How a BTCC veteran conquered the summit in British GT

It's been an unusual year for British GT. Action was delayed until August by the pandemic, and the grid had dropped from 35 paid-up entries to 21 when it got under way. As series promoter Stephane Ratel put it, "when you lose 40% of your grid, you can't call it a success". But, as Ratel rightly added, "it's been a sporting success".

There were seven different winners from four manufacturers over the nine races, and four crews remained in title contention until the Silverstone finale, which drew an encouraging 37-car field. There, the Barwell-versus-RAM fight was decided in favour of Sandy Mitchell and British Touring Car Championship convert Rob Collard, becoming the first and, likely, last Silver Cup duo to make the grade before such pairings are outlawed next year.

British GT has traditionally been an arena favouring Pro-Am crews, but the spate of pre-season withdrawals largely came from that pool. At the same time, several entries abandoned planned European programmes to bolster the Silver class, which from two full-season entries in 2019 suddenly had over half the GT3 field, rendering Pro-Am effectively a sub-category due to their inevitably inferior qualifying aggregates.

Making matters more confusing, some Silver crews carried more weight than others, creating a form of 'Driver BoP' that hit the posse of Silver McLarens (which locked out the top four spots on the grid for the Oulton Park season opener) the hardest. Still, it didn't please anybody - in that regard, 2021 should be rather simpler...

Insight: The impending British GT change that has split opinion

Mitchell, 20, returned to British GT with Barwell Motorsport as a polished version of the braces-wearing teen who had won GT4 races in a McLaren in 2017. Capable of pushing experienced team leader Phil Keen in qualifying despite running 30kg heavier - his stunning pole in the wet at Snetterton a case in point - a bright future surely beckons for the Scot, whose driving style complemented Collard's.

Collard admitted that "it's taken me a little bit longer than I would have liked" to master the high-aero Lamborghini Huracan after two decades in tin-tops and, as Barwell boss Mark Lemmer repeatedly pointed out, the 52-year-old is an FIA-graded Bronze running as a derogated Silver due to his experience compared to typical 'am' racers. He made this count in races but, as in touring cars, qualifying tended to be his downfall. That is until he produced a fine pole at Silverstone, laying the foundation for a dominant victory.

"Barwell is like another West Surrey [where he scored success in the BTCC]," said Collard, who accelerated his learning curve in a parallel GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup campaign with Mitchell. "The drivers aren't allowed to leave until the team boss is completely happy!"

Collard felt "a bit gutted" at the Oulton Park opener as a multi-car clash just after the pitstops meant the remainder of race two was neutralised behind the safety car. He felt a maiden win was there for the taking with only Adam Balon, freshly relayed by Keen, ahead.

The Donington double-header next time out was another disappointment, Collard wresting the lead from Michael O'Brien (Jenson Team Rocket RJN McLaren) in the two-hour opener, only for incorrect tyre pressures to cause Mitchell to slip back as Andrea Caldarelli charged to a maiden win in Michael Igoe's WPI Lambo. All three Huracans struggled with tyre warm-up in race two, where Scott Malvern and Nick Jones (Team Parker Racing Bentley) scored a surprise win.

Keen was again the quickest man all year, but a non-score at Brands, where Balon finished his stint a lap down, meant they were fighting an uphill battle

But the safety car came just at the right time at Brands Hatch to neutralise a massive lead built up by impressive Esports convert James Baldwin just before the pitstops, where a speedy turnaround by Barwell - despite Mitchell almost stalling on exit - helped get him out ahead of O'Brien.

The Barwell pair proved they wouldn't be going away by finishing just 24s off victory, in sixth place, in the three-hour Donington contest in September, despite a 20s success pitstop penalty and a slow puncture 20 minutes into Mitchell's stint. But after pipping Ollie Wilkinson (Optimum McLaren) for second at the line in the first Snetterton race, their title hopes took a dent when a bungled driver change in race two meant Collard emerged fifth, instead of challenging Balon for victory, and lost the points lead as a result.

