s a tight circuit and I hope it’s dry. Our car is good in the wet too and we have a good set-up just in case.

Balfe’s partnership with Mitchell and the Barwell crew has gelled from the start. Balfe added: “Sandy is a great young professional. He has a lot of experience for his age and is not too demanding of me as we both know what’s expected of us.”

Qualifying is on Saturday afternoon, with a 15-minute warm-up on Sunday morning at 10am, with the two-hour race starting at 1.30pm.

Follow the race on www.britishgt.com/watch-live.