Updated - FIA WEC: Ginetta are going to miss Silverstone...

Following the poor performance of the Mechachrome engine in the Ginetta LMP1 car, the team have changed engine supplier mid season t0 the AER "Project 60B" engine ahead of the Silverstone Round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

PRESS STATEMENT FOR GINETTA

Due to circumstances outside of Ginetta’s control, the G60-LT-P1 car will not be racing at the Silverstone round of the FIA WEC on 18 / 19 August.

Ginetta is hugely disappointed by this outcome, as the manufacturer had ensured everything was in place to deliver a competitive car ready for the manufacturer and team’s ‘home’ race. This included a change of engine in order to provide the additional power that was missing on the G60-LT-P1’s competitive debut at Le Mans.

A new manufacturer had been sourced, with the Ginetta Technical Team electing to switch to a AER P60B twin turbo V6 engine when existing engine supplier, Mecachrome, confirmed they could not make the necessary changes.

Sadly, despite Ginetta’s best efforts, it now appears that the cars will not race.

Sporting director Graeme Lowdon told Autosport: "We know we need to improve our pace and our reliability, but it does look like we've got a solid building block.

"It appears we've got a good platform for development.

"The drivers all say it is extremely stable in the high-speed corners."

Designed specifically for the fuel flow limited ACO WEC LMP1 class, the P60B is a state-of-art bespoke design featuring gear driven valve train, barrel throttle drive-by-wire and advanced GDI combustion system. Made of all aluminium construction, P60B can be a fully stressed member of the chassis in both LMP1 sports car installations and single seater applications.

It has not been the best of starts to the season for the Ginetta Team, but heres hoping the Yorkshire team will push on and come back fighting in the remainder of the Super Season.

UPDATE

Mecachrome Motorsport response the GInetta LMP1 announcement.

Following surprising comments made public on Friday by Ginetta Cars and the Manor team in the press, Mecachrome Motorsport would like to respond to these remarks.

At the beginning of the LMP1 project, Mecachrome and Ginetta had an agreement for the supply of engines for the entire FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season, which included a planned continuous development of the powerplant.

From the beginning, Mecachrome requested a financial commitment as an assurance from Ginetta prior to the signature of any contracts, with the amount being deducted from the overall budget. This deposit would subsequently go towards the engine’s development.

The first specification would be utilised at the Prologue Test, Spa and Le Mans 24 Hours, allowing Mecachrome to gauge their performance level against its competitors. Following Le Mans, the programme would be reviewed, and a second variant of the engine would be potentially utilised post-Le Mans, before a third version on time for Le Mans 2019.

Commercial relations then began to become strained before Spa, where the full WEC Super Season contract with the Manor Team (two cars) through Ginetta, was still not signed. The management of Groupe Mecachrome were extremely concerned with financials risks and repercussions, despite initially making a significant investment.

The full statement can be found on their website HERE