Richardson Racing has confirmed that Charlie Martin will join the team for the upcoming Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge season.

The Northamptonshire-based driver will be embarking on her first full season of circuit racing during the year ahead, and becomes the first GT5 driver to sign with the Corby-based team for 2018.

Charlie has previously made a name for herself competing in European hill climb events with a Formula Renault single-seater and a Norma M20FC prototype machine before taking the decision to switch to circuit competition last season.

Having contested the final three rounds of the Celtic Speed Scottish MINI Cooper Cup, Charlie then moved on to the annual Race of Remembrance event at the Anglesey circuit, where she was part of the PT Sportscars team that finished second in Class B.

From there, an impressive performance at the famous Le Mans circuit in France saw her end her season with third place in the final round of the Trophee Tourisme Endurance whilst sharing a Norma M20FC.

Having tested with the Richardson Racing team at Rockingham late last year, Charlie has now committed to the GT5 Challenge for the 2018 season and will shortly start a full pre-season testing programme ahead of the season opener at Oulton Park in late March.

Her new programme will see Charlie racing primarily on the British GT Championship support package, including at the famous Spa circuit in Belgium, with two events alongside the British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton and Knockhill.

“I made the decision half-way through last year that it was the right time for me to go circuit racing, and spent some time looking around at the best option for me,” she said. “The GT5 Challenge really stood out in terms of the quality of the grid, the close nature of the racing, and also because of the exposure that comes from racing on the British GT and BTCC packages.

“I already knew Richardson Racing’s driver coach Sam Maher-Loughnan and after he introduced me to the team, things just progressed from there. I had a test in the car to see what it was like and then we were able to do a deal for the season ahead.

“The team is a good fit for me as they are relatively local to where I am based and they have a very good set-up with access to a simulator and to a driver coach – and have been successful in a number of series’ in the past.

“I’m very excited about the season ahead, and whilst I don’t want to put myself under undue pressure and have to remain realistic, I’m hoping that I can quickly get up to speed in testing and then pick up some good results over the course of the year.”

Team boss Gwyn Richardson was quick to welcome Charlie into the team.

“It’s great news that Charlie has signed up with us for the new GT5 season,” he said. “She’s a very experienced competitor in several different fields and we are looking forward to helping her develop her circuit racing skills during the year ahead.

“With that support I’m confident that she’ll soon be delivering the results.”