Almost 20 years since his last competitive outing, Ian Robinson will make a long-awaited return to motorsport this year after joining reigning champion team Total Control Racing in the ever popular Ginetta GT5 Challenge.
Robinson, who was part of the Renault UK Clio Cup grid back in 1995 when TCR team principal Lee Brookes won the drivers’ title in the one-make saloon car series, is elated to be back in action nearly two decades since his last race meeting.
Stepping away from motor racing in the mid-1990s due to a combination of financial pressures and expanding business interests, the Cambridge driver turned his full attention to setting-up IMC Group Ltd – a specialist in electronic and mechanical instrumentation for measurement and control.
Now, with IMC Group firmly established as a leader in its sector, 44-year-old Robinson makes a welcome return to competitive motorsport and will team-up at TCR with two of the most exciting young prospects in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, James Kellett and Callum Pointon.
“I wanted to get back to racing when time and finances allowed, so I’m delighted to be joining TCR for the Ginetta Challenge”, he commented, “I watched different championships last year, I looked at Ginetta and did a test day in the Ginetta Racing Drivers’ Club car and the GT5. I wasn’t allowed to race in the Drivers’ Club due to my experience, but I was sold on the GT5 straight away anyway.
“I got talking to Lee [Brookes], who I know from the past in Clios when we raced together – although he was much further up the grid than I was! I have always been really impressed with how Lee and TCR work, how organised they are and how thoroughly they prepare their cars, so it’s fantastic to be back and racing with the team this year.”
Robinson will be backed in his first season in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge by two brands which fall under the IMC Group umbrella – Horizon, a telemetry signal meter for satellite and cable television installations, and IceSpy, which provides wireless temperature monitoring solutions.
“It’s fantastic to have three drivers confirmed for the Challenge this year and great to be working with Ian during his first season back in racing”, said team principal Brookes, “It doesn’t feel like 20 years since we were both racing in the Clio Cup, that’s making me feel old! Seriously, though, while Ian has been on the sidelines a number of years, he’ll get back into the swing of things in no time.”
Oulton Park International Circuit in Cheshire will be the venue for the opening event of the 2015 Ginetta GT5 Challenge season over Easter weekend, 4th/5th/6th April.
