GT Goes Grass Roots: No Factory Race Team in 2024

News

by Hannah Dobson November 22, 2023 0

Confirming what has long been considered a firm rumour, GT has announced the termination of its Factory Race Team programme for 2024. GT has a long history with racing, and has had some great results over the last eight years with the GT Factory Racing Team. Enjoy this video looking back on the good times, before you get to the official PR. After all that, Singletrack Subscribers can read an additional Q&A we did with Clive Gosling, GT’s new Head of Marketing.

GT – Switching Gears for 2024 In MTB Racing

Few brands are born into racing, but when Gary Turner welded the first GT BMX frame in his SoCal garage for his son in 1972, that’s exactly how GT came to exist.

In the last fifty years, GT has raced everything and everywhere; from BMX to XC, Slalom to Downhill, Enduro to road. Heck, GT even created the ‘96 Atlanta Superbike project for the USA National Track team. On this journey, we’ve won Olympic medals, World titles, World Cups, National and European Championships all in a style unique to our brand.

For the last eight years, our GT Factory Racing Team (GTFR) has competed at the highest level in the UCI Downhill World Cup series and EDR races, with an extended family of riders including: Wyn Masters, Rachel Strait, Anneke Beerten, Martin Maes, Sam Dale, Brook McDonald, Jackson Frew, George Brannigan, Joey Foresta, Johannes ‘Denim Destroyer’ Vonklebelsberg, Noga Korem, Ethan Craik, Katy Winton, Jess Blewitt and Ryan ‘Pinky’ Pinkerton.

The team has achieved an incredible forty-one WC/EDR podiums, eleven WC/EDR wins, two World Cup overall titles and two World Championship podiums. We couldn’t be prouder of these talented athletes and to have the opportunity to support Wyn’s Privateer Project and our Junior Development teams, all helping the next generation to reach the top.

During this time, GTFR has been supported by some of the World’s leading brands, including Continental, Shimano, FSA, Fox Suspension, Alpinestars, Stans, Krush, Rimpact, EThirteen, Prologo, GoPro, ODI, Bell, Sombrio, FiveTen, WTB, Skullcandy, Schwalbe, Michelin and Vittoria

The GTFR team finished this season on a huge high as Ethan stood on his first World Cup podium in MSA and Pinky won the World Cup Junior title overall, but 2023 marks the last season of the current edition of the GTFR program. It may be the end of the chapter, but this is not the end of the story. For 2024, our race presence will come in the form of bolstering regional teams and grass roots programs – where future champions are born.

See you at the races in 2024 and beyond.

The Trail Rippers Nathan and Ruben, part of GT’s new grass roots focus. Credit: Nils Bussink

Bonus content for Singletrack Subscribers: Q&A with Clive Gosling, GT Head of Marketing

Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.Sorry, you can’t read this Q&A because it’s for Subscribers only. Join us today for bonus content, access to our magazine, and a range of Member Perks.

GT’s future looks more like this, at least for 2024 Credit: Nils Bussink

What will bike racing look like by the time the Trail Rippers are old enough to be Elite? Credit: Nils Bussink

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.