Motorsport supported Lamborghini Huracan GT3 home in sixth position, after some close battles during an incident filled two-hour Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup race at Paul Ricard.
Barwell Motorsport made their way to the South of France for the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup round at Le Castellet last week. Mark Poole and Richard Abra had been itching to get back into the driving seat of the Huracan, having not raced since their one off British GT outing at Silverstone in June.
After making the decision to prematurely end their Blancpain GT Series season, Mark and Rich set their sights on the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup. “It had been a long break” commented Abra, “and it almost felt as though we were starting the season again with a new championship.”
Despite having some time out of the car, it did not take long for both Poole and Abra to get dialled back into the Lamborghini and the Free Practice sessions on the Friday saw both drivers post very impressive lap times whilst developing their knowledge on the Michelin tyre. “Even though we had very little running on the Michelin, the team pulled a blinder and gave us a very good car to race with” explained Abra. “We are very impressed with the GT3 Le Mans cup so far. Its really difficult to see where we are in the food chain yet but Mark was right on it here, so I have real confidence in him for the rest of the season.”
Qualifying saw Mark Poole achieve an exceptional lap time which placed him in sixth after the Super Pole session. The #66 AM improved immensely driving on the Michelin tyre, which is very different to what he had been used to in other championships and therefore had to alter his driving style. To be able to go straight into qualifying on the Saturday morning and continue a great performance was very impressive. “It’s great that the series have made the qualifying position reliant on the AM driver’s lap time!” commented Barwell Team Manager, Matt Bell. “More valuable seat time allowed MP to continue his progression as a driver.”
Poole had a good race start and kept it clean whilst posting solid lap times with cold tyres and high fuel. Mark coped very well with the pressure from competitors behind him, and at the same time, forcing pressure on those in front. Whilst running well in 6th, a hit from behind by the TF Sport Aston Martin of Salih Yoluc, who was in full attack mode after serving a drive through for a jumped start, sent Poole into a spin and dropped him down to 11th. Mark lost around 50 seconds in the incident, but with a great understanding of the car, he let the Huracan roll instead of slamming on the brakes, so as to not destroy the tyres.
The #66 Lamborghini was finally handed some luck when a safety car was called, meaning Poole could catch up to the back of the leading train. As the circuit went green, Mark was running around one second a lap faster than those ahead, he could see clearly up the road and after observing Flick Haigh in the #75 Optimum Audi being slightly slower in a particular corner for a couple of laps, he took an opportunity down the inside. Unfortunately, the Lamborghini was unsighted and Haigh turned in at the same time, resulting in contact the front of the Huracan and a drive through penalty was awarded to the team. “We were under pressure after being forced into a position we didn’t deserve to be in” commented Rich, “MP made contact with Flick and the car was damaged at the front”.
The team had made a calculated small risk on the tyre wear, and boxed the car early to get Rich in the hot seat. Poole handed over the Huracan to Abra in 7th position, and after serving the drive through penalty and falling behind several cars including the #71 AF Corse Ferrari and the Audi, Abra was on a mission to make his way up the pack. “In the back of my mind I was very aware of the tyre problems our competitors were having, so really wanted to bring it home, and although the car wasn’t handling as it should after taking hits to the back and front, I was determined not to go down the order”. A mega stint by Abra saw him climb back up the order and make a fantastic move down the inside of the #71 car for sixth place into the fast right hander at the end of the back straight, and he then went on to try and chase down Joe Osborne in the Audi, whilst also keeping Johnny Mowlem at bay in a really tight and exciting battle. Rich’s car positioning in this battle was spot on, which saw him force the #25 FF Corse Ferrari into making mistakes and go off the racing line, which eventually ended in the Ferrari sustaining a puncture.
Although the car set up was compromised due to the damage sustained, Rich’s impressive defensive moves saw him bring the #66 Huracan home in sixth position. Both drivers did a great job to race so strongly despite the amount of damage and a fourth place finish would have definitely been on the cards with a trouble free run. “Sixth position was great considering what occurred during the race” said Abra, “but I am really looking forward to getting to Spa for the next round of the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup, so we can truly show our full potential!”.
The crew are now re-prepping the Barwell run MP Motorsport supported Huracan and heading straight down to Barcelona to compete in the Hankook 24H race next weekend, where Poole and Abra have some “unfinished business to attend to!”