Ginetta  Cars  unveiled  its  exciting  plans  to  launch  the  all-new  PlayStation®2  sponsored Ginetta GT Junior Championship, at this year’s Autosport Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

The highly acclaimed AVO Ginetta Championship, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in  2005,  has  built  a  strong  reputation  for  offering  the  everyday  motorsport  fan  with  an affordable  opportunity  to  compete  at  a  competitive  level,  racing  the  lively  Ginetta sports cars around the UK’s most prolific circuits. While the AVO Ginetta Championship is open to any driver with a National B licence, the 12 round PlayStation 2 Ginetta GT Junior series in 2005 will provide a welcome boost to the  stars  of  the  future,  open  to  drivers  born  between  2 October  1988  to  1  July  1990 (catering for 14, 15 & 16 year -olds).   Lawrence Tomlinson’s fantastic achievements in motorsport provide a perfect example of how a novice can profit from the Ginetta Championship. In 2002 he joined the series with no competition experience, 23 months later he finished 22nd in the Le Mans 24 hours!   16  year  old,  Ed  Morris  represents  another  success  story.  After  notching  up  a  6th  place finish  and  claiming  the  Novice  Award  at  Brands  Hatch,  one  of  the  countries  leading motorsport magazines identified him as ‘the find of the 2004 season’.

The  PlayStation  2  Ginetta  GT  Junior  series  will  be  governed  by  the  British  Automobile Racing  Club  (BARC).  The  Ginetta  car  uses  a  sealed  Ford  Zetec  SE  1.4-litre  engine developing 105 bhp, the gearbox and differential are controlled as are the Dunlop tyres, ensuring competitive racing at a sensible budget. Former   Le   Mans   winner   Andy   Wallace,   who   previously   won   a   round   of   Ginetta Championship at Silverstone explains,

“If you want be taught about racing it’s something that’s normally very expensive. Other championships will cost 10 or 20 times the money and here you’ve got a cost effective way to learn and enjoy racing.”

Thanks to the PlayStation 2 sponsorship of the Ginetta GT Junior series, many youngsters will  be  able  to  enjoy  competing  in  this  challenging  and  rewarding  debut  series.  As Ginetta  launches  the  junior  series,  Sony  Computer  Entertainment  prepares  to  launch    Gran Turismo®4, exclusively for the PlayStation 2, which will be available from 11 March 2005. Car fanatics will soon be able to select their drive from the mouth watering GT4 list, compiling of over 700 models including the Ginetta G4,  Aston Martin DB9 Coupe, Audi Le Mans Quattro, Ford GT, Mercedes SLR McLaren, plus many more classic and modern day favourites and race on over 50 tracks from around the world.

Commenting  on  the  PlayStation  2  sponsorship  deal  with  the  Ginetta  GT  Junior  series, David Wilson, head of communications for Sony Computer Entertainment said, “The series provides   PlayStation   2   with   a   fantastic   opportunity   to   increase   its   support   within motorsport at a grassroots level.  We see this as an important opportunity for British stars of the future to develop their driving skills and showcase their talent.”

The opening round of the PlayStation 2 GT Junior series will take place on 2 / 3 July 2005 at the Croix-en-Ternois circuit in France.