Ginetta has confirmed it is to re-enter the LMP3 international sports prototype market, with it today unveiling a car to comply with the second-generation LMP3 regulations coming in for the 2020 season. Ginetta was a pioneer in the ACO’s new LMP3 category when it was introduced in 2015, as it was the first to back the category and went on to have much success in it with its Ginetta-Juno P3-15. Three different Ginettas shared all five LMP3 race wins in the 2015 European Le Mans Series, as Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy and co-driver Charlie Robertson took the title in a car run by Ginetta’s in-house Team LNT. Ginetta also won races in the Asian series and narrowly missed out on the Asian Le Mans Series title.
The British manufacturer then departed LMP3 following that ’15 season to concentrate on developing its G57 P2 prototype, though its LMP3 machine continued to compete in private hands. Some 150 of the cars were sold for national and international competition. And today at Le Mans, ahead of the latest running of the famous 24 Hour race, Ginetta revealed its all-new G61-LT-P3 LMP3 model with which it will re-enter LMP3 racing in 2020, with the car’s package priced at €239,000.
The car features traction control for the first time, an uprated 450 PS Nissan V8 engine and Xtrac transmission, LMP1-inspired aerodynamics, safety improvements as well as various detail changes to aid performance, taking advantage of new rules for 2020-’24 which allow the introduction of new bodywork kits. Ginetta’s new LMP3 car is eligible for a number of high-profile international race series next year including the European Le Mans Series, the Michelin Le Mans Cup and the Ultimate Cup Series, as a number of global categories adopt the new breed of LMP3 cars. Ginetta is the second LMP3 manufacturer to reveal an updated car, after Ligier’s JS P320, and is confident that it has produced another race winner.
It has been a busy day for Ginetta as it also has been confirmed today as on the LMP1 entry list for the forthcoming 2019/2020 World Endurance Championship, which starts with the Silverstone round in September. Two of its G60-LT-P1 LMP1 cars are therefore set to compete in WEC’s top category next season including for 2020 Le Mans overall victory. Ginetta says it has already received interest from customers for both prototype programs. Ginetta says also its LMP3 challenger for 2020 is a “re-imagining” of the original Ginetta LMP3, with lessons learned in the interim of LMP3 racing applied as well as those from the LMP1 program, as the two cars share the same design team.
“We are proud to have pioneered the LMP3 class, investing in the concept and showing that our first car was a world-beater,” said Ginetta chairman Lawrence Tomlinson. “Now we are back to show that the innovation that our first car displayed is still alive and well at Ginetta. The G61-LT-P3 chassis has been designed by our Ginetta LMP1 team with one goal in mind–winning races and championships for the next four years–we’re looking for teams with the same goal. We are confident that we have another winner on our hands and that the customers for the car will see immediate and lasting results.”
Images courtesy of Ginetta
