Charlie Robertson – On Racing The New Ginetta G56 – And Looking For New Horizons

Charlie Robertson has been a familiar face in sportscar racing for quite some time.

Ginetta Junior Champion in 2012, Ginetta GT4 Supercup Champion in 2014 and, the following year, the inaugural ELMS LMP3 Champion alongside Sir Chris Hoy in the then brand new Team LNT Ginetta LMP3.

He’s had almost half a decade on the staff at Ginetta, as a race, test and development driver up to and including a seat in the Team LNT LMP1 effort, and in driver coaching hundreds of customers in Ginetta one-make, GT and LMP cars.

In 2021 he is a key part of the launch of yet another Ginetta, the GT4 version of the G56, successor to the hugely successful G55.

The car debuted at Brands Hatch last month at the first round of the 2021 British GT Championship, Robertson and team-mate Mark Sansom judging the event perfectly, Charlie leading the GT4 race comfortably until a late race tyre failure (sidewall fail) dropped the car back to fourth in class and second in the GT4 Pro-Am Cup at the flag.

None of that though should disguise a thoroughly impressive debut for the brand new car – yet another significant achievement for young Mr Robertson who is also looking for a route back into international racing, with the help of a significant new management team!

First up here though let’s focus on the new Ginetta – The DSC Ed caught up with Charlie for a deep dive into the story of the G56:

You must have done more laps in the G55 than more or less any other man alive?

“Yeah. And it may look fairly similar on the on the outside. But it’s completely different.

“Everything down to the steering wheel is different. It’s got a V8 engine in it now, a similar block to engine that was in the G58 (V8 uprated aero derivative of the original Ginetta LMP3) and it’s placed a little bit lower a little bit further back for weight distribution.

“It has an XTrac transaxle gearbox so that’s means the gearbox is now at the back, again something which was never the case in the G55 or the G50, before it was always placed in a tunnel. So that that brings the weight distribution even further to the rear, because we always used to struggle with the G55 pivoting forward when you when you brake, making the rear quite loose, so that completely gets rid of that.

“It has LMP3 uprights and brakes.

“It’s basically a completely different car underneath the skin – it may look fairly similar on the outside, but it’s completely different underneath.”

Does it feel anything like a G55?

“No, not really, and we’ve moved away from the set-up for the G55 through the development we’ve done with the new car. We’re finding a lot with it all the time.

“The positive from the old car was that it was always great in the corners – with the G56 we’ve changed the way the car produces a lap time because we found that the amateur drivers couldn’t extract that performance in the corners to the same level that a pro would.

“We needed to make it easier for them to get the time out of the car by giving it more speed in a straight line, which is what all the other manufacturers do.

“That’s why we were so strong at Brands just because Mark was able to exploit the way the car produces quicker and more consistent lap times.

“To drive the G55 quickly, you had to have it ‘dancing’ and a lot of guys without the experience wouldn’t be comfortable doing that.

“This new car, I keep describing it as a magic carpet. It has very smooth power delivery, in fact everything is very smooth.

“Mark, my teammate, has really, really settled in well with the car and that’s why we’re a competitive partnership at the moment.

So when did the development curve start with this car? When did you know there was going to be a new car?

“Only at the end of last year? So quite late on really.

“The G55 has had a pretty long lifespan and with rehomologation looming – something you’d have to talk to Ginetta about, a new car was a sensibly timed solution.”

When did you start on the programme for developing it?

“Well, it did a lot of track mileage when I was in Asia (with the Asian Le Mans Series and ARC Bratislava’s new Ginetta LMP3) so I didn’t do the initial running with the team.

“But as soon as I got out of hotel quarantine I started driving it.

“I did a couple of tests with Mark and the old car at the end of last year. Just to get him up to speed in GT4 pace.

“Around March it all really ramped up with a lot of test days. And that’s a really good thing about this season, the team has really been on it with a pre-season testing programme.

“That meant we turned up at Brands with seven-eight days under under our belts, proper days with the team there, all the mechanics – everything.

“And they were all structured days, which meant that we got the most out of them and really knew the car quite well by the time we actually got to the first round.”

Were you surprised to be that competitive so early on?

“I wasn’t surprised because I know how much effort has gone into the process behind making the car and into building the team.

“I really got to know the team last year and when they were thinking about doing it, I said, these are the people that we need to get involved.

“We’ve got Alan Mugglestone doing the engineering on the car, it’s a real step up for the team Assetto in terms of the level of racing, but I think they’ve got the right people in place.

“So no I wasn’t surprised when we turned up at Brands, looking the part, everything was run fantastically, I wasn’t surprised that the pace was good as well.”

My guess is once people see how competitive the car is, that will generate interest?

“I hope so. That’s the plan. There’s a quite a lot of interest in North America, from what I understand, there’s a couple of cars going out that way at the moment.

“So there’s already a lot of interest and a lot of buzz around the car. Having a factory driver driving, it is good for the results, as is having an Am driver like Mark, who’s really putting in the time.

“I think that’s what we’ve needed in a domestic series, someone like Mark who puts in the simulator hours, who puts in the test hours and trains in a professional way.

“You end up with a package that’s right out there. And all you need then is the car to be able to do the same.

