The inaugural GB4 Championship event delivered three different race winners at Snetterton, and while there were several obvious headlines from the event, here’s ten other things you may have missed from the opening weekend.
From a handful of kart races to GB4 race winner
Most young drivers graduate into single-seaters with a considerable karting career or a stint in championships like Ginetta Juniors under their belt. Not with Nikolas Taylor though, who entered GB4 with just around a dozen kart races to his name. Not that it mattered of course, as the British-Malaysian contender impressed with two pole positions (and the £250 prize money that came with it!), a dominant win in the inaugural race, and then two charges through the field that included his first ever overtakes in racing. Definitely a driver to watch during the rest of the season!
Marzorati doesn’t do dull…
Max Marzorati made his racing comeback at Snetterton, and despite a bit of rustiness, provided plenty of entertainment for the live TV cameras. In race one, he held off a last lap charge from KMR’s Jarrod Waberski to take fourth place by just a tenth of a second. In the next contest, the pair were at it again, but this time positions were reversed as Marzorati missed out on a podium by a tenth of a second. And in the final race, Marzorati completed a Hillspeed 1-2, but only just, as he finished ahead of Fortec’s Elias Adestam by, you guessed it, a tenth of a second!
First lap gains for Grant
Graham Brunton Racing’s Chloe Grant made her first single-seater racing appearance in the GB4 opener, and she impressed by gaining a combined total of six places on the opening laps of the first two races. In race one she went from 11th on the grid to eighth on the first tour, and she did exactly the same in the second contest, showing excellent judgment in the heat of the battle. As the 16-year-old gets closer to the pace, keep an eye out for her first lap heroics!
Jack Sherwood is GB4’s Mr Consistent
Elite Motorsport’s Jack Sherwood made a strong start to life in single-seaters at Snetterton by setting the fourth fastest time in qualifying. A stall on the grid in race one dropped him to the tail of the field, but he recovered well to take seventh place at the chequered flag, and then claimed seventh again in race two. He finished in the same position once more in the final race, making it a trio of sevens for the Ginetta Junior graduate. That sort of figure would result in a casino jackpot, but a gambling man would put money on Sherwood finishing higher up next time at Oulton Park, based on his overall pace last weekend.
Christian Lester made big improvements
For Christian Lester, the inaugural GB4 event was all about shaking off the cobwebs and making progress, and that’s exactly what he did, despite a stomach bug and a sprained arm. The 23-year-old had only competed in five car races before the weekend, with the last of those coming three years ago in Australian F4. But Lester got closer to the pace with every session, beating his qualifying lap time in every race, and finishing 20 seconds closer to the pack in the final contest. There’s still progress to be made, but if he continues at this rate, Lester will be in the thick of the fight before too long.
Mills is a first lap master
KMR’s Tom Mills was another driver to make a big impression with his first lap performances at Snetterton. The 16-year-old made up a combined total of eight places across the first laps of the three races, and was running in a podium position on each occasion. In race one, he jumped from fifth to second by the second corner, and very nearly challenged for the race lead. Next time around he went from fourth to second, and in race three he launched from sixth to third. Good luck to his fellow GB4 drivers when he starts on the front row!
Gilkes joins an esteemed list
Megan Gilkes was GB4’s first female race winner with her lights to flag triumph in Sunday afternoon’s finale. She became only the third woman to win a contemporary slicks and wings race in open competition in the UK over the past dozen years, following in the footsteps of Alice Powell, who won several races for Hillspeed in Formula Renault in 2010, and Jamie Chadwick, who was a British F3 winner at Brands Hatch in 2018. With so many female drivers on the grid in GB4, let’s hope the number of winners increases in 2022.
From South Africa to the podium in three days
KMR’s Jarrod Waberski was a late addition to the GB4 grid at Snetterton after securing a visa to compete in the UK. He arrived in the country on Wednesday, drove an F4-style car for the very first time in testing on Thursday, and amazingly, was the second fastest driver in testing come the end of Friday. That form carried over to the race weekend with the third fastest time in qualifying and a podium in race two, with his results across the rest of the weekend helping his team to the lead of the championship. With more preparation time, expect Waberski to play a starring role across the rest of the season.
Elite’s first single-seater race win
The Thetford-based Elite Motorsport team are no strangers to success. Having claimed multiple titles in Ginettas, Eddie Ives’ squad stepped up to single-seaters last year with a three-car effort in the GB3 Championship, and while they took podiums with Javier Sagrera and Tom Lebbon, a maiden win just eluded them. But it didn’t take long to fix that in GB4, with Alex Walker claiming the team’s first single-seater victory in race two. No doubt, that tally will rise in both GB3 and GB4 this year!
The Tatuus F4-T014 is quick
The opening round of the 2022 GB4 Championship confirmed what most already knew, that the Tatuus F4-T014 is the ultimate learning machine for drivers as young as 15. The inaugural GB4 event was the first time the F4-T014 had been raced in F4 specification in the UK, and the pole position time of 1m48.694s was over three seconds faster than the equivalent time in British F4 last year. It’s also a fraction quicker than the series’ new for 2022 car posted at the circuit in a recent test, proving that in GB4, drivers on a limited budget can still race at current F4 speeds in the UK for a fraction of the cost.
