Highlighting a British Success.

by Matt James of Motorsport News

The following is taken from Matt James' column in Motorsport News,
July 25th 2007.

It’s hard not to get attached to certain championships when you work at Motorsport News. James Roberts? Formula Three. Christopher Hough? The Renault Clio Cup. Paul Lawrence? Anything old. Get the picture...

Sadly, my personal favourite no longer exists - and nor, in effect, does the company behind it. I will resist the temptation to bang on about how great the TVR Tuscan Challenge was, but I could. At some length.

And since it disappeared, there hasn’t been a proper, top-level sportscar series that drivers can use as a springboard to GT racing in the UK. Until now.

The Ginetta G50 Cup will be the icing on the cake for the firm that has put down some strong roots since sportscar racer Lawrence Tomlinson took the helm two years ago.

The purpose-built machine that will contest the championship is named to reflect the strong heritage of what is now one of the Britain’s largest maker of production-based sporting machines.

The cars, like the current Ginetta Juniors and the G20 one-make machines, all roll off the production line at the Leeds firm’s new 75,000 square foot factory.

If that’s not a serious statement of intent from the people behind the marque then I don’t know what is. And so is the potential of the G50.

Matt James trying out the G50 prototype for size

Having had a good look round the G50 in its development stages, and seen the specification for the final car, it’s got my mouth watering - and had me all misty eyed as I reflected on the similarities between the G50’s potential and all those Tuscan encounters I had relished.

The prototype will be out testing in early September. It’s philosophy is simple - there are no trick parts, and no high-brow engineering which is likely to complicate the car without actually adding much to the driving experience.

A small example is the uprights, which will be the same on all four corners of the car. This means not only will the car be easy to work on, it will be cheaper to prepare and race. It’s customer-based common sense that should have the teams and drivers flocking.

With Richard Dean at the helm of the LNT automotive part of the company - the part that has control over the championship - there will be no concerns over the sporting ethos of the competition.

Ginetta is on the march in other areas, too. There is a Swedish championship, featuring 22 cars, and the Junior UK series for younger racers pulled in its highest number of starters yet when it visited Silverstone at the weekend.

As a truly British success story, it is hard to match the Ginetta script at the moment. With the plans that are already a long way towards being put into place, there is more to come too.

But it is the G50 cup that has really stirred the imagination. It has all the ingredients that will make sure I am trackside for the opening race next season.