History

Our director Mike set up Mick Gardner Racing circa 1994. Their main plan was to compete in Formula Ford Zetec, due to Mike's extensive experience in Formula Fords, racing and building them with his late father from 17 years old - making a name for himself as a prolific young racer. In 1995, they won the Slick 50 Formula Ford chapionship. We have built cars for hundreds of podium winners through Great Britain and Europe. View our past builds here
  • Mick Gardner Racing's entries for the 1996 Formula Ford festival involved Andrew Schulz (Future GT and LMP3), Andrew Booth (Future NZ V8 Champion). Those drivers were up against serious talent, too, by the likes of Kristian Kolby (British F3) and Mark Webber (F1).
  • 1997 was Robin Liddell (American Le Mans runner up with Lola) and Derek Hayes (Macau F3).
  • 1998 saw Mark Fullalove (Future BTCC), Johan Fourie (SA Touring cars), Craig Murray (Seat Cupra Cup) and Ricardo Van Der Ende give Mick Gardner Racing their best season yet. In the opening British FF round at Thruxton, Murray took home the win infront of Derek Hayes and the young Jenson Button (Future F1 champ). In the Euro Championship, Murray took another win from Button at Le Casstelett and beat Dan Wheldon (INDY500 Champ) at Hockenheim.
  • In 1999, it was Alex Davidson (Future Porsche Endurance and Carrera cup works driver), Mark Fullalove and Tom Potter who drove for MGR, up against people like Kimi Raikkonen (F1 World Champ) and Michael Vergers (24hrLeMans)
  • 2000 was one of the final season of Formula Ford for MGR, with Stephen Colbert unfortunately coming off at Graham Hill in the FF Festival.
  • in 2006, Mike was back racing himself. In a Van Diemen RF90, he won races in the Scottish Formula Ford championship and had the lap record at Knockhill for a number of years. That same year he won the fastest lap in the WHT Final, and this sparked the idea of Gardner Team Motorsport, or GT Motorsport for short. 
  • 2009 saw Mike start his team with Isle Of Man TT rider Craig Currie, with them piloting idential RF90's, and gaining good results over the next few years, even winning the Champion of Brands.
  • 2013 saw Mike come 2nd in the Classic Formula Ford championship, due to missing the final round in his Van Diemen RF80. He then made up for his absence, winning both the 2014 and 2015 championships in a dominant fashion, claiming 14/16 wins in 2015. The 2014 Crossle 30F car was sold to Gislain Genecand, where it won the Historic French Title twice. Mike kept his 2015 Crossle 32F for 7 years, winning more and more races in BARC and James Beckett championships, but not competing on a full championship basis.
  • After a large, heartbreaking and avoidable incident at Cadwell Park with another driver, Mike took a step back from racing and running the team after breaking all tendons in his shoulder. In 2023, he made a full return to running the team, having unfortunate luck with reliability at Snetterton and Silverstone but winning once at Donington. 
  • In 2025, Mike will be running the GT Motorsports team across the UK with himself (Van Diemen RF78), Gislain Genecand (Crossle 16F) and Craig Currie (Crossle 30F) driving for him. 
Our Proud Achievements
  • Beating Jenson Button as a team in 2 1998 FF Slick 50 races.
  • Winning the 2nd Division Slick 50 Championship twice.
  • Mentoring drivers such as Van Der Ende's, Mark Fullalove, Craig Murray and Andrew Schulz.
  • Having track records for multiple tracks from cars that GT Motorsport have built.
  • Working in close collaboration with Scholar Engines to develop one of the best 1600 Motors out.
  • Winning 2 championships in 2014 and 2015 and close 2nds in 2013 and 2018. 
  • Winning at Donington in 2023 after a long period away from racing for Mike. 
  • Running our Van Diemen RF78 for Jan Magnussen at the Walter Hayes. 

Gallery - 1990s

Gallery - 2000 onwards

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