Autosport (UK)

All Ginetta series to feature on BTCC support bill

- STEPHEN LICKORISH

Ginetta has revealed the 2021 calendars for its five categories and all of them will make at least one appearance alongside the British Touring Car Championsh­ip next year.

As reported earlier this month by Autosport, the new Ginetta GT Academy category – that replaces the Ginetta Racing Drivers Club series as the manufactur­er’s entry level division, and features a G55 with reduced power on road tyres – will make one appearance at a BTCC meeting, at Silverston­e in September.

The top-level GT4 Supercup will continue to run at eight of the 10 TOCA events, skipping the first Thruxton and Silverston­e rounds, while Ginetta Junior will not feature at the June Croft meeting.

A combined grid for the GT5 Challenge and G40 Cup will instead race at Thruxton and Croft. All remaining rounds of the GT5 Challenge, G40 Cup and GT Academy will again be at British GT meetings.

Ginetta motorsport manager Ash Gallagher is pleased that the manufactur­er’s calendar has been organised so there are no clashes between BTCC and British GT events, making logistics easier for teams that compete across the range of series.

He added that Ginetta Junior missing the Croft event is aimed at allowing the teenage racers to focus on school commitment­s.

“Although it doesn’t fall exactly when exams are [as they’ve been pushed back for 2021, due to COVID-19], it makes sense to leave that gap,” said Gallagher. “It still allows them to concentrat­e on school. It allows us the opportunit­y of having GT Academy on a TOCA weekend and, because GT5 and G40 Cup will share a grid, it means G40 Cup will have a first race with touring cars.”

 ??  ?? Junior racers are due to be at nine of the 10 BTCC events
Junior racers are due to be at nine of the 10 BTCC events

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