The Ginetta G50 Championship 2008

The Ginetta G50 was today awarded provisional Championship status for 2008 by the MSA (subject to final approval).

The accolade lifts the one-make Cup from a 'series' to 'championship' level and onto an exclusive list with other high-brow racing categories.

"This is a really good result for us" said LNT automotive Richard Dean. "Normal practice is to make the manufacturer in the first year prove themselves with enough cars and provide the support as a series, with Championship status in year two.

"Combined with the SRO F3/GT package, this latest development shows how serious we are, and the high regard our G50 project is receiving."

As announced in Motorsport News, the prototype car is on schedule to test in the first two weeks of September.

The chassis is currently being built up (right) with its front-mounted 3.5litre Ford V6 engine, delivering 290 bhp via a 6 speed sequential gearbox driving the back wheels.

The Championship will initially be limited to a run of 26 cars in the first year, with sales of the first 26 cars to be sold to customers committed to the championship to ensure grid numbers are at 26.

"It will make a great GT car or track day car, but our initial focus will be on the one-make G50 Cup Championship" Dean told Matt James of Motorsport News.

"We will look at people who will take the championship seriously for our inaugural season - and we will obviously look favourably on people who have come up through the Ginetta championships" he added.

The format for the Ginetta G50 Championship will feature eight events on the British F3 / GT rounds with two 30-minute races per weekend, while two stand-alone events are expected to feature two-driver, hour
long races.