The underrated GT star that has quietly become Lamborghini’s favorite

Sandy Mitchell is under no illusions that the recognition for success in British GT pales in comparison to the British Touring Car Championship. Take the fan-voted Autosport National Driver Award for example. A BTCC competitor has won all five editions since 2008 and with no exceptions has gone a British GT driver.

So speaking to Autosport, Mitchell claimed “it would be nice to be celebrated more equally” as he admitted his nomination for this year’s award will not be going ahead – with an exact take on the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Despite a brilliant 2024 campaign. Is he one of the most under-appreciated British talents in motorsport?

Although the Lamborghini factory star and his new 2024 co-driver Alex Martin only finished runner-up to Barwell teammates Rob and Ricky Collard, Mitchell displayed more dominance over his competitors than any national driver all year.

He was fastest in Pro qualifying on four out of seven occasions, scored maximum points four times and eventually became a double recipient of the Alan Simonsen Award – effectively honoring British GT’s Driver of the Year. Thus losing the title had no impact on Mitchell’s self-assessment of his campaign.

“I felt very comfortable in the car and we made some good progress,” says the 24-year-old, who was born just an hour away from Knockhill. “I was confident and yes, I have definitely been most successful in British GT. I think you could put that down as my best season, even though it wasn’t a championship-winning year.

Therefore, there was a sense of injustice that Mitchell failed to add to his 2020 series crown, which he won with Rob Collard. It was not the Scotsman’s fault either and the fifth event of the campaign, Snetterton, was the defining moment. Mitchell was in top form that weekend and played a key role in his and Martin’s temporary double victory. If the result of the second one-hour contest had held true, it would have given him a 22-point championship lead with two rounds and 75 points remaining – so there was quite a margin in the overhaul.

But the officials had different ideas. Martin had lapped GT4 traffic under a late safety car situation, resulting in a 30-second post-race penalty, dropping the pair to 10th. This helped push the Collards into second place in the final race classification, allowing the father-son duo to leave Norfolk with a five-point championship lead. Thus the pendulum of the title fight swung in an instant.

Of course, there was still time for the #78 Huracan to reclaim the top spot, yet a puncture for Martin during the final race at Donington Park ended their championship battle. So for Michel, it was another short year despite being one of the championship’s best and most consistent drivers since his GT3 debut in 2020.

After winning the title as a rookie, he finished in the top four every year as well as becoming a two-time class winner at the prestigious Spa 24 Hours and officially on Lamborghini’s books. It is this relationship with the Italian brand that reassures Michele that recognition and trophies will eventually come.

“It can sometimes be seen as one of the more tricky cars to drive. But it’s really an exciting car: it’s fast, fun and a bit crazy” sandy mitchell

“I have built a good relationship with Lamborghini and am now quite established,” says Michele. “I have come through their junior driver programme, so I feel part of the Squadra Corse family. It’s been a great journey, so I’m definitely looking forward to staying with them and the main goal is to be successful together.”

There aren’t many young factory drivers who are as connected to their manufacturer as Michele is to Lamborghini. The only GT3 cars he has driven have come from Sant’Agata Bolognese and since joining its ranks at the start of 2021, Michele has fine-tuned his skills to perfectly match the Huracan – which ultimately ended up being Ready for. Of the season. Lamborghini will replace that car, which is now on its second Evo cycle, with a new Temerario model for 2026.

“It can sometimes be seen as one of the more tricky cars to drive,” he says. “But it’s really an exciting car: it’s fast, fun and a bit loud.

“The great thing with Lamborghini is that you’ve got a big V10 engine in the back, which is much bigger than other brands that maybe use smaller engines like a V6. So the weight at the rear means the car can behave quite differently from a front-engined car like a Mercedes or Aston Martin, and using that weight and the inertia present in the corner to turn the car is key to propelling the car. . go quickly.”

Although Mitchell cites the late, great Colin McRae as his idol, he has not adopted the techniques used by the 1995 World Rally Champion.

“I wouldn’t say my driving style is like his, I’m probably a bit calmer,” Michel joked, before adding that he hopes to take part in a rally later in his career. Instead, his biggest influences are two fellow British GT competitors who are tied for the most overall wins (19) in the series: Phil Keene and Jonny Adam.

Keane was at Barwell during Mitchell’s title-winning year, giving the youngster the opportunity to pick up plenty of racing tips from the championship veteran. Meanwhile, Adam has previously worked as a coach for his fellow Scotsman, who could surpass his record of four British GT crowns.

But is Mitchell motivated by breaking national records, or does his vision lie much bigger than that? He is a regular in the GT World Challenge Europe bronze class, tied for second to Rob Collard in the 2024 Sprint Cup standings, but the Endurance Cup was his only other regular international commitment of the year and did not involve fighting for overall honours. Like the British GT.

“The main thing is to race in the world’s biggest championships and represent Lamborghini in America, Europe or Asia,” he says. “You would love to be able to call yourself world champion, whether it’s a World Endurance Championship or something like that, and winning Le Mans – the pinnacle of what we do.

“I would love to win big races around the world: the Daytona 24 Hours and also the Spa 24 Hours. This is a race (Spa) where I have been at the top of the class before, but to go to Spa and win overall is a big dream of mine and I think it is a goal for Lamborghini too. So I want to be seen as one of the top drivers globally and that is my real aim, to become one of the elite sportscar drivers.

Of course, this would require changes to the hypercar machinery, something Mitchell would “love to do.” It’s also realistic because Lamborghini is in the top class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, Despite recently withdrawing from WEC,

There is also a possibility of going into single-driver GT3 racing. DTM is squarely in Michele’s sights, given that Lamborghini has a bigger presence in the series and that means he won’t have to rely on a co-driver to succeed.

It’s clear that, although Mitchell loves national racing, the level-headed individual realizes there is potential to compete on the world stage. Still at a relatively young age, as he continues to develop that relationship with Lamborghini, his boss will undoubtedly appreciate Michele’s determination to learn Italian in 2025.

Nevertheless, he is keen to celebrate a British GT title, albeit belatedly, before any move into the top championships around the world given the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19-affected 2020 season. Looking at.

He concluded, “It seems like just a while ago and it’s 2020 and it was weird.” “It was great during the year, as British GT allowed spectators to attend as long as they were socially distanced. But then, for the final round at Silverstone, he was not able to come.

“It was a bit of a shame because my family wasn’t there and there were no fans to celebrate. It would be nice to experience it all with everyone this time, so I would definitely like to win British GT again and hopefully this is the year we can make another attempt at it.

The jigsaw pieces are coming together for Michelle. As he continues to mature and get better, perhaps soon he will stop being one of GT racing’s most underappreciated stars.