Golden challenge awaits Forfar race driver Mitchell

The 22-year-old, from Forfar, will drive a Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3, prepared by Barwell Motorsport, in the five-round championship at Europe’s iconic circuits.

Mitchell will dovetail his assault on the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWCE) series with his bid to win the British GT Championship for a second time.

“It’s fantastic to be back racing at some of the leading circuits in Europe,” said 2020 British GT champ Mitchell, who’ll partner England’s Alex MacDowall and Swiss racer Adrian Amstutz in the #77 Huracan Evo GT3 at four of the five races.

Mitchell will also be reunited with former BTCC ace Rob Collard — who partnered the Scot to their British GT title two years ago — when the English veteran stands in for the unavailable Amstutz at the GTWCE season opener at Imola.

“The GTWCE is the championship in which I started my Lamborghini Junior career, so it has special memories for me,” said Mitchell.

“Racing in Europe is a different demand to competing in the UK, but both are at the very highest level of GT racing and it’s great that I’m extending my 2022 racing programme with Lamborghini and Barwell.”

Mitchell, a Lamborghini factory driver and a full member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, is personally backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky.

“The British GT and GT World Challenge Europe championships have probably two of the strongest Pro-Am grids you’ll see in Europe this year,” he added.

“I’m looking forward to competing with Adrian and Alex. I’ve not raced in the same car with them before but I’ve worked in the same team with them on a number of occasions over multiple years when they’ve been in the sister car at Barwell.

“I know them quite well and I think the three of us will get on well as a team. I think we all have good speed for our driver categorisations, so it should make it exciting. And teaming up again with Rob will be really good.

“We’re racing in the Gold Cup class, which is new for 2022, and comprises me as the gold driver, plus a silver driver and a bronze driver.

"It’ll be really interesting and something a bit different.

“Given the strength of our Lamborghini Evo race car, allied to the experience of Barwell, I see no reason why we can’t be in the mix battling for the championship right from the start of the season.”

The series gets under way with a three-hour race at Imola in Italy on April 3.

That’s followed by the Paul Ricard 1000Km in the south of France on June 5, with the series’ Blue Riband event, the Spa 24Hrs at Belgium’s iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, on July 30-31.

The season finishes with two three-hour races, the first at Hockenheim in Germany on September 4, with the finale contested at Barcelona on October 2.​​​​​​​