GT racing driver Carl Garnett marked his return to competition with a fantastic class podium finish in the final round of the 2025 Britcar Endurance Championship season at Brands Hatch on Saturday (08 November).
Getting back on track for the first time in over six months, having contested two rounds in the Ginetta GT Championship back in April, the York-based racer linked up with new team Project 29:7 Racing for his second-ever appearance in the Britcar Endurance Championship.
Garnett was invited by his friends Alex Miller and Paul O’Neill to be part of the first-ever race event for the Project 29:7 Racing squad. He would be in familiar surroundings behind the wheel of their Ginetta G56 GTA, having secured almost 50 podium finishes in one-make Ginetta championships.
Competing on the Brands Hatch Indy layout for the first time since 2021, Garnett and team-mate Darron Lewis got crucial mileage under their belt during testing and free practice. Garnett went on to battle the traffic as 33 cars lapped the short 1.21-mile circuit in qualifying, securing a strong seventh place result in the competitive ‘Trophy’ class.
Garnett started the opening 45-minute race behind the wheel and quickly gained a couple of positions in the early laps. Unfortunately, his race action would last less than ten minutes though, as a lengthy safety car period took them through to the mid-race mandatory pitstop.
A brilliant job in the pitlane from the Project 29:7 Racing team put the Telescope and Clearsilver Brand Marketing-backed Ginetta into the class lead. A great run from Lewis maintained their podium challenge and their efforts were rewarded with a superb third place result.
The second race of the day took place under the cover of darkness. After Lewis completed the opening stint, Garnett put in a great performance after the pitstop and was on course for another podium finish before a late technical issue out of the team’s control led to a fifth-place result at the finish.
Carl Garnett: “It’s been a great couple of days with Project 29:7 Racing. I was honoured that Alex and Paul invited me to be part of a momentous occasion for the team and having known them as friends for a number of years, it was great fun to go racing with them for the first time.
“The team did a brilliant job with the Ginetta and I’m delighted we could reward their efforts with a podium finish in their first-ever race. I enjoyed driving with Darron [Lewis] too and we worked really well together.
“I enjoyed being back on track and this was great experience for me in adapting to the challenges of multi-class racing. This event has made me even more determined to get a full race programme together for 2026.”
Garnett is exploring some exciting GT racing opportunities for a full-time return to competition in 2026, and has some great commercial opportunities available for prospective partners to join him. Interested parties can get in touch via the contact page.
Images from Steve Hindle.
