Will Hunt got his first taste of a GT car during an exclusive Ginetta GT Academy test day at Snetterton (Thursday 24 September).
The Sussex racing driver, a race winner in the Radical SR1 Cup, is looking to the next step of his fledgling racing career, and was one of a select few drivers to be invited by Ginetta Sportscars to a Ginetta GT Academy taster day.
The Ginetta GT Academy car is derived from the ultra-successful G55 GT4, which is raced in the British Touring Car Championship-supporting Ginetta GT4 Supercup, and has won championship titles in many of the world’s most prestigious sportscar categories, including British GT.
During three 20-minute stints and approximately 30 laps of the 2.99-mile Snetterton ‘300’ circuit, Hunt got a handle on the 3.7 litre GT car, adapting his driving style to the extra power and weight and acclimatising to driving a closed cockpit ‘tin-top’.
The Motorsport UK Academy Squad recruit felt comfortable in his new surroundings from the outset of the test day, as he was quickly on the pace, and although he drove conservatively, keeping well within the car’s limits, he concluded his run-plan with confidence, certain that his future lies in GT racing.
“I got to grips with the Ginetta GT Academy car really quickly and the experience has confirmed that GT racing is the right direction for me in my career,” said Hunt. “It was a nice place to be, and although the Ginetta G55 GTA felt quite similar to my Radical SR1 in some ways, I did have to get my head around how to use the extra weight to rotate the car through the corners. That came quickly and I now have a good understanding of what GT cars are like.
“My driver coach was happy with what he saw, and while I had to leave time on the table and not push the limits, my pace was good. Something that inspires confidence is my strength and stamina over the course of a stint, as it shows that my training programme with Tom Archer of Performance Elite, which is tailored to GT racing, is working really well. The whole experience has definitely whet my appetite.”