Silverstone 500 winners Innovation Racing have outlined their desire to fight to win the GT4 championship title in their maiden British GT campaign as the next step in a long-term goal to compete at Le Mans.
At the 2026 season opener at Silverstone they became the first team to claim both pole position and race victory on their championship debut since Forsetti Motorsport two years ago at Oulton Park.
The race win in the British Championship’s Blue Riband 3 hour event gave Innovation Racing a dream start in a new championship following their GT Cup UK effort last year.
Speaking with DSC before their triumphant Silverstone success, co-owner and team principal Simon Griffiths affirmed Innovation Racing’s target to reach the Le Mans support grid or even the iconic 24-hour race itself.
“We’ve got a pathway to Le Mans within five years,” he says determinedly.
“That’s the other team owner’s expectations. So we come into this looking to win the championship.”
Starting from 2025, this plan aims for Innovation Racing to set foot in Le Mans by 2030.
Griffiths remains open as to what the journey may be — whether they continue their partnership with Ginetta towards an LMP3 entrant in the Road to Le Mans support package, which has run annually since 2016, or the team could look beyond to other manufacturers should they opt for a GT3 route.
Alongside 15 years as a racing driver, Griffiths has worked across multiple motorsport roles: from truck driver and engineer to hospitality and logistics, to name a few.
He firmly believes a club-level team can compete successfully in elite motorsport championships, such as British GT, which is regarded as one of Europe’s most competitive GT racing championships and is promoted by SRO.
That philosophy has quickly earned them the lead in the GT4 standings, thanks to their #74 Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo drivers Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland.
Holland completed just over 50% of the workload in the car at Silverstone, although Simpson showcased faster lap times at the wheel, as the team delivered faultlessly in their first British GT pit stops under race conditions.
“Because the progression is so quick, it’s all about learning the processes and learning step-by-step how to get to that [top] level,” Griffiths adds.
“Trying to negate as many mistakes as possible, and just climbing this ladder as quickly as we can, but as safely as we can, without overstepping the mark on regulations.
“I want everybody to feel as though they can come to me if they’ve got a problem and keep it like a family.
“I don’t want it to get over to the point where I don’t relate to the engineers, the mechanics, the drivers.”
Innovation Racing claimed Ginetta’s fourth consecutive pole position in the series — and notably their first win since 2023.
It was a fitting achievement for the British manufacturer, especially with SRO’s full takeover of the Ginetta support package.
Ginetta’s cars made an immediate impression on Griffiths at first sight. And that affinity has since carried through in his team’s fight against four other GT4 manufacturers and one other Ginetta customer, Toro Verde GT.
“As soon as I got in a [G55] Ginetta, I could instantly tell that that chassis was raw.
“It was what I was used to a lot (racing in time attack cars and Caterhams).
“I like a chassis that does not feel just like a road car with slicks.
“And that’s what Ginetta deliver. It’s a race car, a pure race car.”
While the team celebrates their success after the first round, five more race meetings remain, featuring both endurance and sprint formats, totalling 10 hours of racing.
Innovation Racing rightly have confidence in their approach early on, but not as much to create the illusion that they are at ease against their rivals.
“It’s been a hell of a learning curve because it’s such a small team, and the budget I’m doing it for is significantly less than the others in the paddock.
“I genuinely don’t think I’ve sat down and sunk in where we are and how we’ve got here, because I remember racing Caterhams with my partner and the kids, only a few years back in the club level, and now we are where we are.
“To take stock of that has been quite difficult. It’s been at that quick pace.”
Now that they lead the championship, the tougher challenge is maintaining their position all the way through until the Brands Hatch decider on 26-27 September.
Consistency will be important for Innovation Racing, minimising any mistakes as the team still takes its introductory steps in this paddock.
The upcoming Oulton Park sprint weekend on 23-25 May will be especially challenging because not only is the narrow and undulating circuit a huge contrast to the high-speed nature of Silverstone, but also the two 1-hour races mean that Innovation Racing need to secure consistent points finishes in both to continue as championship protagonists.
Last year, we witnessed how quickly the GT4 standings can change after Ravi Ramyead’s unfortunate crash during the opening race, which eliminated his Century Motorsport BMW from participating in the second race. If Innovation Racing encounters any difficulties, we can expect rivals like MK Racing and Optimum Motorsport to seize the opportunity.
Though the pressure is on to perform, they have already impressed with their flawless British GT debut at Silverstone.
