Ian Stinton and Mike Simpson will reunite aboard a Ginetta G55 GT3 to contest this year’s British GT Championship as part of a two-car factory-backed Tolman Motorsport entry.
The pair last raced together in 2011 following Ginetta’s move to the GT3 ranks and will do so again as part of Tolman’s tie-up with Team LNT, which is assisting the squad following its graduation from the GT4 class.
The news comes just over a month after Tolman revealed it would be stepping up to GT3 with its 2015 driver pairing David Pattison and Luke Davenport.
Stinton made an instant impression by finishing second in class during his British GT comeback at Donington Park last September, and believes the updated G55 has the potential to provide similar results.
“I am so pleased to be out in British GT again with Mike Simpson,” he said. “Due to the Balance of Performance levelling out performance of all the cars, I feel we have a great chance of being on the podium. After meeting Tolman, I’m convinced they are going to make the car very quick and, more importantly, very reliable. This year marks my 15th season in British GT and I believe I have the team-mate and team to put us on the podium!”
Ginetta factory driver Simpson, who gave the G55 GT3 its best result of 2015 with second at Oulton Park, is also excited about the prospect of teaming up with his former partner.
“I am delighted to be back for my third full season in British GT with my good friend Ian Stinton,” he said. “We helped to develop the GT3 car together back in the early days, and Ian has kept his hand in with the G55 since then. Tolman Motorsport have a great track record in Ginettas so it’s going to be an exciting year with them as our factory backed team.”
Team principal Chris Tolman added: “I am delighted to have Ian and Mike onboard for what is set to be a truly special year for us. The appointment of factory backing from Ginetta is quite a coup for a small team like mine! The pressure is now on for us to make all this work the best it possibly can! With the driver line-up we now have I’m sure we can look to some great results for all parties. David and Luke’s step up will be as big as last year’s in to GT4 but I have no doubt they will rise to it as we all did last season.”