GT racing driver Carl Garnett has enjoyed a perfect start to his 2026 race season, securing a superb class victory in the opening round of the Britcar Endurance Championship at Donington Park on Saturday (21 March).
Four months on from celebrating a memorable podium finish in the 2025 Britcar finale with Project 29:7 Racing, Garnett reunited with the emerging team for this season’s curtain-raiser. He would once again be behind the wheel of familiar machinery with their Ginetta G56 GTA.
The York-based racer, who previously amassed almost 50 podium finishes in one-make Ginetta championships, shared the car at Donington Park with teenage talent Finn Leslie. Together, they enjoyed a productive run in testing on Friday and went quickest in the competitive ‘Trophy’ class.
Leslie converted that pace into a brilliant pole position in qualifying on Saturday, lapping over half a second faster of their nearest class rival. That result put the Telescope and Clearsilver Brand Marketing-backed Ginetta 16th overall on the grid for the 90-minute race.
Three safety car periods dominated the first half of an action-packed encounter, but Leslie stayed out of trouble to maintain the class lead throughout. Positions shuffled around as various teams completed their pitstops, with Garnett taking over the #297 car with 40 minutes left on the clock.
Once all stops were completed, they resumed their position at the front of the class though. After a fourth and final safety car period, Garnett produced a brilliant final sprint to the finish to secure the class victory by almost 16 seconds and complete their charge forward from 16th on the grid to eighth overall.
Carl Garnett: “I had a fantastic time racing with Alex Miller, Paul O’Neill and the Project 29:7 Racing team last year, so it became a natural conversation to explore more opportunities with them this season and I’m delighted we could put a plan together.
“It was a really enjoyable weekend at Donington Park. There is a great camaraderie in the team and it was good to work with Finn for the first time and meet his family. He fitted in really well, was rapid in the car and helped me to make some improvements during testing.
“Finn did well in qualifying and then dealt with a strange first half of the race, only getting about four racing laps in due to safety cars. The team got the pitstops out the way at the right time and I was able to finish off the job in the final 40 minutes. To start with a win is brilliant and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
The next round of the 2026 Britcar Endurance Championship takes place on Saturday 25 April at Oulton Park. Garnett has some great commercial opportunities available for prospective partners to join him this season. Interested parties can get in touch via his website, www.carlgarnett.com.
Photos from James Roberts Photography.
