Main Content
Ginetta G50 Races 2009
23-03-2009
.jpg)
Ginetta G50 Calendar 2009
|
Round
|
Date
|
Circuit
|
|
1
|
4-5 April
|
Brands Hatch Indy
|
|
2
|
25-26 April
|
Thruxton
|
|
3
|
16-17 May
|
Donnington Park
|
|
4
|
30-31 May
|
Oulton Park
|
|
5
|
13-14 June
|
Croft
|
|
6
|
1-2 August
|
Snetterton
|
|
7
|
15-16 August
|
Knockhill
|
|
8
|
29-30 August
|
Silverstone National
|
|
9
|
19-20 September
|
Rockingham
|
|
10
|
3-4 October
|
Brands Hatch GP
|
Tony Hughes, Managing Director of Hughes Safety Showers Ltd, is to compete again in the Ginetta G50 Cup. This season he has decided to compete in fewer races but have more practice for each round in an endeavour to be further up the field.
The table above highlights in green the rounds that he will be competing in, but he has the opportunity of entering more races in the latter half of the year depending on how things go.
Instead of winter testing, Tony decided to ship his car to the USA and compete at Sebring, Florida in a series of races organised by HSR. To find out more see links below;
http://www.hsrrace.com/HSR/HSRHome.nsf/weblinks/EJEN-7MYLAR?OpenDocument
www.sebringraceway.com
http://www.speedworksmotorsport.com/home/
For those who want know what it's like to race a Ginetta G50 at Sebring in Florida, here's Tony's onboard camera footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpwsFmRvM0Q&feature=channel
With the exception of a few aerodynamic and mechanical modifications for this seasons racing, the car is the same as last year in which Tony came 12th out of 33 in the championship and was one of the G50 Cup Team Champions with the Speedworks team. The main modification this year is the addition of a rear wing, designed to increase the car’s stability on high speed corners.
Also backing the team this season is Team Principal Christian Dick who came 3rd in the G50 Championship last year, followed by Mark Proctor - Ex British Touring Cars driver and Richard Sykes - Speedworks team driver.
May 31, 09 Oulton Park
Ginetta Crash at Oulton Park, see footage below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT6br6YIzX0&feature=channel_page
Monday June 8, 09 HUGHES TO LE MANS
Tony will be co-driver to Mark Butterworth in his 1953, 5400cc, Allard K3. Mark and Tony will be up against stiff competition in their class 1949-1953 cars, such as Jaguars, Aston Martins and Lotus and many more. There are 61 cars starting the 45 minute race, this is part of the build up to the 24 hour feature race.
Click below for further information.
http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/pages/accueil_gb.html/
Result
Tony Hughes and Mark Butterworth had a great result in Le Mans, finishing 48th out of 59 cars.
The final standings in the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup
|
Driver |
Total |
| 1 |
Nathan Freke |
856 |
| 2 |
Frank Wrathall |
731 |
| 3 |
Carl Breeze |
629 |
| 4 |
Fulvio Mussi |
502 |
| 5 |
Tom Sharp |
468 |
| 6 |
Christian Dick |
389 |
| 7 |
Chris Dittmann |
319 |
| 8 |
ColinWhite (C) |
287 |
| 9 |
Ben Hetherington |
281 |
| 10 |
Julien Draper |
280 |
| 11 |
Joachim Ritter |
273 |
| 12 |
Hampus Rydman |
211 |
| 13 |
Richard Sykes (C) |
190 |
| 14 |
Paul Sheard (C) |
157 |
| 15 |
Tony Hughes (C) |
116 |
| 16 |
Dan Welch |
96 |
| 17 |
Adam Morgan |
82 |
| 18 |
Mark Proctor (C) |
68 |
| 19 |
Rob Austin |
51 |
| 20 |
Ken Rattenbury (C) |
49 |
| 21 |
Diego Freitas |
48 |
| 22 |
Jodi Firth |
45 |
| 23 |
Tom Dunstan |
34 |
| 24 |
Kourosh Khani |
32 |
| 25 |
Stephen Tyldsley |
32 |
| 26 |
Ben Anderson |
31 |
| 27 |
Michele Tommasi |
31 |
| 28 |
Ben Jackson |
30 |
| 29 |
Henry Fletcher |
28 |
| 30 |
Dave Krayem (C) |
26 |
| 31 |
Rachel Green |
24 |
| 32 |
Charlie Butler-Henderson |
20 |
| 33 |
Michael Broadhurst |
20 |
| 34 |
Neil Houston (C) |
17 |
| 35 |
Ron Johnson (C) |
13 |
| 36 |
Emily Fletcher |
13 |
| 37 |
Jeff Davies (C) |
8 |
For more information on results click here
For racing footage see below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdphkUsPx1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUycL1_a3Nw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnWw2oXfFaU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-p3Cig2Xwo
From strength to strength
That was how Tony Hughes summed up his 2009 motor racing season.
After a modest but steady start in the Ginetta G50 championship driving for the Cheshire Speedworks Team, he started to see a steady improvement from race to race. The best result was a 6th place at the Speedway circuit at Rockingham where Tony/the Speedworks team also won the championship cup. The season wasn't without its disappointments and there were even a few near misses to keep the adrenalin pumping. Mechanical failure in two races stopped Tony crossing the finishing line as did another competitor in a third race who forced him off the track into a tyre wall. Skillful driving avoided serious trouble on several occasions, with the incident at Oulton Park undoubtedly the most spectacular. Fasten your seat belt and wait for the impact!
At the end of the season Tony claimed 4th place in the Chairman's Cup, 3rd in the team Championship and 15th in the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup. Not a bad for someone who's only been racing for three years.
Not one to take the easy option, Tony didn't just settle for excitement on the track at home. In March he took off to the USA to take part in the world famous Sebring Endurance Challenge in Florida. Together with co-driver Christian Dick he finished 2nd in his class against strong international competition. Tony's Ginetta G50 was specially prepared by Speedworks and, according to Tony: "The car was so reliable, it ran like a dream. In fact, after seven and a half hours of practice laps and intense racing it didn't require any attention, not even an oil top-up."
“It was a fantastic experience racing against so many top race cars including a Le Mans winner,” said Tony. “At our first attempt we were delighted to be on the winners podium finishing 2nd in our class. Out of a total field of 65 we finished 16th. We also took part in a night race which was a real test of nerves, hitting over 140mph on the straights. ”
Not content with making his mark in the states, Tony then ventured over to Le Mans in June for the 24 Hour support race, co-driving a 1953 K3 Allard, owned by friend Mark Butterworth. Struggling with a new engine, Mark nursed the car round its first lap in 55 minutes but amazingly still managed to qualify for by persevering and crossing the line. With the engine back to full strength Mark drove the first 3 laps of the race and then Tony finished off to take the chequered flag.
And for the grand finalé it was back across the Atlantic in November to race at Dayton, another of America's famous tracks. Tony and co-driver Christian Dick competed against a strong field including two other Ginetta G50s. Setting a modest target, they aimed to at least finish ahead of the other G50s. In fact, Christian Dick led the field for most of the first hour but running out of fuel he limped back to the pits for a refill and change of driver. Tony then had to catch up the field and in the final 30 minutes managed to overtake the two other Ginettas before crossing the line.
Even though the season finished, Tony's Ginetta still had one more appearance to make. This time it was at Oulton Park staring in a promotional video to promote the company's new HARD shelter. Channel Five's Fifth Gear programme presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson drove the car in a race against the clock. The challenge was to see if the shelter could be erected in less time than it takes to drive round the Cheshire circuit. She clocked a lap at just over 2 minutes. So, who won? You'll have to watch the video.