Carl Garnett has made it five podium finishes for the 2023 Ginetta GT Championship season so far after securing a brilliant second place result during the bumper G Fest event at Silverstone (01-04 June).
An exciting new addition to the Ginetta calendar for 2023 as a celebration of 65 years of the British manufacturer, G Fest was an event unlike any other with four days of track time at Silverstone incorporating testing, three qualifying sessions and seven races.
Having raced on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit just last month during the British GT event, Garnett was right up to speed from the off on Thursday in his Breakell Racing prepared Ginetta G56 GTP, finishing fifth as part of a larger, more competitive grid for this event.
The first challenge on Friday morning was the rescheduled race from last month, initially cancelled due to heavy rainfall. From fifth on the grid, a characteristically fast start shot him up to third on the opening lap, though he’d eventually come home fourth after some close racing.
The York-based driver followed that up with two more strong performances on the 3.66-mile GP circuit, running fifth from start-to-finish in race two before battling a small issue with his car to secure another good haul of championship points with sixth in race three.
The track action would move to the shorter Silverstone National layout for the weekend and Garnett felt right at home on it, qualifying an impressive fourth fastest. He quickly converted that into third off the line, before producing a flawless performance to hold position through the race.
The Telescope, AC Database Services and Demon Tweeks backed driver saw his efforts rewarded further as an issue for the driver ahead promoted him to second for a brilliant fifth podium of the year – which came as part of a memorable one-two-three finish for the Breakell Racing team.
Garnett backed that up with sixth in the next outing after some thoroughly entertaining battles on track. Those results left him in high spirits heading into the last day of racing on Sunday, however unfortunately it proved to be a tougher day at the office as he emerged with sixth and ninth place results.
Carl Garnett:“It’s been a really enjoyable few days of racing at Silverstone. My hope for the event was to get on the podium and to finish every race; with the strength of the increased grid for this weekend I knew it was going to be tough, so I’m delighted I achieved that.
“There’s a great group of drivers on the grid this season, with close, respectful and clean racing. Some drivers are fast on some circuits, some on others, and it changes race to race depending on tyre strategies, the weather etc. It mixes it up and makes it really good fun out there, which is what it’s all about.
“Without a doubt it’s one of the most enjoyable weekends of racing I’ve had in my career so far. Breakell Racing did a brilliant job with a big six-car entry and kept my car running faultlessly, so to be part of a one-two-three finish and see them win all seven races was great and a deserved reward for their hard work.”
Following the marathon G Fest event, Garnett now has a weekend off before the Ginetta GT Championship is back in action again with three races at Snetterton in Norfolk (17/18 June) on the British GT Championship weekend.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.