GB4 newcomers Fox Motorsport hit the track for the first time in 2023 last week as they debuted the cars they will field in this year’s championship.
Single-seater newcomers Liam McNeilly and Sid Smith shook down their Tatuus F4-T014 cars at Bedford Autodrome under the watchful eyes of multiple championship-winning driver coaches Jamie Stanley and Ben Clucas.
For McNeilly, 16, who steps into single-seaters after finishing third in the Ginetta Junior Championship with Fox in 2022, it was his first time behind the wheel of the GB4 car he will race.
“It was a really good day,” he said. “Sid and I got used to the cars very well and we worked through everything on the job list. Despite it being damp all day, we managed a couple of good runs towards the end of the day and I’m sure we’ll be in a good place to get going with our first proper test at Silverstone on February 1.”
Smith, meanwhile, was having his first ever taste of a single-seater; a planned shakedown in December having been cancelled due to icy weather.
“The pure speed of the GB4 car was amazing,” said 16-year-old Smith; the 2022 BRSCC Fiesta Junior Champion. “It was an awesome day.”
“It’s so much faster than anything I’ve driven previously. It took a bit of time to get used to the amount of grip thanks to the aerodynamic package, but it’s very different to the cars I’ve driven before.”
Fox have acquired four Tatuus chassis with McNeilly and Smith the two drivers so far confirmed for what is planned to be a three-car team.
Their fathers Paul McNeilly and Rob Smith; both established winners in GT racing, drove the other two cars on the day at Bedford.
