+ Provisional Result: Pre-Qualifying, Donington Park
Barwell Motorsport’s Sandy Mitchell and Alex Martin led a disrupted Pre-Qualifying session at Donington Park, with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II crew snatching the advantage ahead of things getting serious later this afternoon.
Forsetti Motorsport’s Jamie Day and Mikey Porter left it late to take control of the GT4 order, with Day’s penultimate effort good enough to put the Aston Martin Vantage Evo out front.
Mitchell’s late session benchmark proved unbeatable, with his rivals’ efforts hindered by a late full course yellow into the closing minutes.
Tom Gamble backed up his free practice performance by taking the initiative early on, setting a handful of laps good enough to keep the Optimum Motorsport McLaren at the head of the field before Raffaele Marciello pulled almost half-a-second clear in the RAM Racing BMW M4 he shares with John Ferguson.
A mid-session red flag was needed to clear both the J&S Motorsport Audi and one of Academy’s Ford Mustangs, which had both stopped out on track. When running resumed, Mitchell took over the #72 Lambo and lit up the timing screens to dip beneath Marciello’s time. A host of Pros got back into their cars in the closing minutes aiming to overhaul the Scotsman, but a late caution period to clear debris from the Old Hairpin scuppered most improvements.
Maximilian Goetz did the best job of getting close, with he and Kevin Tse’s 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG finishing second, just over a tenth down, as Silverstone winners Adam Smalley and Shaun Balfe set the third-fastest time in their Garage 59 McLaren. Ian Loggie and Phil Keen’s Mercedes-AMG pushed Marciello/Ferguson down to fifth with Nearys Richard and Sam completing the top six.
GT4 featured its usual multi-car fight at the head of the field, with a late effort from Day settling the matter in Forsetti’s favour.
Zac Meakin led the early stages in Optimum’s McLaren Artura before Stuart Middleton went faster aboard the DTO Ginetta just before the red flag. Brown fought back to reestablish the McLaren on top, before Seb Morris and Charles Dawson’s Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG took its turn out front. Then, inside the final minutes, Day managed to find a decisive extra tenth to secure the fastest time for himself and Porter.
Meakin’s late improvement kept Optimum second, with Will Orton and Marc Warren making it two Forsetti Astons inside the top three. Morris and Dawson wound up fourth ahead of Blake Angliss and Alex Walker in the Paddock Motorsport McLaren.
Qualifying for the fourth race of the season takes place at 16:00.