Fears that this could prove costly when the title decider was put under threat by the second lockdown were dispelled, and Mitchell and Collard produced their most convincing display of the season. Main rivals Sam De Haan and Patrick Kujala had an off-day in their RAM Mercedes, capped by De Haan being penalised for spinning Balon, and Collard and Mitchell took their second win of the year.

The RAM pair put up a strong fight, their high point coming with a charging victory in the longer Donington enduro after De Haan was turned around at the first corner. The ex-Barwell man thrived in the Mercedes and took an excellent pole in the wet at Snetterton, where tyre-pressure woes limited them to a disappointed fifth in race one. Barwell's race-two pitstop woe paradoxically disadvantaged RAM at Silverstone, a 10s success penalty adding to their disappointing afternoon.

Of the remaining Silver crews, Baldwin was a revelation and took three poles with GT4 graduate O'Brien, although the Jenson Team Rocket McLaren pair's only win came in the Oulton curtain raiser, when a pitstop infringement took Jordan Witt/Jack Mitchell (2 Seas McLaren) out of the running and Wilkinson's unforced error allowed O'Brien through.

"I didn't feel like it was real," recalls Baldwin. "It was such a surreal feeling which led to me not eating or drinking before race two!" Both drivers' inexperience with the 720S in the wet at Donington and Snetterton cost them ground in the title fight, but neither put a scratch on the car all year.

That meant the final title contenders at Silverstone were the other Barwell Lambo duo, Keen and Balon, but their hopes had already taken a beating due to hidden damage to the diff carried over from Balon's practice shunt at Oulton, which made the Huracan tricky to drive and was only discovered three races later.

Keen was again the quickest man all year, but a non-score at Brands, where Balon finished his stint a lap down, meant they were fighting an uphill battle. Victory at Snetterton restored hope, but the 20s pitstop penalty carried to the Silverstone finale meant the title was a long shot even before Balon was rear-ended by De Haan. That incident did prove costly in the Pro-Am rankings, however, because it allowed the other RAM Mercedes crew of Ian Loggie and Yelmer Buurman to scoop the prize.

TF Aston battle delivers the GT4 crown

Success was also shared around in GT4 as seven different winners claimed the spoils, but, unlike in GT3, the battle went right down to the final minutes at Silverstone. Rookies Jamie Caroline and Dan Vaughan (TF Sport Aston Martin) finished every race and claimed the spoils from Patrik Matthiesen and Jordan Collard (HHC Motorsport McLaren) and their second-year team-mates Patrick Kibble and Connor O'Brien in a year of fine margins.

Ex-Porsche Carrera Cup racer Vaughan took longer than 2017 British F4 champion Caroline to get to grips with the Vantage, a car that requires a very particular style to extract peak lap time, but the title-winning pair was the stronger Aston on pace by season's end. This was evidenced in their drive for the title at Silverstone, where key passes on O'Brien (by Vaughan) and Matthiesen (Caroline) swung the balance in their favour.

"Between those two cars, either one of them could have won the championship. They were both good enough to win it" Tom Ferrier

With the reduced car-count - just eight full-season entries - allowing crews to still score heavily on a bad day, the destiny of the title was always likely to come down to the small things.

A puncture on the Brands GP loop meant Collard couldn't make it back to the pits and proved costly on a day when Caroline turfed Kibble into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel and copped a 40s penalty (although they were still classified sixth and seventh respectively). A lowly fourth would have given HHC the points needed for the title, yet still avoid a success pitstop penalty for the next round at Donington, which they won.

Likewise, Kibble and O'Brien could point to the second race at Oulton Park, where O'Brien was ambushed by Nick Jones's GT3 Bentley, as a costly moment. Had the race run green to the end, TF boss Tom Ferrier believes a 1-2 headed by Vaughan was a distinct possibility. But it would likely have meant a reversal in the order at the two-hour Donington race (where more points were on offer), dominated early on by Caroline while Kibble made heavy weather of clearing traffic, before a 15s success penalty dropped Vaughan behind O'Brien.

