As many as six Ginetta LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype 1)
cars may compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year, the Leeds-based
company’s commercial director has revealed. The firm is on course to supply
Manor and potentially two other customer teams with a pair of cars each in the
2018 World Endurance Championship (WEC), which the Le Mans race is part of.
Ginetta’s new Le Mans prototype will use an engine
supplied by French firm Mecachrome. The unit will share some technical parts
with the V8 Mecachrome produces for Formula 2, but Ginetta is yet to confirm
exact specifications. An output of around 800 bhp is expected.
Ginetta’s factory racing drivers will be directly
involved in finalising the car’s setup once testing begins. Mike Simpson and
Charlie Robertson, who have extensive experience racing and winning with the
G57-P2 prototype in Europe’s V de V series, and 17-year-old Ginetta Young
Driver Programme graduate Jordan Sanders, are all expected to have significant
input.
The company’s Le Mans ambitions come as part of a
wider growth plan that’s being championed by chairman Lawrence Tomlinson, which
could lead to the company fielding more cars in racing series around the world.
Portlock suggested championships that require cars to be based on road legal
models could spur Ginetta to expand its production car line-up beyond that of
the G40, which could mean reviving cancelled plans to sell the G50 in road
form.
