Ginetta graduates have once again enjoyed a fantastic year of success in 2024, with former drivers enjoying standout results in leading championships across the world.
Ginetta’s ladder of championships have provided drivers with the skills to progress into all disciplines of circuit motorsport over the years, leading to alumni starring in leading single-seater, GT, sportscar and touring car competition at all levels of the sport.
In open-wheel racing, the whole world has been talking about the performances of Lando Norris this year. The 2014 Ginetta Junior rookie champion enjoyed the best season of his Formula 1 career to date, putting together an unexpected title challenge with McLaren.
Scoring a long-awaited breakthrough Grand Prix victory in Miami, Norris added further victories in the Netherlands, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. A total of 13 podium finishes meant the British talent finished as runner-up, his highest-ever points finish in the world championship.
At the top of the F1 feeder ladder is the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Isack Hadjar, who made his car-racing debut in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series, finished runner-up with four wins to his name. Fellow former Junior racers Zak O’Sullivan and Enzo Fittipaldi were also race-winners.
A number of Junior graduates starred in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Luke Browning was a double race-winner and took the title fight down to the last race of the season, Callum Voisin was a race-winner too, whilst Sophia Floersch scored a number of strong results.
In the F1 Academy meanwhile, one-time Junior and GT5 Challenge contender Abbi Pulling stormed to championship glory with three races to spare. The Alpine F1 Academy driver did that thanks to nine race wins and a remarkable 100% podium record.
Domestically, GT5 alumni John Bennett took the GB3 Championship title battle down to the final race of the season and finished as vice-champion. Will Macintyre was a race-winner too, with fellow Junior graduates James Hedley and Hugo Schwarze also proven front-runners.
2022 Ginetta Junior scholarship winner Alisha Palmowski enjoyed a brilliant debut single-seater campaign in the GB4 Championship, finishing as vice-champion with three wins to her name. Fellow Junior graduate Finn Harrison was also a multiple race-winner in the series.
Over in British Formula 4, Junior graduates Reza Seewooruthun, James Higgins, Jack Sherwood and Leo Robinson were all regular podium visitors. Abbi Pulling made history as the first female British F4 race-winner, while 2023 GT5 title contender Ella Lloyd scored podiums on her single-seater bow.
The most successful Ginetta alumni in F4 competition this year though was Freddie Slater. The runaway 2023 Junior champion has enjoyed a phenomenal first full year in single-seaters, winning both the Middle East and Italian F4 titles, and finishing runner-up in the Euro 4 Championship.
Slater’s achievements have earnt him a spot in the final shootout for the coveted Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award. No less than seven of the ten drivers shortlisted for the 2024 prize started in Ginetta racing, with five of the last eight award winners having been alumni.
Formula 4 racing across the globe has featured success for Junior graduates; Akshay Bohra won the Euro 4 Championship title and was a race-winner in Italy, Suleiman Zanfari won races in Saudi Arabia and Aqil Alibhai was crowned the Indian champion.
Higher up the ladder in Formula Regional competition, Roman Bilinski started the year in style by winning six races en-route to the Oceania title. He also scored a podium finish in the Europe series, as did fellow former Junior racer Kanato Le.
Across the pond in America, 2018 Junior rookie champion Louis Foster put in a phenomenal performance to win eight races out of 14 on his way to the Indy NXT title. That performance has earnt him a graduation to IndyCar for 2025 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
2013 Junior Scholarship winner Jamie Chadwick also impressed in Indy NXT, becoming the first female race-winner in the championship since 2010. Also starring in the US single-seater scene was Liam McNeilly, finishing runner-up in the USF Juniors series and scoring a podium on his USF2000 debut.
The natural progression for many Ginetta graduates continues to be into GT, sportscar and prototype racing across the globe. Domestically, the British GT Championship grid has been packed full of alumni, with no less than 34 former Ginetta racers competing in the championship this year.
Impressively, all five drivers’ titles on offer in British GT this year were won by drivers who started their careers in Ginetta Juniors. Overall GT3 champion Ricky Collard contested his first-ever car races with Ginetta in 2012, while overall GT4 champion Zac Meakin was a podium-finisher in 2022.
Two-time Ginetta champion Adam Smalley added to his impressive CV with the GT3 Silver-Am title, 2011 Junior victor Seb Morris won the GT4 Pro-Am crown, while Mikey Porter won the GT4 Silver class honours in his first year since graduating from Juniors.
Other alumni to stand on the British GT podium included Tom Gamble, Josh Rowledge, Sam Neary, Will Orton, Marc Warren, Tom Wrigley, Blake Angliss, Ian Duggan, Gordie Mutch, Ravi Ramyead, Charlie Robertson, Freddie Tomlinson, Aston Millar, Callum Davies, Colin White, Tom Holland and Luca Hopkinson.
At the top of the GT racing ladder, Darren Leung’s stunning progression since debuting in the GT Academy in 2021 led him to a debut season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He impressed with an LMGT3 class win in the 6 Hours of Imola and one further podium.
