If the opening two events of the season are anything to go by, the Ginetta GT Academy is looking as competitive and unpredictable as ever before heading into the latest three races this weekend on the Oulton Park circuit.
Charlie Digby (MDD Racing) hit the ground running with a double victory on the opening weekend at Donington Park. A win in each of the first two rounds has put Jamie Caudle to the top of the standings. His E3 Sport team-mate James Nicholas also tasted victory at Silverstone last time out.
Consistency has been key for Caudle so far in his second GT Academy campaign. He’s been the only driver to finish every race inside the top three so far. Digby meanwhile marked his return to Ginetta racing. After a near seven-year absence, he claimed four consecutive podiums, before a DNF in the Silverstone closer.
Nicholas also has four class podium finishes under his belt. He will be one to watch as he returns to the scene of a stunning overall victory on his car-racing debut last year. Alex Deighton (Paradine by Xentek) is hot on the heels of the top three in the points too. He featured on the podium twice so far.
A number of drivers are ready to break onto the GTA class podium and pick up their first trophies. Louis Darling (MDD Racing) has impressed in his maiden season in Ginetta racing. 2024 podium finisher Peter Thompson (W2R) has featured in the top six already this year.
Paul Livesey (MDD Racing), Phil McGarty (Xentek Motorsport) and Lucie Hodgson (W2R) have all shown their pace with overall top ten results so far. This is a milestone that SVG Motorsport pair Gilbert Verdian and Chris Babington will be hoping to achieve this weekend.
The early points leader in the rookie class for car-racing newcomers is Sam Shrimpton (W2R). The latest winner of the PalmerSport Ginetta Race Scholarship, following in the footsteps of Nicholas, he has excelled with three class wins and a handful of overall top six finishes to date.
Shiv Sapra (Paradine by Xentek) has joined Shrimpton in featuring at the sharp end of the grid through the opening two events. This included qualifying fourth overall and securing a maiden class win at Donington Park. He has three rookie podium finishes under his belt so far.
Joe Edge (W2R) became the latest Ginetta class race-winner in the final round at Silverstone meanwhile. The team boss-turned-driver’s maiden rookie success came in a superb third overall. This was the highest race finish for any of the rookie contenders in 2025 so far.
The competitiveness of the rookie pack this year is highlighted by the fact all five contenders have picked up trophies already. Allan Wright took a double podium at Donington. His W2R team-mate Damien Duffy scored his breakthrough top three at Silverstone.
Follow the action across the weekend on social media, @GinettaCars.
Provisional Timetable:
Saturday 24 May: Qualifying 10:30; Race One 15:15
Monday 26 May: Race Two 10:00; Race Three 17:35
All three races from the Oulton circuit will be streamed live on Ginetta’s YouTube channel. Live timing and results will be available via TSL Timing.
