► Month six with the Ginetta G40 GRDC
► This month we are leading the pack, literally
► It became BTCC safety car at Oulton Park
A spot of roof-mounted moonlighting for our Ginetta earlier this summer, as it became an official British Touring Car Championship safety car at Oulton Park. Every BTCC event includes a cast of support races, each with their own on-brand course car – a Clio for the Clio Cup, a 911 for the Porsche Carrera Cup and so on. The two Ginetta championships on the BTCC tour are no exception, hence a casting call for our G40. Numberplates off, orange roof lights on (nicely accessorised with the livery), Safety Car decals over the race numbers and hey presto, race car becomes safety car.
Apart from an excuse to blast the G40 to Cheshire and back, this little venture could answer a question I’ve pondered for some time. What does a safety car driver actually do all day? At each BTCC round that man is Scott Stringfellow, a former single-seater racer and a safety car pilot for 11 years. ‘I feel I’m a quicker driver now than I was when I was racing,’ he says. ‘Because I’ve got used to driving in really crap weather. Part of my job is to read the track, feel the grip, and advise race control if a corner’s dangerous so they can stop the race or put it back.’ He and co-driver Pete Harris (who operates the radio, acting as the go-between between Scott and race control) spend each race weekend leaping between four different course cars, under the cosh of ever-tightening TV coverage timings.
Our car’s job was to lead the Ginetta Supercup and Ginetta Juniors (G40s almost identical to ours, driven by ambitious, fearsomely quick 14 to 17 year-olds) to the grid ahead of each race, and stand by to be scrambled in the event of a serious accident. ‘There’s no way of predicting if we’ll be called out,’ says Scott. ‘Some weekends we’re out all the time, some hardly at all. But it’s rare we never get out all…’ True to form, in the final Ginetta Junior race of the day our G40 gets its moment of glory leading the pack after a hefty (happily non-injurous) car-barrier interfacing moment. The race finished under the safety car so, not for the first time this year, our G40 crossed the line first. I felt oddly proud.
Logbook: Ginetta G40 GRDC
Engine: 1800cc 16v, 135bhp @ 5000rpm, 110lb ft @ 4500rpm (est)
Gearbox: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Stats: 6.0sec 0-62mph, 130mph
Price: £39,960
As tested: £35,940
Miles this month: 318
Total miles: 4015
Our mpg: n/a
Official mpg: n/a
Fuel this month: £64.90
Extra costs: £0
From the driving seat
+ About as involving as driving gets
+ Surprisingly supple ride quality
– Tricky turning circle
– I still can’t get the safety car stickers off