Charlie Robertson has voiced his praise for Ginetta’s new LMP3 coupe after completing two days of testing at Paul Ricard.
The 18 year old will partner Sir Chris Hoy in this year’s European Le Mans Series, driving a Team LNT-entered Ginetta-Nissan.
Robertson was one of six LMP3 drivers to gain valuable track time at the official ELMS test sessions, recording a fastest lap of 2.01.683 on Monday.
“It was awesome to see the car for the first time and it worked straight out of the box which was incredible really – Mercedes F1 style almost!”, said Robertson, “It’s an amazing car to drive, it’s fast and being part of the first test for the first LMP3 car to ever turn a wheel is pretty special – a real honour for me. My next target is to be the first driver to win in LMP3 as well.”
The Ginetta-Nissan LMP3 is powered by a V6 engine producing 420bhp. In terms of pace, the car was able to reach speeds of around 170 mph on Paul Ricard’s Mistral Straight and was setting lap times akin to LMGTE machinery.
However, as Robertson points out, there is still a fair amount of work to do before the car makes its competitive debut at the 4 Hours of Silverstone on April 11.
“The test was more about development than anything, we didn’t want to take any risks and there are a lot of changes we’ll continue to work through”, he added. “The car has come from a computer screen and straight to the track, so for everything to have gone as well as it did really is unbelievable and a massive testament to everyone at Ginetta, Nissan and Team LNT.”
Attention now turns to the opening round of the ELMS season, with Robertson keen to make an impact on his home crowd as he embarks on his first international sportscar campaign. The 4 Hours of Silverstone will be broadcast live in the UK by Motors TV and BT Sport.
“Silverstone will be a big challenge but everything we’ve taken away from the Ricard test is very encouraging”, said Charlie, “We’re confident things should go well and hopefully this week’s test will work in our favour. It’s been fantastic to finally work at the track with Sir Chris, he’s a real legend and a great person to be around. I really think we’re going to be a great team this year.”
