For greater than a decade till its conclusion this yr, the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup was one of many main one-make GT championships within the UK, serving as a launchpad for aspiring profession drivers into prime GT, prototype and touring automotive collection throughout the globe.
The championship’s roots got here with the Ginetta G50 Cup, which began in 2008 and joined the assist bundle for the BTCC a yr later. Nigel Moore, Nathan Freke and Frank Wrathall secured drivers’ titles throughout three vastly aggressive seasons of racing.
In 2011 got here the introduction of a brand new automotive, the Ginetta G55 GT4, and with it the launch of the GT4 SuperCup. The brand new collection burst onto the scene with an enormous prize on provide for the inaugural champion; a fully-funded season within the British Touring Automobile Championship.
Regardless of Tom Sharp sensationally profitable the primary six races in a row, and a gifted entry that additionally included Carl Breeze, Freke and Colin White, it was Ciceley Motorsport’s Adam Morgan who emerged because the inaugural champion and earned the life-changing alternative.
“I owe an enormous quantity to Ginetta and Lawrence Tomlinson, as that prize acquired me to the place I’m immediately,” stated Morgan, who has since contested 11 consecutive seasons within the BTCC. “I’d solely been racing for 3 years on the time, two seasons in Ginetta, and abruptly I discovered myself on the most important platform in British motorsport.
“The GT4 SuperCup was reduce throat, you needed to be on the prime of your sport with everybody in equal equipment. All that differed was small tweaks and the driving force, and I learnt quite a lot of velocity and racecraft from that, which was huge for my profession.
“Successful the GT4 SuperCup might be my most memorable second in motorsport. It was particular as we had been a one automotive staff, up towards some profitable groups with a number of vehicles, and we went out and beat them.”
One of many names that was synonymous with the championship in its early years was Carl Breeze. The previous BTCC racer contested seven seasons throughout the G50 Cup and GT4 SuperCup, remarkably ending within the prime three within the standings yearly.
4-times a runner-up, he loved his title-winning second in 2012 as he hunted down Sharp – who had gained eight of the primary 9 races – to win in a nail-biting finale at Manufacturers Hatch. Breeze’s longevity within the championship means he holds the data for essentially the most race wins (29), podium finishes (82), quickest laps (23) and pole positions (10).
“The GT4 SuperCup was an excellent championship and there was quite a lot of good drivers that handed via,” Breeze advised Autosport. “Essentially the most memorable season for me was 2012. After three rounds, we had been about 100 factors off Tom Sharp within the championship and it seemed like a tall order to win the title.
“Me and Tom Ingram made inroads into his lead and it went proper right down to the final race of the season. Wanting again, I drove the race of my life to carry him off and win it. I actually loved my time within the GT4 SuperCup – the camaraderie on the circuit and it was at all times good racing.”
Proving a direct hit with groups and drivers, the GT4 SuperCup’s place on the prime of Ginetta’s racing ladder made it an attractive prospect for younger skills beginning within the Ginetta Junior Championship, with numerous drivers making the pure transition between the 2 collection.
The primary to efficiently observe that path was 2010 Junior champion Tom Ingram. After profitable the G50 class of the GT4 SuperCup the next season, he actually dominated within the G55 in 2013, taking the general title with a championship document of twenty-two podium finishes in a single season.
“My years within the GT4 SuperCup was a basic a part of my profession, with out which I in the end wouldn’t be the place I’m immediately,” commented Ingram, who gained the BTCC title this yr. “The championship taught me what I wanted to study from racecraft, automotive setup, easy methods to handle race weekends and every little thing in-between. I felt after I acquired to touring vehicles that I used to be able to compete, based off the education I acquired in Ginetta’s.”
Charlie Robertson adopted in his footsteps by taking championship glory in each the Juniors (2012) and GT4 SuperCup (2014), a feat solely since replicated by Adam Smalley. That got here as a part of Robertson’s ascension via the Ginetta ranks to his present position as a Manufacturing facility Driver.
Within the course of, he’s most likely pushed the G55 GT4 as a lot as another driver. By way of the years, constant growth work and upgrades to the automotive ensured it remained a key studying device for aspiring profession drivers.
“I describe the G55 SuperCup vehicles as between GT4 and GT3 when it comes to tempo, it’s like nothing else,” defined Robertson. “The vehicles are so quick, with good aero and nice grip. They educate you that fundamental degree of understanding of automotive dynamics, and you’ll race shut, so it’s at all times offered nice motion and improved your race craft.
“Successful the GT4 SuperCup was huge and launched my profession. It gave me the chance to then use the stepping stones that Ginetta offered to maneuver into endurance racing and larger GT racing, and ultimately signal with them and change into a Manufacturing facility Driver.”
Through the years, a gradual stream of younger skills learnt the ropes within the championship and gained the attributes wanted to progress and luxuriate in success in motorsport, with many wanting again fondly at their time racing the Ginetta G55 GT4.
Harry King gained the 2019 title in type and has since gone on to change into a double Porsche champion: “The G55 was an ideal studying automotive. Two years within the GT4 SuperCup taught me every little thing that I nonetheless use immediately with my driving, and I believe it was a extremely important stepping stone as a younger driver to realize all the talents and information wanted to race GT vehicles. It meant after I made the transfer into Porsche, I already had quite a lot of components wanted to leap right into a 911 and succeed so early on.”
Following in King’s footsteps is Smalley, who emerged as GT4 SuperCup champion final yr and succeeded King because the Porsche GB Junior driver for 2022/23: “The G55 was beloved by each single driver on the grid, because it’s such a enjoyable race automotive to drive and a large studying device. The championship was very robust and taught me every little thing I wanted to return into the Carrera Cup GB this yr and be on the entrance finish of the sphere. I completely beloved the collection, the competitors was excessive and there was a pleasant ambiance within the paddock.”
