10 years into his racing career, James Townsend returned to the GT4 category in the 2026 British GT Championship with Fox Motorsport and is hoping for a consistent end to the season.
He has competed in over 100 races in Ginetta machinery, scoring 11 race wins and 42 podiums with the Fox team, making him one of its most successful drivers.
Beginning his career as many drivers have done in Ginetta Juniors, he progressed to Ginetta GT4 Supercup and the GT Championship, including a year in Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.
His British GT debut came in 2023 in a Toro Verde GT Ginetta G56 GT4, achieving three GT4 Pro-Am podiums that year. Fox Motorsport made its last appearance in a one-off outing at the ‘Donington Decider’ that season before its return this season.
Townsend’s return underlines his commitment to British GT with a team he knows well, running a new Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo.
“Having spent the last few years in Ginetta, and wanting to progress to GT3 and beyond with that manufacturer, I’ve always had a strong passion for Aston Martin,” Townsend tells DSC.
“From a personal standpoint, it felt like I could align with a brand that I truly love, and there’s a progression that I could go on to GT3 and other championships beyond that, depending on how things go.
“That was the original thought process, and then I had a desire to get back with Fox since we parted ways about two or three years ago to put a programme together.
“This felt like the perfect opportunity for us to go on that journey, learn the car, spend this year really getting up to speed, and then having a real attack at the championship next year in GT4. And then who knows? In 2027/2028 we can go and have a play in the GT3.”
Just one Aston Martin GT4 competed at selected rounds last year, but the British manufacturer’s presence has since grown in the category this year, with four cars in for the full-season.
Townsend Racing by Fox Motorsport faces a difficult task standing out in a competitive environment, against teams competing with Aston Martin specialists like Darren Turner, Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton.
But as a GT4 Pro-Am line-up, Townsend and his teammate Joe Wheeler are focused on the two other Aston Martins in that sub-category, Grange Racing by FSR and GBR Stratton Motorsport, and three other GT4 Pro-Am rivals.
Fox Motorsport outweighs these new teams in British GT and Ginetta racing experience, and is waiting for the opportunity to showcase that.
Their 2026 campaign began with British GT’s toughest race and this year’s season opener, the three-hour Silverstone 500.
“I think one of the big challenges was going into arguably the biggest race of the season straight off the bat,” Townsend admits. “It’s something you’d like to build into; not having that Donington round possibly to kick things off (like in 2025), you’re straight into the fire.
“We had a slight brake issue on my first stint at Silverstone, so unfortunately that sort of spat me into the gravel. We recovered from that, and we managed to finish and get a good haul of points, but I think we had the pace to be a lot further up the grid.
“I think the Aston is performing really well. Joe and I feel comfortable with the car, so I think generally speaking, we are both really enjoying it and loving the championship.”
Results never tell the full story in motor racing, and that is no different for their eye-catching #40 Aston Martin.
For instance, their best GT4 Pro-Am class finish was P2 in Race 1 at Oulton Park, before the team incurred a 30-second post-race time penalty for holding the car for longer than the maximum permitted four seconds after the car was pushed back following the pit stop.
Refamiliarising with British GT in a new car has left Fox Motorsport hungry for a standout performance in the GT4 Pro-Am competition.
Townsend contested the ‘Donington Decider’ last year alongside Wheeler, unfortunately retiring their #88 Mahiki Racing Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo.
“In 2023, we both ended up at Toro Verde,” he explains. “We got to know each other through that. He raced with my then-teammate from other championships, Ian Duggan. Joe and I struck up a friendship, and got to know his family really well.
“When things were progressing up to this year, with looking for a Silver to bring some budget and get involved with the Aston project, it felt like a no-brainer to go back and speak to Joe about that opportunity.
“He and I raced together really well in the Ginetta at Donington. Unfortunately, a driveshaft issue cost us a result at Donington in that round, which was frustrating, but that’s motorsport.
“But I think we gel really well. He’s really good at picking out some of my faults and helping me improve on that stuff. And motorsport is about spending your weekends with a group of people, and I like Joe so it’s a nice place to be.”
Before Townsend can think about the GT3 dream, his initial priority is the ongoing 2026 season campaign, which has surpassed its halfway point and heads to Snetterton this weekend for the second of the two sprint meetings on the calendar.
He acknowledges the motivation that strong race results will provide whilst appreciating the opportunity to contest one of Europe’s most competitive GT racing championships again.
“Success for us is consistent podium results within GT4 Pro-Am,” he says. “If we can sneak an overall GT4 podium or two, that would be amazing.
“Next year we want to win in Pro-Am without even blinking, and we want to be right in the mix for GT4 overall. But candidly, I’m just happy to be here. This is the dream; this is the pinnacle of what I want.
“To do it for a number of years, this was always the end goal. If we can go beyond that and into GT3, we’ll go and have a look at that.
“But right now, I’m just grateful to be here and doing this. To be on the grid is the first big win for me every weekend.”
Images courtesy of JEP/SRO
