Luke Reade is closing in on becoming the inaugural champion in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship heading into the final nine races of the season, starting this weekend at Cadwell Park.
Reade stamped his authority on the new championship from the off by taking the opening six wins of the season in his Ginetta G56 GT Pro, before adding another treble victory last time out at Snetterton to further cement his place at the top of the standings.
The Wolf Motorsport ace now holds a 118-point championship lead, meaning it’s a case of now or never for the chasing pack if they’re to stop him joining an elite club of two-time Ginetta champions, having won the G55 Pro title in the GT4 SuperCup last season.
Reade’s closest challenger in the points is Callum Davies (SVG Motorsport), who has put in some hugely impressive performances so far in his first-ever season of car-racing. A double podium at Snetterton moved him into double figures for the year, with a maiden win a clear target.
Carl Garnett (Breakell Racing) has enjoyed some great results on his return to Ginetta racing this season. He’s taken to the podium on five occasions. Ginetta veteran, Colin White (CWS 4×4), has shown remarkable resilience on his comeback this year. He’s secured four podiums of his own.
Ruben Hage (Breakell Racing) will be one to watch this weekend. They are the only driver on the Cadwell grid other than Reade to have won races this season. His success came with a glorious hat-trick of victories during the prestigious G Fest event at Silverstone last month.
Liona Theobald (SVG Motorsport) and Bal Sidhu (Xentek Motorsport) will also feature in the GT Pro class. Theobald has been a consistent presence in the top six this year. Sidhu is set for his second event in a G56 after provisionally securing the GT5 Am class title over the first half of the season.
The GT5 Pro crown is still firmly up for grabs with three meetings remaining though. Luke Garlick currently holds a 47-point lead over his Xentek Motorsport team-mate Ella Lloyd. These two having been part at the forefront of some sensational racing from the GT5 Challenge runners this year.
Lloyd has outscored her adversary six to five in terms of race wins. However, some tough races for her means the more consistent Garlick holds the points advantage. He has two more podium finishes and two less retirements to his name.
Sam Harvey has regularly been battling with his Xentek team-mates at the front of the class. He has his sights set on securing a maiden win before the end of the year. Karim Sekkat (Breakell Racing) has made big strides forward and picked up four podiums since stepping up from GT5 Am.
Follow the action across the weekend on social media, @GinettaCars.
Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship Timetable:
Saturday 22 July: Warm Up 09:30; Qualifying 11:30; Race One 14:14
Sunday 23 July: Warm Up 10:00; Race Two 13:14; Race Three 15:58
All three races will be streamed live on Ginetta’s YouTube channel. Live timing and results will be available here: www.tsl-timing.com/event/232921