Ginetta welcomes you to the start of another great season’s racing and this weekend, an important mark in motorsport history.

If you were regular to British GT / F3 meetings in 2007, you will have seen some great racing by the Ginetta G20 field in the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship. This year, they’re back with faces old and new lining up to take the grid.

Entries were so large a year ago (left), that a heat race had to run prior to the two Championship races. But for 2008, grids are capped at a maximum of thirty-two identical Ginetta G20, 130bhp Leeds-built sportscars.

Matt Nicoll-Jones won his second Ginetta title (the first being in 2005) after a close-run season but a 2008 crown is now up for grabs. So who will be the ones to watch?

Spencer McCarthy is a favourite having had a season to settle in, and already proving himself as a race winner by taking the top step at Rockingham. He returns for a second bite of the cherry with his brother as his team mate! Russel and Spencer have raced historic cars together previously but look out for on-track rivalry between these two.

Speedworks Motorsport return with a field of six cars – one of which belongs to Paul Sheard who took a race win in the Winter Series back in November (right). The other five return for their second seasons but with Ross Edwards joining the Team for this year.

We’re also pleased to welcome three graduates from Formula Woman. Debbie Bennett, Emily Fletcher and Tracy Dixon will be out there flying the flag for the lesser-represented sex in motorsport.

And so to the dawn of a new era in Ginetta racing.

Ginetta as a company celebrate their 50th Anniversary in 2008 and to celebrate launched the Ginetta G50 – a car that is unlike anything else the Company have built before. A car that was out testing in September – just seven months after design work began.

Designed and built in their new 80,000 square foot premises on the outskirts of Leeds, the single-make G50 Championship cars you see racing today is the result of a year’s hard work by the crew back at base under the guidance of Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson and Managing Director Richard Dean.

The cars are so new some only received their cars at the beginning of the week having waited in anticipation since placing down their order.

Not only that, but the eagle-eyed among you will have spotted six of the G50 cars in the British GT Championship’s GT4 class. These are essentially the same car as the Cup car, with only the subtlest of differences.

Along with the Ginetta Junior Championship (for 14-16 year olds), Ginetta now have a career ladder available to drivers right up into GT-level racing.

This is exactly what is happening this year. You may notice Nicoll-Jones in the British GT Championship with team mate Stewart Linn – another former Ginetta Champion (2004 / 2006); Nigel Moore and Tom Sharp progress right up from the Ginetta Junior Championship (Moore being the current Champion) and many more move up from the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship.

This list includes G20 race winner Ben Elliott and podium finishers Christian Dick and Frank Wrathall.

Additionally, give a warm welcome to Paul O’Neill and Scott Stringfellow to Ginetta racing. Both have participated in a G20 race before; O’Neill taking a podium in his debut at Thruxton.

Renowned BTCC & F3/GT safety car driver Stringfellow makes a return since last appearing at Oulton Park in 2006.

BTCC race winner O’Neill will hop out of his British GT Viper to take part in the inaugral G50 Championship race aboard the IDL-run Motorsport News car.

Enjoy the racing both of these Championships are sure to provide and look on the first ever G50 race weekend so in the future you can say “I was there at the beginning…”