One of many locations the place GT4 SuperCup graduates have shone is within the BTCC itself. 2012 front-runner Jake Hill challenged Ingram for the highest crown this yr, whereas 2015 champion Tom Oliphant, his team-mate that season Ollie Jackson, and 2017 title contender George Gamble are all race-winners within the championship.
Carl Boardley and Michael Crees, general runner-up and Am champion respectively in 2018, have each since competed within the BTCC, as did Jack Mitchell and Will Burns, the latter in-between two spells within the GT4 SuperCup that culminated within the 2020 title.
Hill: “The G50 was the primary GT automotive I drove, then the G55. They’re nice vehicles and have been very profitable world wide as GT vehicles. I loved my time in them so much and it did leapfrog me into studying what a GT automotive is all about.”
Oliphant: “Successful the GT4 SuperCup was a defining second in my profession. Wanting again, the G55 is likely one of the most enjoyable vehicles I’ve pushed. It’s the most effective constructed and designed vehicles when it comes to what it offers the driving force with suggestions and race-ability.”
Gamble: “The G55 was actually quick, you bought an excellent really feel of the aero and the championship was tremendous aggressive the yr I did it, with 5 or 6 of us in with a shout of profitable a race. It was an excellent championship to be a part of and actually helped me progress in my profession.”
Burns: “The GT4 SuperCup was at all times a particularly robust one-make collection to compete in and I used to be fortunate sufficient to take pleasure in two spells in it. It commonly had a number of the greatest drivers from throughout the nation battling it out, and to return away as champion was an extremely proud second.”
The roll name of general champions additionally consists of Tom Wrigley, whose three-point success over Burns in 2016 was the smallest profitable margin in collection historical past, and his successors to the crown Callum Pointon and Charlie Ladell.
The honour of being the ultimate GT4 SuperCup champion went the way in which of James Kellet in the meantime, after the most important shake up within the collection’ historical past got here with the introduction of the brand new Ginetta G56 GT4 for 2022. An evolution of its profitable predecessors within the G50 and G55, the V8 powered machines produced the quickest ever one-make Ginetta racing.
Kellett excelled within the G56 as he wrote his identify into the document books. Beginning off with seven consecutive race wins, beating the tally set by Sharp within the inaugural season, he went on to document essentially the most wins in a single marketing campaign with 13, a document beforehand held collectively by Sharp, Ingram and King.
“I’d been dreaming of doing the GT4 SuperCup since I used to be within the Juniors again in 2014 and my team-mate Charlie Robertson gained the title, however I’d by no means had the price range to do it till this yr,” stated Kellett, who can also be a two-time GT5 Problem champion.
“I’m actually happy to have been capable of get on the grid for the ultimate yr of the collection, and to win it was an unimaginable feeling. The G56 was a very totally different driving type to the G55, with traction management and ABS, in order that was a studying curve for us all, however I believe Ginetta did an superior job with the brand new automotive.”
It wasn’t simply behind the wheel the place expertise shone via within the GT4 SuperCup, however all through the paddock additionally as main groups battled it out. They included HHC Motorsport, Rob Boston Racing, Elite Motorsport and Century Motorsport, who all gained a number of drivers’ titles.
JHR Developments, Complete Management Racing, Triple M Motorsport, IDL Racing and United Autosports had been amongst the opposite front-runners through the years, with Century in the end topping the stats sheets with essentially the most general race wins (52), podium finishes (139) and quickest laps (53) of any staff.
Century Motorsport staff principal Nathan Freke mirrored: “2009 was our first correct introduction into GT racing with the G50 Cup. We began the opening rounds with an open trailer, transit van and pop-up marquee, and we gained. It quickly advanced from there, we burst onto the scene as a staff and on the finish of the season individuals wished us to run their vehicles.
“We had 4 vehicles in 2010 and it continued from there when the GT4 SuperCup started. It’s been a fully implausible championship for us as a staff. We had been right here from the beginning and we’re right here on the finish, and to complete as essentially the most profitable staff within the collection’ historical past is a pleasant approach to cap all of it off.
“The championship was the most effective proving grounds for aspiring drivers. The dash races had been intense and unforgiving when you made a mistake, making you deal with all areas of your driving. It’s given quite a lot of drivers the chance to maneuver forwards and progress within the sport.”
A glance again on the historical past of the GT4 SuperCup wouldn’t be full with out mentioning essentially the most skilled and profitable driver within the championship, Colin White. Since becoming a member of the grid in 2011, he competed in 242 of the collection’ 289 races, profitable extra class titles than anybody else; the Am crown in 2015 and 2016, after which the Professional Am honours in 2020 and 2021.
Sizzling on his heels for race begins was Reece Somerfield, who made 238 appearances throughout 11 consecutive seasons. 5 different drivers contested greater than 100 races in the meantime; Breeze, Burns, Tom Hibbert, Jamie Orton and Boardley.
In the long run, at least 204 drivers competed within the GT4 SuperCup. 45 of these gained races outright for 25 totally different groups, 70 completed within the general prime three and 12 had been topped champion, with 10 extra securing class titles; Mark Davies, Sean Huyton, Jac Constable, Nathan Heathcote, Stewart Traces, Wes Pearce, Luke Reade, Ian Duggan, Crees and White.
With a formidable roll name of profitable alumni, a wealthy historical past of thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing and a long life within the prime ranges of British motorsport that many a championship would solely dream of, there’s little doubt the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup will probably be a championship fondly remembered by many.
