Ginetta G60-LT-P1
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Ginetta G60-LT-P1

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The Ginetta G60-LT-P1 is a non-hybrid Le Mans Prototype built for the LMP1 category. It was developed by Ginetta for competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car marked Ginetta's return to the top tier of endurance racing.

Ginetta announced a new LMP1 chassis on 4 January 2017, designed to meet the 2018 LMP1 non-hybrid regulations. Adrian Reynard and Paolo Catone designed the chassis. Initial development involved Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel testing at Williams Advanced Engineering using a 50% developmental scale model, with initial runs in June 2017. The car was launched at the Autosport International 2018 motorsport tradeshow and underwent its first straight-line test at Leeds East Airport on 19 January 2018. Prior to the 2018–19 FIA WEC Season, the car was also tested at Snetterton Circuit and Motorland Aragon.

Originally, the G60-LT-P1 was powered by a Mecachrome V634P1 engine. Following its debut at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ginetta announced it would part ways with Mecachrome due to the engine being underpowered and Mecachrome's refusal to increase power output. Ginetta opted to install the AER P60B engine, which was successfully test fired in the car in early August. For the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, both cars were powered by upgraded AER P60C engines, replacing the AER P60B engines. The G60-LT-P1 features a 2.4L twin-turbo V6 engine producing 712 bhp and 850 Nm of torque.

Initially, Ginetta announced the sale of three chassis to an unknown buyer in October 2017, though these plans fell through. Later, Manor Endurance Racing announced the purchase of one chassis, followed by a second car, to be run in collaboration with Talent Racing Sports under the CEFC TRSM banner. The cars' planned debut at the 2018 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was delayed as Ginetta refused to release them due to late payments from the team. The cars were lacking in pace during the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day, partly because they were not in low-drag trim. They qualified last in the LMP1 class, with the #5 car behind four LMP2s.

At the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #6 car broke down after nine hours. The #5 car finished the race as the second-last classified finisher, but post-race penalties for drive time limits demoted it to the last classified finisher. Due to engine performance disputes and a late transition to AER power, the #6 car was unable to participate in the 6 Hours of Silverstone. Manor Endurance Racing subsequently distanced itself from the CEFC TRSM team. The #6 car was not included in the entry lists for the 6 Hours of Fuji or the 6 Hours of Shanghai. Ginetta planned to re-enter an AER-engined car at the 2019 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps but was unable to due to a disagreement over fines for the non-appearance of the CEFC TRSM entry. Ginetta chairman Lawrence Tomlinson also filed an entry for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it was rejected.

On 23 May 2019, Ginetta lodged two entries for the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship under the Team LNT banner, with the intention of finding a customer team. Tomlinson stated that if no customer was found, Team LNT would run at least one car for the full season. A test roster of drivers, including Guy Smith, Luca Ghiotto, Stéphane Sarrazin, Egor Orudzhev, Mathias Beche, Stéphane Richelmi, Mike Simpson, and Charlie Robertson, participated in the WEC Prologue test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Drivers gave positive feedback, with Orudzhev noting the car's potential to be competitive and Sarrazin convinced by its performance.

For the season-opening 4 Hours of Silverstone, Egor Orudzhev, Ben Hanley, and Charlie Robertson drove the #5 car, while Chris Dyson, Guy Smith, and Mike Simpson were initially announced for the #6 car. Oliver Jarvis later replaced Dyson due to a wrist injury. The #5 car finished fourth, which was recognized as a third-place result in the championship standings as the third-placed Rebellion R13 was ineligible for points. The #6 car finished 28th after multiple incidents, including shedding a wheel and colliding with an AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE.

For the 2019 6 Hours of Fuji, Luca Ghiotto made his sports car debut in the #5 Ginetta with Ben Hanley and Egor Orudzhev. Charlie Robertson moved to the #6 car with Mike Simpson and Guy Smith. The #6 finished ninth, and the #5 finished eleventh after a front-left brake issue. At the 2019 4 Hours of Shanghai, Jordan King replaced Ghiotto in the #5 car, while the #6 car retained its Fuji lineup. Chris Dyson skipped Shanghai due to business commitments.

At the 2019 8 Hours of Bahrain, King and Hanley continued in the #5 car, with Robertson replacing Orudzhev. Dyson joined the #6 car with Mike Simpson and Guy Smith. The team suffered a double retirement after the #5 car, starting on the front row, collided with the #1 Rebellion R13. Team LNT withdrew from the 2020 Lone Star Le Mans due to significant maintenance requirements on both cars and logistical challenges. Ginetta later trimmed its entry for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans to a single car. Both Team LNT Ginettas were absent from the entry list for the 2020 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Lawrence Tomlinson stated that the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and a backlog from the UK shutdown led to the withdrawal. On 21 July 2020, Ginetta announced it would wind down its LMP1 program with the factory Team LNT squad.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.

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