In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Seb Priaulx scored two wins in the GTD Pro class and Devlin DeFrancesco picked up a GTD podium. Fellow ex-Juniors Casper Stevenson and Lorcan Hanafin celebrated LMGT3 class podiums in the European Le Mans Series.
In the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, 2016 Junior rookie champion Dan Harper was a race-winner in the Endurance Cup and won the Bronze class title in the Sprint Cup alongside Darren Leung. Ex-Junior and GT4 SuperCup talent Ben Green was an overall race-winner in the Sprint Cup too.
Junior alumni pairing Tom Lebbon and Josh Rattican took two wins and seven podium finishes on their way to the GT4 European Series title with Elite Motorsport. Tom Emson, Matt Nicoll-Jones, Josh Miller and Ruben del Sarte are other Ginetta alumni to have raced in the series full-time.
Former Junior trio Tom Edgar, Joe Warhurst and 2016 champion Will Tregurtha have all been racing in the ADAC GT4 Germany series, while the GT4 class title in the British Endurance Championship went the way of previous GT5 Challenge champions Josh Steed and Bal Sidhu.
Junior graduates impressing in prototype racing include Olli Caldwell, an LMP2 podium-finisher in the European Le Mans Series. Freddie Tomlinson picked up an LMP2 class win in the Asian Le Mans Series, whilst Ian Aguilera finished runner-up in the JS P4 class of the Ligier European Series.
Some of the biggest endurance races in the world have seen standout results for Ginetta alumni this year. Seb Priaulx scored a GTD Pro podium finish in the Daytona 24 Hours, while Dan Harper finished third overall in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Harper and David Pittard mounted challenges for the overall podium in the Spa 24 Hours, as Casper Stevenson and James Kell picked up class silverware, while Harry King was a Pro-Am class winner in the Bathurst 12 Hours back in February.
Graduates have had a rich history in single-make Porsche racing over the years, and 2024 has been no exception. 2019 GT4 SuperCup champion Harry King has led the way this season, taking the title fights in both the Porsche Supercup and Carrera Cup Deutschland down to their final rounds.
King ultimately finished runner-up in both, as well as winning three of four races contested in Carrera Cup Middle East. Following a similar path to King is 2021 Ginetta Junior scholar Robert de Haan, with the Dutchman winning races in the German, Italian and Middle East championships.
2022 GT4 SuperCup champion James Kellett also scored front-running results in Germany, while in the North American series, 2014 Junior scholar Alex Sedgwick and 2020 GT4 SuperCup runner-up Gus Burton were both race-winners.
In Carrera Cup GB, 2014 GT5 Challenge champion George Gamble became the fifth Ginetta alumni to win the championship in the last six years. Junior graduate Will Martin was one of his title rivals, while 2020 GT4 SuperCup champion Will Burns and one-time Junior Dan Lloyd were also podium finishers.
2021 GT Academy rookie champion Angus Whiteside also excelled, taking an overall race win and securing the Pro-Am title. Three other former Ginetta racers took Pro-Am class wins across the campaign too; Sid Smith, Ollie Jackson and Will Aspin.
The Sprint Challenge GB title went the way of a Ginetta Junior talent for the third time in four years. In fact, the top three were all ex-Juniors, with Seb Hopkins emerging as champion ahead of Max Coates and Will Jenkins. Former GT4 SuperCup ace Joe Marshall was also a race-winner.
In tin-tops, those with memories of the 2010 Ginetta Junior Championship enjoyed some nostalgia this season as Jake Hill and Tom Ingram went toe-to-toe again for the British Touring Car Championship; remarkably heading into the final round tied on points at the top of the standings.
Hill eventually emerged victorious for his maiden BTCC title, with three-time Ginetta champion Ingram just eight points adrift. 2022 GT5 Challenge champion Mikey Doble won the Jack Sears Trophy, while alumni Adam Morgan, Chris Smiley and Andrew Watson also enjoyed front-running results.
Ex-Junior Dan Zelos won an historic third MINI Challenge JCW title before making his BTCC debut. In TCR UK, Carl Boardley won his second consecutive title ahead of fellow former GT4 SuperCup racers Adam Shepherd and Joe Marshall, while 2015 champion Tom Oliphant was a race-winner in TCR Australia.
Kelly Edmund – Ginetta Events Manager:
“2024 has been a special year for our Ginetta alumni. To see former drivers enjoy so much notable success in a wide range of championships and disciplines across the globe is fantastic and something we’re all very proud of.
“The continued achievements of our alumni is a testament to the long-standing success of our motorsport ladder and our philosophy of developing driving talent. In particular, as we head into the 20th anniversary season of Ginetta Juniors, the amount of successful racing careers launched from that championship is incredible.
“This is only going to be enhanced further by the introduction of the Ginetta G56 GTP8 next year, the perfect development tool to accelerate the careers of more GT racing stars of the future. There’s a lot to look forward to heading into 2025.”
Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography, SRO / JEP, McLaren F1, F1 Academy, F4 Italy, Indy NXT, Porsche Motorsport, Porsche GB and MRW Motorsport.