Without their Oulton and Brands misfortunes, Kibble and O'Brien would certainly have been closer than 13 points behind prior to Silverstone, where both cars were delayed by a 10s stop/go for crossing the pitlane red light - although Kibble hadn't actually committed the misdemeanour... A likely second instead turned into third; a 4.5-point swing that wouldn't have been enough for the title on its own, but another avoidable loss outside their control all the same.

"Between those two cars, either one of them could have won the championship," says Ferrier. "They were both good enough to win it."

Of the rest, Euan Hankey and Mia Flewitt (Balfe McLaren) ran unopposed to the Pro-Am title and took a fortuitous win at Oulton, Academy's Mustang showed flashes but its title hopes petered away with Jordan Albert's sponsor woes, and the Speedworks Toyota was a magnet for trouble that hampered its obvious pace.

Top 5 GT3 drivers

5. Sam De Haan

Runner-up for a second year, but a fitter, more rounded driver than in 2019 who adapted quickly to the Merc. Took a maiden pole in the rain at Snetterton and largely raced well, twice passing O'Brien in slippery conditions at Donington. Blotted copybook with Balon contact at Silverstone, which he owned.

4. James Baldwin

Instantly surpassed expectations with victory on his series debut, although it owed much to others' mistakes. Quicker than O'Brien at Donington 1, where he was fastest by half a second in his session, and led serenely in opening stints at Brands and Donington's third race. Thrust in at the deep end, he delivered.

3. Rob Collard

Had a big job on his hands unlearning the skills needed for tin-top racing, but improved to deliver Lamborghini's first series title. Superb in battle as ever, as witnessed by stalking of Loggie at Silverstone. Brilliant extended stint in the wet at Donington went unrewarded.

2. Sandy Mitchell

Highly rated by Barwell from his time in Europe, Mitchell was 2020's breakout star. Just 0.066s off Keen in qualifying at Oulton Park, he beat him at Donington 1 and Snetterton. Error-free, got the best from Collard and looked every bit equal to the factory pros. Likely will be one next year.

1. Phil Keen

The British GT title continues to elude Keen, but by every metric he was the year's benchmark GT3 driver, taking seven fastest laps from nine races. Several stirring drives captured the imagination, chief among them streaking off into the distance after passing Mitchell around the outside of Riches at Snetterton.

Top 5 GT4 drivers

5. Matt Cowley

Just 1.5 points off the summit following Brands win, secured with bold move on Caroline at Hawthorn, and close second, despite 20s penalty, at Donington 3hr. But title chase collapsed in final two rounds without co-driver Albert. Spun out at Oulton and twice caught out in the wet at Snetterton.

4. Sam Smelt

After anonymous 2019, quick out of the blocks at Oulton despite rideheight changes making the Supra feel more like a bus. Unlucky to only have one podium to show for a year where he was best of the wet-shod cars at Donington 1hr, led at Brands and topped the regular runners in qualifying at Silverstone.

3. Jordan Collard

Performance at Snetterton as convincing as anybody all season. Pole by over a second for race one, led the entirety of his stint, and charged from fourth to win race two. Equally impressive was soaking up pressure from Jordan Albert's much quicker Academy Mustang at Donington.

2. Jamie Caroline

Major faux pas in taking off Kibble at Brands, but showed flair whenever conditions were poor - he gapped everyone in the Donington 2hr - and superb at starts, charging from fifth to first at Snetterton on lap one. Showed at Oulton he had sussed GT racing by leading pro driver Hankey.

1. Patrick Kibble

Not perfect - see Donington 2hr - but narrowly edges his team-mate given that he outqualified Caroline 3-2 in their sessions together, and lost the title through an accumulation of unfortunate issues not of his making. Unfairly penalised for a red-light violation at Silverstone, adding to woes of Oulton and Brands. Has just turned 18.