Ginetta’s three UK-based one-make Championships will all transfer to the operational control of SRO for the 2026 season.
With immediate effect SRO will manage Ginetta Juniors, GT Academy and GT Championship; three categories that already form a core part of British GT’s support package and are recognised both nationally and internationally as a key development tool for the UK’s racing ladder with alumni drivers competing at all levels of the sport including Formula 1 and IndyCar, as well as GT World Challenge powered by AWS, ACO-sanctioned endurance series, and beyond.
Demand for Ginetta race cars continues to grow significantly. This partnership enables the manufacturer to focus fully on scaling production to meet increasing global demand from drivers, teams and commercial partners, while ensuring its UK championships operate within a world-class sporting framework
The current competition structure from Ginetta spans a broad range of motorsport, starting with the G40 and G56 models that populate its national one-make series through to GT4, GT2 and LMP3 cars.
The cost-effective G40 that underpins Ginetta’s incredibly successful Junior championship is a proven tool in the development of young drivers and karting graduates. As such, the UK’s longest running and world’s most prestigious junior sportscar series often provides the first step on the motorsport ladder for 14-17-year-olds who aspire to race professionally.
Alumni include reigning FIA Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris, Red Bull Racing F1 driver Issac Hadjar, newly confirmed Audi F1 Team Driver Development Programme member Freddie Slater, and Genesis WEC Hypercar test driver Jamie Chadwick, as well as several other British GT and BTCC champions and factory drivers.
For adult drivers, Ginetta developed the G56, which is produced and available to race in four formats. These start with the introductory GT Academy car before moving on to the more high-powered V8 GTP8 (Ginetta GT Championship). Further up the range is the successful GT4 car and a new GT2 challenger that is predominantly eligible for SRO’s GT2 European Series.
Here, the SRO GT Academy provides an additional pathway for young drivers to fast-track their careers.
Under SRO, Ginetta’s 2026 UK championships will benefit too from expanded broadcast reach as they’re added to the offerings on the organiser’s GT World YouTube channel, which joins the existing live GinettaTV coverage, while Juniors’ presence will extend to Sky Sports F1. This will collectively generate a multi-million digital platform audience for Ginetta’s championships.
Ginetta’s technical controls will also be integrated within the existing SRO structure.
Some additional refinements are being introduced for 2026. Among them is the introduction of a combined track, multi-class format for GT Academy and the Ginetta GT Championship. Each will continue to operate independently with separate classifications, titles and awards, albeit whilst sharing track time. This structure reflects the wider sportscar racing environment and provides drivers with. valuable multi-class racecraft experience, while preserving the integrity and competitiveness of both championships. The previously provisional calendar is now complete.
Ginetta switched their one-make series from the BTCC package to SRO’s British GT Championship meetings with effect from the 2023 season – Ginetta Series Manager Kelly Robertson will continue in post, albeit now under contract to SRO.
2026 Ginetta UK championships calendar
March 31 – British GT x Ginetta Media Day – Silverstone GP
April 11/12 – Donington Park GP (Juniors only)
April 25/26 – Silverstone GP
May 23 & 25 – Oulton Park
June 27/28 – Croft (Ginetta Festival)
July 11/12 – Zandvoort (Juniors only)
August 15/16 – Snetterton 300
September 5/6 – Donington Park
September 26/27 – Brands Hatch GP
Mike Simpson, CEO of Ginetta: “This is a defining moment not just for Ginetta but for GT racing as a whole. For 20 years we’ve built championships that develop drivers properly, not just technically, but professionally. SRO operationally controlling and integrating the championships into their successful business model will provide Ginetta with the pathway for global scale and supply within the world’s most respected GT racing structure. It’s the right move for the sport, our customers and our future.”
Lawrence Tomlinson, Ginetta owner: “Ginetta has always been about opportunity and opening doors into motorsport so that talent has a real platform from which to grow. SRO’s belief in what we’ve built is hugely significant. This partnership creates a clear, credible pathway from a driver’s first race to the highest levels of GT competition, while strengthening Ginetta’s position as a manufacturer of world-class race cars. It’s a powerful alignment of vision that I hope can be mirrored to grow and support motor racing globally. We are incredibly proud of championships and cars we have created and I can’t wait to align our work with SRO to generate more opportunity.”
Stéphane Ratel, SRO Motorsports Group Founder and CEO: “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of two companies that have operated in parallel but also to each other’s mutual benefit for 20 years. GT4 might not exist without Ginetta’s early and steadfast belief in a once unfashionable concept that transformed GT racing’s global environment, while its national championships provide the essential lower rungs of a ladder climbed by countless amateur and aspiring professional drivers. Overseeing more of this pathway from inside SRO will further benefit those yet to embark on the same journey towards GT racing’s summit, and secure the futures of essential British GT support series.”
