Barwell Motorsport has signed one of GT racing’s biggest names for this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa, in the form of multiple Le Mans GT Class-winning driver Oliver Gavin. He will team up with Mark Poole, Richard Abra and Joe Osborne for the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup season, in their Pro-Am Class Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Oliver’s signing will be a significant string to the bow of the Barwell Motorsport squad, as it bids for its third Spa Pro-Am podium in a row, having achieved this with the Barwell-run Ecurie Ecosse-entered BMW Z4 in 2014 and ‘15.
Gavin’s distinguished CV includes five Le Mans 24 hours GT wins, four American Le Mans Series Championship titles, with wins at the Sebring 12 Hour and Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta 1000 mile classics, all aboard factory Chevrolet Corvettes. Spa is the one that’s missing from Oliver’s win list however, as he has previously contested it four times and been in the hunt for a podium finish but ultimately missed out.
Gavin will get his first taste of the MP Motorsport/JCAM-backed Lamborghini Huracan GT3 during this week’s Official Test Days at Paul Ricard, prior to joining Poole, Abra and Osborne for the Spa endurance classic on July 30-31.
Oliver Gavin: “I’m delighted to be joining Barwell Motorsport for Spa, I’ve known Mark (Lemmer) and Chris (Needell) for a long time but never had the chance to drive for the team until now. I’m really pleased to be doing Total 24 Hours of Spa again as it’s always a fantastic challenge. It’s one of the hardest races to win, and I’ve done it many times before but never managed to get on the podium. That is certainly the target for this year, as we have a good line-up of drivers and an established team, and the Huracan has already proved to be a very competitive car. All the ingredients are there for a strong effort and a good result!”
Mark Lemmer, Barwell Motorsport Team Principal: “It’s absolutely fantastic to have a driver of Olly’s calibre and experience on board for our biggest race of the year. There’s no doubt he will bring a great deal to the team, and further demonstrates the intent of Barwell and Mark Poole to pull out all the stops to try and claim a Pro-Am victory in the Spa 24 Hours. Chris and I have known Olly since we were all young whippersnappers, so it’s also personally very exciting to have him drive for Barwell Motorsport!”