Haughton, who last month completed his maiden Nürburgring race campaign with a great performance in the 24 Hour race, was surprised and delighted to receive a phone call on Friday offering him the opportunity to get back on the Ginetta grid as part of the special G Fest event.

Snapping up the opportunity, Haughton would be reunited with Breakell Racing for a busy weekend of action, with two qualifying sessions and four races on the short Silverstone National circuit. Getting behind the wheel of his Ginetta G56 GTP for the first time in qualifying on Saturday morning, he impressed to qualifying seventh in a competitive field.

Knowing there was more pace to continued to learn the car more, Haughton got to grips with the car in race trim through the opening laps of race one before putting the hammer down and going on a charge. Utilising the knowledge gained competing on the Nürburgring to gain time and places while lapping the slower G40 GT5 cars, he impressively from seventh on the grid to third at the finish.

Haughton impressively capped off a stunning Breakell Racing podium lockout for race one, and went on to finish one place higher in race two. Once again pulling off some eye-catching overtaking moves as he climbed up the order, a late move on the championship leader netted him second.

A brilliant qualifying session on Sunday morning set the Stockport-based racer up for a fantastic Sunday. A stunning display in the opener saw him tucked under the rear wing of the race leader throughout as he finished second, a performance he was on course to perfectly replicate in race two before an unfortunate puncture ended his podium challenge.

Harley Haughton: “I’m really happy with how this weekend has gone. We found out we’d be racing at the last minute and it was certainly a steep learning curve, having never driven the car or anything like it prior to qualifying on Saturday morning.

“I kept improving every time I took to the track and enjoyed some great battles on Saturday as I fought through from seventh to the podium. Sunday was nose-to-tail all the way in race one, with neither of us making a single mistake, while I was ready to put in a challenge for the win in race two before the puncture stopped that.

“It’s been a really good weekend and a huge thank you to Ginetta and Breakell Racing for the opportunity. It was good fun being back in the Ginetta paddock again and catching up with a lot of familiar faces, while I loved doing some sprint racing again and showing that I’ve still got it in the close, action-packed races.”

Haughton is on the lookout for new partners to join him as he continues to progress in his motorsport career through the remainder 2023 and beyond. Interested parties can get in touch by emailing info@harleyhaughtonracing.co.uk. 

Photography credit to Frozenspeed

Content credit to Simon Pace at Next Level Motorsport.