Media Day marks the start of The 2014 Ginetta Race Season

Jack Rawles – Ginetta Media Day – Silverstone – Tuesday 11th March 2014

Tuesday 11th March 2014 marked the start of the 2014 Ginetta race season with the media day held at Silverstone. The media day is a time when motorsport journalists and photographers can get up close and personal with the series and the drivers in a more laid back atmosphere than you would find at a race weekend. Cars and drivers get an opportunity to get together again after the winter break and for the chance as well to participate in some all-important pre-season track time. It is also an opportunity for sponsors to network and use the platform for their promotional advantage. Ginetta are promising an exciting season ahead offering three championships, The Michelin GT4 Supercup rebranded, The Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge and the Ginetta Junior Championship, which of course are support races to The British Touring Car Championship. The media day is also is the time when the headline sponsors hand out their stickers which are essential to the cars 2014 livery, the new spec race suit is obtained and of course the all-important seasons race event passes. Please take a look at the Jack Rawles Racing 2014 Media Day Facebook Photo Album.

The Ginetta media day allows sponsors, journalists, photographers, drivers and their teams to network in a more formal setting than you will find on a race day

Nick Knowles, Tony Hirst and Dave Vitty were a few of the invited guests at the 2014 Ginetta Media Day

As luck has it after the dreadful wet weather the UK has suffered over the previous months, the Ginetta Media day was blessed with blue skies and a hint of warmth to the air. The pleasant weather helped Ginetta to use the media day for the press launch of the new Ginetta Racing Driver Club (GRDC) G40 Club Car. A few familiar faces and celebrities were treated to Ginetta hospitality and spent the day at Silverstone getting the chance to drive the new cars and have fun on the track. Everyone likes to go home with a bit of silverware and as the day was under track day rules, it meant that the VIPs were not allowed to be as competitive as they may have hoped. As lap timing was prohibited it was not possible  to determine who was the most skilled and the fastest out on track, therefor silverware had to be decided by a simulator shoot out and it was Carl Owen of Track Driver Magazine who brought home the trophy, followed closely by TJ Knowles, son of TV presenter Nick Knowles.

With the media day over, excitement is mounting as the first race weekend is now not far away, taking place on Saturday 29th-Sunday 30th March 2014 (Brands Hatch). The 2014 BTCC Race calendar is as follows, with live coverage on ITV 4 :-

2014 BTCC calendar:

Rnd  Date             Circuit

1.  29-30 March      Brands Hatch Indy

2.  19-20 April      Donington Park

3.  3-4 May          Thruxton

4.  7-8 June         Oulton Park

5.  28-29 June       Croft

6.  2-3 August       Snetterton

7.  23-24 August     Knockhill

8.  6-7 September    Rockingham

9.  27-28 September  Silverstone

10.  11-12 October    Brands Hatch Grand Prix

Ginetta rounded up the days event by making a short promo video – It marks the start of a new season and the potential for new champions to be born.