+ RESULT: Free Practice, Oulton Park
Barwell Motorsport’s twin Lamborghini Huracans set the pace during a disrupted first practice session of the season at Oulton Park, with Sandy Mitchell just edging out Ricky Collard in the sister car.
Seb Morris marked his return to the GT4 ranks by setting the fastest time in Team Parker Racing’s Mercedes-AMG, after a lengthy mid-session red flag led to a late flurry of improvements in the closing minutes.
The first session of the season got off to a relaxed start, with many teams taking their time to venture out onto the circuit. However, just as many were about to get running, the red flags flew to recover Ed McDermott’s stopped Mercedes-AMG from Hislops.
The stoppage didn’t last long and soon running resumed, only for proceedings to come to a much longer halt when Matt Topham endured an off at Shell Hairpin just moments later, with the Blackthorn Aston Martin clouting the tyres heavily.
The session was stopped with Alex Buncombe’s RJN McLaren at the top of the times, but with nobody having set a representative time. The delay due to the barrier repairs meant the session was extended by 10 minutes, so the track went green once more with just 15 minutes of the adjusted session remaining.
This time everybody went out, keen to make the most of what track time remained. Jonny Adam was the first to lower Buncombe’s benchmark in the other Blackthorn Aston, before Mitchell’s first flier put the #78 Lamborghini top. Maxi Goetz briefly took a turn at the top for 2 Seas, as did Calum Macleod in the Greystone GT Mercedes-AMG, before Mitchell put the matter to bed by pulling half-a-second on everybody. Ricky Collard did enough to make it a Barwell one-two, with Phil Keen and Ian Loggie’s 2 Seas AMG third. Richard and Sam Neary wound up fourth fastest for Team Abba, with Mike Price/Macleod rounding out the top five.
GT4’s running was similarly afflicted, with everybody making a late dash once the second red flag abated. Gordie Mutch had put the new Mahiki Racing Lotus team out front before the stoppages, but things changed during the final sprint with first Jack Brown going fastest in Optimum’s McLaren Artura, before Tom Wrigley put in a flier in Century’s #29 Pro-Am BMW M4. But then came Morris, who pulled a full second on the field to put the AMG he shares with Charles Dawson top. Charlie Robertson managed to whittle the gap marginally in Century's other M4, but Morris remained well clear at the flag.
Brown and Zac Meakin were third for Optimum, ahead of Wrigley/Ian Gough, Tom Holland and Colin White’s CWS Ginetta and Mikey Porter/Jamie Day’s Forsetti Motorsport Aston.
The pre-qualifying session at Outlon Park gets underway at 12:20.