The father and son duo of Rob and Ricky Collard secured a lights-to-flag victory in the British GT Championship race at Donington Park this afternoon (Sunday). The pair piloted their Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan Evo2 to a faultless win to stretch their championship advantage to 24.5 points, and place one hand on the title ahead of the season finale at Brands Hatch.
The pair led away from pole position into Redgate Corner, with the second-place 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG being involved in a scuffle with the RAM Racing BMW M4, which saw the Mercedes spun around, allowing the sister Huracan of Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell to move up to second. The Barwell Motorsport Lamborghinis led away in first and second until Martin was hit with a puncture, dropping him down the order.
The Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Petrobelli inherited second and became the Collard's closest challengers for the rest of the race. Rob Collard's impressive first stint meant that 15 seconds of compensation time in the pit stops still wasn't enough to topple the Huracan. Ricky faced further pressure with a late safety car and a two-lap sprint to the finish, but he remained unfazed, crossing the line to secure a vital win ahead of Blackthorn's Jonny Adam.
The Garage 59 McLaren of Adam Smalley and Shaun Balfe completed the podium, with the Martin and Mitchell Lamborghini in fourth, and the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ian Loggie and Phil Keen completing the top five. Victory at Donington Park sees the Collards move closer to the British GT title, with the finale at Brands Hatch coming up later this month.
GT4 honours went to the BMW M4 GT4 of Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson, ahead of the Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Charles Dawson and Seb Morris.
British GT Championship, Donington Park, Race
1. Collard/Collard, Barwell Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2
2. Petrobelli/Adam, Blackthorn, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, +3.212s
3. Balfe/Smalley, Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, +4.066s
4. Martin/Mitchell, Barwell Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, +10.685s
5. Loggie/Keen, 2 Seas Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R, +13.408s
6. Cavers/Plato, Century Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3, +22.418s
7. Howard/Hawkins, Beechdean Motorsport, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, +26.419s
8. Smith/Plowman, Paddock Motorsport, McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, +1 Lap
9. Topham/Rowledge, Blackthorn, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, +1 Lap
10. Price/Macleod, Greystone GT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, +1 Lap
Click here for full results from this weekend.