Carlisle racing driver Alex MacDowall saw a promising performance dashed by engine woes in his latest outing in Spain.

MacDowall, driving for Barwell Motorsport, produced a strong performance during the fifth and final round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup last Sunday.

But it was to no avail when engine problems forced the Cumbrian and his team-mates to retire.

MacDowall, in the three-hour race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, started from 15th in the Silver Cup class and 37th overall, but managed to gain 15 positions before the first round of pit-stops.

Yet progress was cut short when, with Jordan Witt at the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3, he was forced to pull the car off the circuit with smoke billowing from the engine bay.

News and Star: Action from the race in SpainAction from the race in Spain (Image: Barwell Motorsport/FotoSpeedy)

“We’re not sure exactly what happened, we think it was a loss of oil pressure, but the engine just went in Jordan’s stint – it’s not the way we wanted to end the season, obviously”, said MacDowall.

“I was really happy with my stint, we had a good start to the race and made up 11 or more positions and then a couple more as the pit-stops started. 

“I think we could’ve finished in the overall top 20, maybe even the top 15, which would’ve been a strong result and James [Dorlin, third driver] would’ve been quick at the end.

“It’s been a patchy season with all of the line-up changes, and a difficult season with so much bad luck, but that’s how it goes sometimes in racing.

“It is frustrating when a year is like this with all of the commitment you have to put in.”

MacDowall said he will now weigh everything up ahead of 2023’s competitions.

“We’re not sure where we’ll be next year – I’d like to be back in GT World Challenge or maybe even something closer to home, but we’ll consider all of our options, as we always do, and go with the best deal we can get”, said the Cumbrian.

“There’s a new Lamborghini for next year, which sounds good as there’s been a lot of development, so we’ll see what happens.”