Protyre News
Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge 2016
By Adam White
Hi everyone,
With just a week until the start of the new Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge season, we thought we’d dedicate a blog to give you a brief overview of this fantastic and entertaining racing championship.
As you can tell from the name, Protyre is a big supporter of this series. We’ve been championship sponsor for a number of years.
For those of you who don’t know, Ginetta has been building road and race cars since 1958 and is an amazing brand to be associated with.
The Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge is a popular entry-level championship for many aspiring GT racers. That’s because it offers a unique, low-cost opportunity for drivers to race in a single-make racing championship, whilst still being a part of a prestigious support package.
The cars have a 1.8ltr engine, producing 160bhp, meaning they reach up to 130mph.
The 2016 season will feature a new qualifying format with the starting grid for race one based on the qualifying result, while the race two grid will be based on the results from race one. During those events with three races scheduled, the final starting order will be determined by a reverse grid draw.
The format for each race weekend will include a 20-minute qualifying session on the Saturday followed by a 15-minute race. Then on the Sunday, there will be either one or two 15 minute races.
The new season will be particularly exciting as two of the rounds (Thruxton, on 7-8 May, and Croft, on 18-19 June) will feature on the British Touring Car Championship support bill. This will give the GT5 championship some great exposure to a much wider audience.
Our role at each race includes supplying all control tyres - this is where drivers can’t bring their own tyres. These control tyres are barcoded and used to identify each driver. We also take two fully functional fitting trailers with awnings and fitting equipment plus two stock trailers full of tyres. At big events we change and fit around 1,000 tyres!
The full 2016 calendar is:
Brands Hatch – 16-17 April
Thruxton – 7-8 May
Oulton Park – 28-29 May
Silverstone – 11-12 June
Croft 18-19 June
Spa Francorchamps 8-9 July
Donnington Park 10-11 Sept
Visit http://ginetta.com/racing.php?championship=challenge&tab=car for further details about the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge.