You’ve been with Ginetta now for some time?

“Five and a half years working with them directly – but as a driver, from Juniors and beyond since 2011.”

You’ve had hands (and feet on) with a pretty extraordinary number of new projects, including as a factory race driver, test driver, development driver, driver coach?

“It’s been pretty amazing – more recently of course there’s been less racing, though there was a lot of that prior to COVID, but still with a lot of coaching and a huge amount of testing.

“It’s basically my job to to show the products, help build the customer base and do the best job I can.”

Now, we’re getting into a different phase of your career. You’re staying with Ginetta, but as a driver you now have new management (Guy Smith and Andy Meyrick) and looking for the opportunities for you to cast your net a bit wider and looking for more driving opportunities?

“That’s got to be the plan. I owe Ginetta a lot because without them, I wouldn’t have been able to show myself on the world stage in WEC, but it gives you a taste at that level. And I’m sure you know, from working in the WEC paddock for many years, it’s a pretty cool place to be.
And it’s a good place to prove yourself.”

“So after the pandemic and an obviously fairly quiet year last year until it burst into life towards the end of last year, WEC sort of dwindled to a halt for us at Ginetta which was a shame because the car, with that AER engine had a definite shot at some podiums.

“We had some really encouraging moments with fastest laps and front row starts.

“As a driver I was feeling like I was proving my stock at the moment – and then it just stopped.

“So that’s why I stopped and thought – I’ve met a lot of people on this journey up to up to LMP1, and there’s some people that know a lot about sustaining that journey, Guy being one of them. I spoke to Guy last year, and he said that he had plans to do management. That’s where it all sort of blossomed from really.

You’ve got all sorts of pluses. You’ve got experience in the areas we’ve just discussed, in testing and development, all of which is, for anybody with a new programme – hugely valuable.

You’re quick, no doubt about that, you’ve won races you’ve won championships internationally. The one thing against you is you’ve got a Gold ranking!

“It’s almost ironic isn’t it? It’s a bit of a poison chalice. A lot of drivers have opinions on the current grading system. It’s obviously a little bit of a hiccup at the moment becaue it counts out a lot of drives, and even a number of Series.

“Again, that’s why I’m talking to Guy and Andy to try to tap into any opportunities that arise as a gold driver.”

So here’s your chance – What is your ‘Elevator Pitch’ top sell yourself to a prospective team?

“I think coming from an endurance racing background is not something that a lot of teams have in WEC with a lot of single seater drivers now arriving.

“I switched to endurance racing at a very young age as well with LMP3 and GT racing so I’ve got five, six years of racing in four hour plus races.

“I’ve always been at the front end of any stints when I have been in the car. LMP1 I think people thought was maybe a step too far at the start. We had great drivers in that LMP1 car alongside us – including Ben Hanley, Guy and others and I think I really showed myself compared to those guys, and was faster than them at times.

“We had Egor Orudzhev, who started on the front row at Le mans, and I was consistently quicker than him in the Ginetta over the season.

“I’m not a household name yet, but I feel like I would always be a very fast and safe pair of hands, who’s got experience developing cars from the very start of the process all the way through to being at the front on race day.”

You’ve raced in GT cars, you’ve raced – and won Championships – in LMP cars. You’ve raced in pro teams, you’ve raced in pro am teams, you’ve worked with gentlemen drivers?

“Versatility is key isn’t it. And I think that’s where I would love to position myself. To be an asset to any manufacturer as a race driver, as a development driver, and as someone that can look after their customers too – that’s the ambition.

“That’s where I see my career. I’m still young, I’m only 24. It’s not like I’m desperately searching for something at the end of my career. I’ve got a lot of very relevant experience for the age that I am. I was racing prototypes (and winning) when I was 17 years old.

“I just feel like now is the time to make use of that and to capitalise on the momentum that we showed in the LMP1 season and try and use that as a springboard into something even more.”

Is it a slightly frustrating moment right now, where we all know what’s coming but the the seasons as they currently stand are shorter. The opportunities are fewer. It’s a game of musical chairs. How are you feeling at the moment about the way that things are going coming together?

“It’s a bit of a low at the moment isn’t it? There’s a lot of teams that don’t have the manufacturers on board yet. So they’re still operating as normal teams.

“I think once they, and once the manufacturers come in and support the classes more heavily, there’ll be a lot more opportunities for pro drivers.

“That’s the way I see it going. That’s what I envisage happening. Because at the moment all the teams have to both push for the future opportunities whilst maintaining busioness as usual in a very difficult marketplace.

“Motorsport is always a business. So if there’s manufacturer support, then the teams have more opportunities to be able to select their drivers, usually paid by the manufacturer. So I think that’s where we’ll see the endurance racing fraternity going in the future.”

Where would you like to be as a stepping stone? Where would you like to see yourself as a first step towards that ambition?

“I’d like to see myself back in back in the ELMS. Or even something over in IMSA, It’s going to be a huge time for American racing and convergence offers even more opportunities for a crossover.

“Guy has a lot of links with the US, and so does Andy – so it’s really just getting my feet in the water and proving myself over the next year or so, to put me in the right place.”