BRITISH GT

Former British GT Championship Team winning owner Martin Short made his Ginetta driving debut  at the Rockingham round of the British GT this weekend (3rd - 4th September) driving a 3.7lt, 370bhp, Ginetta G55 GT3, run by Rollcentre Racing from St Ives. The introduction of the new-for-2011 G55 GT3 has further extended the Ginetta career ladder, offering competitive racing in a powerful car.

The relaunch of the G55 as the G55 GT3 is a further development for Ginetta with a car in the G55, which is already proving a successful addition to the marque.With only 3 rounds remaining of the British GT season, Ginetta Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson is delighted to welcome Martin into the Ginetta camp in what will be his first race in a Ginetta.

"On a personal and professional level I'm delighted that Martin is on board and we hope to see Rollcentre Racing having a closer relationship with Ginetta in the future. I have always admired Martin's determination. We hope that Rockingham will start to show the car's capabilities, but there is much more to come." said Lawrence.

Martin Short said "Lawrence and I have been involved in a project before, back with TVR when we built their first GT3 car, and I am keen to get back into British GT, which in 2000 was the start of the road that led us to Le Mans. Ginetta has a great car, and ambitious and exciting plans. I am really looking forward to a new challenge."

It was to prove a brief foray back though, for by the end of the second practice session, the Ginetta developed technical problems.  Faced with the decision of using  a spare engine or settling for using the session as a testing session, it was decided to withdraw.   With the new aero package to concentrate on, the consensus was to ensure that the car would be ready for the next round of British GT at Donington Park on 24th September. Martin Short said "The team have been working well into the night to try to get us onto the grid, on what has proved to be relatively brief run in time. Matt Nicoll-Jones and I have been able to put the car through its paces for practise, and it is a lovely package.  We come away from the weekend with plenty of data for where we need to be heading. After consultation with Lawrence (Tomlinson) we felt it would be best to consolidate what we have learned and continue development for the next round."

However, time spent in conference in the back of the truck is rarely wasted and it was decided that the Ginetta G55 GT3 should be ready for an entry into the Britcar 24HR race at the end of September.  Lawrence Tomlinson, Martin Short and two other yet to be confirmed high profile drivers will contest in the Ginetta G55 GT3.  It is also hoped that the Class winning Ginetta G40 will again be entered.  The sturdy little beast was named Autosport National Car of the Year 2010, was driven to the circuit and then driven home again, after claiming class honours and finishing 12th overall!

"The Britcar 24HR is always a challenge for any team and year on year attracts a huge mix of cars and drivers" said Short.  "It will be great to drive with Lawrence, and we have a couple of 'dream team' drivers which we are approaching to check availabilty."