British GT Oulton Park: Barwell holds off Beechdean in thrilling Race 1 finish as Century wins GT4

Barwell Motorsport claimed victory in the opening GT3 race of the weekend at Oulton Park with their #63 entry, whilst the #24 Century Motorsport team took the honours in GT4.

GT3

A fast-starting Rob Collard swept around the outside of #7 Beechdean pole-sitter Andrew Howard to give the #63 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini the lead into turn one.

Further behind, contact between Mark Smith and Morgan Tillbrook spun the #77 Optimum Motorsport McLaren around and dropped them to the back of the GT3 field.

It did not take long for Tillbrook to fight his way back through the order and onto the rear of the closely contested battle between the #15 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes of Ian Loggie and the #13 Rodin Motorsport Ferrari driven by Cameron Campbell.

After being compromised by taking avoiding action at the start, Loggie eventually dropped behind Tillbrook. However, as the Optimum Motorsport driver attempted to get past the Rodin Motorsport Ferrari, the pair made contact at the apex.

As the pit window opened, race leader Collard dived in early to hand the Lamborghini over to Hugo Cook. Several teams gained positions during the stops due to differing success penalties and pit stop times across the GT3 field. The #9 Paddock Motorsport McLaren notably jumping ahead of the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini.

With just over 25 minutes remaining, fluid left on the circuit following contact between two GT4 cars caught out Marcus Clutton in the #67 Orange Racing by JMH McLaren. Clutton slid off the circuit, travelling across the gravel before stopping near the barriers.

The incident brought out a full course yellow, which ultimately helped the recovering #77 Optimum Motorsport entry close back onto the leading pack.

When the race resumed with just 13 minutes to go, Hugo Cook had the lapped #67 McLaren of Clutton between himself and the chasing #7 Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin, now driven by Ross Gunn.

Then, with eight minutes remaining, Gunn had now cleared the backmarker and quickly closed to within two seconds of the race-leading Lamborghini.

In the closing laps, Gunn was right on the rear bumper of Cook, but the Barwell Motorsport driver held on. The result was a perfect response to the team’s difficult season opener at Silverstone. The #90 Optimum Motorsport McLaren completed the podium.

Full GT3 Race 1 Classification:

1. #63 Barwell Motorsport
2. #7 Beechdean Motorsport
3. #90 Optimum Motorsport
4. #9 Paddock Motorsport
5. #78 Barwell Motorsport
6. #18 2 Seas Motorsport
7. #77 Optimum Motorsport
8. #44 Century Motorsport
9. #55 Barwell Motorsport
10. #15 2 Seas Motorsport
11. #71 Mahiki Racing
12. #67 Orange Racing by JMH
13. #13 Rodin Motorsport

GT4

Pole-sitters Innovation Racing retained the GT4 lead at the start. Behind him, front row starter Jack Collins ran wide in the #24 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 Evo and dropped several places down the order.

After recovering from the poor getaway, Collins fought his way back into third and soon found himself all over the rear of Jessica Hawkins in the #21 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo.

Hawkins defended strongly from the charging BMW until the GT4 pit window opened.

Shortly after the stops began, the #42 Toro Verde GT Mercedes and the #59 Optimum Motorsport McLaren collided. The contact sent the latter into the barriers and scattered debris and fluid across the circuit, triggering the full course yellow.

Furthermore, the neutralisation allowed the majority of the GT4 field to complete their pit stops under reduced speed conditions.

Following the driver changes and varying pit stop times, the #24 Century Motorsport BMW emerged as the GT4 leader ahead of the #21 MK Racing Aston Martin.

Now at the wheel, Branden Templeton benefited from having the lapped BMW of Colin Turkington between himself and the chasing pack at the restart.

Templeton maintained his advantage to the chequered flag to secure victory for Century Motorsport, whilst Will Orton finished second for MK Racing. Innovation Racing recovered late in the race to complete the podium in third.

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