Ginetta GT4 Supercup
It’s been a long wait for James Kellett.
Six years after he first targeted a Ginetta
GT4 Supercup move, the two-time GT5 Challenge champion is now finally set to make the full-time switch.
Kellett was runner-up in the 2014 Ginetta Junior contest and then claimed the GT5 crown the following year. But a planned progression to the top level of the Ginetta ladder never materialised, with Kellett unable to secure the budget, and he instead spent two years on the sidelines. “As a young driver, that was a massive shock to the system,” he admits.
But he was able to “reboot” his career in
2018 as a new relationship with Century Motorsport yielded a dominant second GT5 title. He has since spent the past few seasons partnering amateur driver Alex Stevenson in the GT Cup before impressing on two cameo appearances in the GT4 Supercup at the end of 2021, when he took three wins.
It was a reminder of Kellett’s talents and, with Stevenson’s Wheldrake Classic Cars company and new Century sub-team Rosland Gold Racing, he has finally landed that full-time GT4 Supercup graduation. “I’m going into this year confident purely on the back of what I did last year,” he says. “But it’s a completely different car.”
It’s a familiar story on the BTCC bill, because the GT4 Supercup is yet another series adopting new machinery with the introduction of the G56. “Because it’s a new car, everybody is all over the place with it,” Kellett continues. “It’s such a technical car compared to the old G55 – I’ve never driven a car with ABS or TC before, so I’m getting my head around that.”
With the addition of a V8 engine and 500bhp for the G56, it’s not just the drivers feeling that extra power – the rear tyres are too. Kellett therefore believes that managing the rubber over a weekend will be a real challenge, and could have a major bearing on results.
While Kellett is seeking title glory on his return to the TOCA package, he is far from the only one to watch. Josh Rattican was runner-up in the series last year and is continuing with
Elite Motorsport, while reigning Ginetta Junior champion Aston Millar has made the move with new team DTO Motorsport. And there is still time for more entries to arrive since the campaign does not begin until the second BTCC round at Brands Hatch next month, meaning Kellett still has a little longer to wait to finally become a GT4 Supercup regular.