Rob Collard and Hugo Cook took the Lamborghini to victory in the first British GT race of the Bank Holiday Monday double, but it was far tighter than the result suggests. Just 0.2 seconds separated them from Ross Gunn and Beechdean’s Aston at the flag. Gunn threw everything at it on the final lap and nearly made it stick. Nearly.
That’s now ten wins from 21 starts for Barwell with the Huracan at Oulton Park. Collard’s made it three in a row here. You can talk about car balance, driver quality, or team execution all you want — at this track, Barwell simply have the measure of the place. They rarely look flashy, they just don’t beat themselves.
Optimum’s Mark Warren and Jack Brown drove a smart race to complete the GT3 podium and pick up their first Silver-Am win. Solid, unobtrusive, and effective — exactly what you need when the top two are scrapping over tenths.
GT4: Penalties bite, Chomp bites back
In GT4, the success penalties for the top qualifiers reshuffled the deck nicely, and Century made it count. Branden Templeton and Jack Collins delivered their maiden win in that dragon-liveried BMW M4 — affectionately known as Chomp — beating Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton by 0.9 seconds.
You could see the compensation time hurting the front-row cars early, but Templeton and Collins stayed patient, kept the tyre management tidy, and pounced when it mattered. Fan favourite car, first win — the crowd loved it.
Pole-sitters Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland (Innovation Racing) still got themselves onto the overall podium despite coughing up 25 seconds extra in the pits for their Silverstone victory. That’s a proper recovery drive. Luke Shaw and Jack Mitchell took Pro-Am honours for Toro Verde in fifth overall — another strong result for a pairing that’s been building nicely.
Takeaways for the bookies and the rest of the day:
- Barwell at Oulton is basically a banker until someone proves otherwise. The market knows it, but 0.2s shows the Aston was right there if the last lap had gone differently.
- GT4 remains properly competitive once the penalties shake out. Don’t sleep on Century if they keep this momentum.
- Watch the tyre wear into race two. Oulton punishes mistakes quickly, and with temperatures decent today, strategy on the second stop could flip things again.
Barwell ticked the box they always tick here. The rest of the grid is left chasing shadows — some closer than others.