Ginetta LMP1 proves pace and reliability at major test

Ten months after its last outing at Le Mans in June 2018, Ginetta was testing the G60 LT P1 LMP1 car.

Now powered by AER’s turbocharged V6 engine rather than the Mecachrome engine that powered the two cars that took part in practice at last year’s WEC opener at Spa and then raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, it recorded the second fastest time of the three-day test (1:18.626), just 0.021 slower than the SMP Racing BR Engineering built, AER-powered BR1.

The test saw Robertson and fellow Ginetta factory man Mike Simpson share driving duties with ex-IndyCar driver James Jakes, plus a pair of guest drivers helping to assess the Ginetta.

“Each of the drivers found the car easy to squeeze the performance out of,” said Simpson. “This was my first opportunity to sample the car since we switched to the AER engine and it has transformed the car.

“It has lost none of the inherent aero performance and stability of the car that we already saw at Le Mans last year with the previous powerplant, but now with an enormous boost in performance right across the range.”

“The test has been very positive indeed,” said Ginetta technical director Pete Smith. “It’s good to have shown that the car is capable, despite our limited running before these three days, of delivering fully on the promise of the design, with all involved agreeing that there is much more still to come.”

“It’s been a really successful test,” said Ginetta chairman Lawrence Tomlinson. “Of course, we have confidence in the car, but it is fantastic to see that confirmed not only by its own performance on track, but also by our performance against our peers. Not only has the car proved to have pace that would put it amongst the fastest in the class, it has proved too that the performance is repeatable, our stints throughout the test, in the dry and in the wet, were consistent as well as quick.”

“We are a constructor not a race team so we are talking to prospective customers for the car but would, of course, welcome conversations with more. There is still time to engage with us and learn more about what we already know is set to be a car in top level international competition for at least the next two seasons of the FIA WEC, capable of competing with, and beating, the best of the competition in a world class championship.”