Barwell Motorsport’s new GT3 Heritage team produced an eye-catching display during its competitive debut at Circuit Paul Ricard last weekend, scoring a podium finish at the first time of asking.
Adam Balon and Phil Keen celebrated second place in the opening GT3 Revival Series race of the weekend in Le Castellet after a battling display aboard the newly restored Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 FL2 GT3 – complete with its Rhino’s Team Leipert classic colour scheme inspired by the car that competed in the ADAC GT Masters back in 2013.
Meanwhile on the other side of the garage, the team’s iconic Ecurie Ecosse/Black Bull Scotch Whisky BMW Z4 GT3 Evo was shared by Peter Moulsdale and Matt Topham, with the pair bagging seventh and fifth spots across the twin contests as the hills around the Circuit Paul Ricard echoed once again to the sound of the mighty M Power V8.
The team’s maiden foray into classic GT3 racing of course brought its challenges, but they were tackled with typical Barwell nous and skill as the team set about ironing out some teething issues during practice.
The biggest challenge came on the Z4, when a weeping brake line eventually required replacement. No direct replacement spare part could be found, so the team’s engineers were forced to fabricate a lower brake pressure pipe from scratch. An impressive feat considering the limited tooling available at the time.
Both cars were on-song for qualifying, with Topham securing fifth in class for race one despite still adapting to the Z4’s braking systems, and Balon taking P3 in the Gallardo. When the lights went out Topham began a tight fight with both the former French GT and Le Mans Cup Duqueine Ferrari (2B Autosport) and the ex-Akkodis-ASP 458 now run by Storic and Race Cars. Topham ran long into the pit window before handing to Moulsdale for the second half. Despite racing with a hand injury, Moulsdale brought the BMW home seventh in class as both Barwell cars were an ever-present in the top 10 of the 28-car field.
Things were even better for Balon and Keen though. Starting third, Balon held off pressure from the ex-Team WRT Audi (entered by Quinntech Racing) and Matech Ford GT (Klausen Racing) to hold a podium place before handing to Keen, who rammed the result home. While they were third on the road they were later promoted to second after a penalty for the ex-Triple 888 Z4 ahead, entered by Classic & Speed.
With trophies already in the bag, attention turned to race two, with Moulsdale starting seventh and Keen third. Both cars got into the fight early on, but the chances of a second podium for Keen/Balon were hampered by the Gallardo having to spend an extra five seconds stationary in the pits as compensation time for its earlier result. Keen and Balon pressed on to finish fifth at the flag. Moulsdale held station before Topham took over and put on an impressive charge of his own, rising from seventh to fifth after some fine passes in the closing laps.
“What a great weekend. The sights and sounds of 20 years of GT3 racing history gathering together was a real feast for the senses, and I’m very proud of what we achieved on our GT3 Heritage debut. It was far from an easy weekend, and some teams would have probably packed up after the brake issue on the Z4, but our team applied themselves incredibly well and the fact both cars ran like clockwork across both races is testament to that engineering skill. I was delighted to see Adam and Phil score a podium first time out in the Gallardo, which is the newest addition to the GT3 Heritage stable and performed very well. Likewise Peter and Matt put in some great performances in the Z4, especially given their limited time in the car beforehand. There’s a lot of work still to do before we’re next in action at the Donington Historic Festival, and we’ll be back out hunting podiums.”
