August 2nd, 2022

Scots endurance racer and polesitter Sandy, was cruelly denied a fifth successive podium at the Spa 24-Hours with Black Bull, Barwell and Lamborghini.

Sandy stormed to a dazzling pole position in the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa Gold Cup on the demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. But the 22-year-old from Forfar missed out on a fifth successive podium after a rare mechanical failure on his Lamborghini.

Sandy though — partnered by England’s Alex MacDowall and Sam De Haan, plus Oman racer Ahmad Al Harthy in the No77 Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3, prepared by Barwell Motorsport — was far from downhearted after the retirement.

“Everyone in the Barwell team, and all the drivers, put in a stellar performance this week both in the build-up to, and throughout the 24-hour race,” Sandy, a Lamborghini factory driver and member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, stated.“We showed again just what a fast package we have and it’s just unfortunate that for the first time in five years the car suffered an unknown mechanical failure. But we’ll be back again next year ready to fight for the win.”

Sandy, who won his class in 2019 and 2020, in addition to finishing second on his debut in 2018 and third in Pro-Am last year, started the 24H race from pole in Gold Cup and 29th overall on the 66-car grid, acknowledged as the biggest GT3 race in the world.

Thirty-two minutes into the race Sandy, the 2020 British GT champ, had moved up to 24th overall, while extending his advantage over the other Gold Cup cars. But his progress was halted when he suffered the first of the car’s three punctures in the race.

“We don’t know specifically what caused them, but this year a lot of cars in the field suffered a number of punctures throughout the race,” Sandy, personally backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky, explained.

The initial puncture dropped the car to last overall, but throughout Saturday evening and the darkness of Sunday morning, Sandy and his three team-mates hauled themselves back up through the field with a series of scintillating stints.

“We all knew we could get ourselves back into Gold Cup contention, and ideally the top 20 overall, and we all just battered away clawing time back to the cars in front. It really was a massive commitment by everyone in the team,” he continued.

But with just over nine hours of the race remaining, and having battled back to fourth in class and closing in on the third-placed car, the team was unfortunately forced to retire the car.“Of course it was hugely disappointing after all the effort everyone had put in, but sometimes motorsport just deals you a hand like that,” Sandy reflected. “It was one of these situations which was completely out of our control and there was nothing we could do. But we’ll come back next year ready to win.”

Sandy is back in action for the penultimate round of the British GT Championship at Brands Hatch on September 10/11.