The second GB4 Championship season blasts into life at Oulton Park this weekend, with another gathering of young single-seater aces out to impress as they aim for careers in F1 and top-line motorsport.
The strong entry includes 15 drivers across nine teams, with graduates from karting, Ginetta Junior and international F4 categories.
Here’s who to watch when the season gets underway this weekend.
KMR Sport
Having claimed the Teams’ title in 2022, Kevin Mills’ squad has rebranded to KMR Sport in the build-up to the new season. The Gloucestershire squad were among the first to confirm drivers for the new season, but it’s a returning hero that will potentially be the driver to beat at the start of the season.
Jack Clifford (Australian) – racing in Europe for the first time, it’s been a big move for Clifford, who was a front-runner in Australian Formula Ford and karting over the past few years. The 17-year-old has been closely matched to teammate Jeremy Fairbairn in testing, with both getting ever closer to the pace.
Jeremy Fairbairn (American) – familiar with the team thanks to an appearance at last year’s Formula Ford Festival where he placed ninth, Fairbairn has slicks and wings experience thanks to campaigns in USA F4 and USF Juniors. Aged 18, he’s already sampled most of this year’s tracks in testing and has built his speed up well.
Tom Mills (British) – a late addition to the grid for Oulton Park, Mills returns to the GB4 grid and will be a likely victory contender. He ended last year with two wins in the final six races at Brands Hatch and Donington Park, and was fastest in all four sessions at the Donington Park media day a couple of weeks ago.
Fortec Motorsport
The Northamptonshire squad powered Nikolas Taylor to last year’s title, and will aim to do the same this year with a driver line-up boasting single-seater experience and rookie exuberance. Expect to see the familiar red and white cars at the sharp end of the grid once more as they look to defend the title.
Colin Queen (American) - a strong season in the National Formula Ford Championship last year saw him take the runner-up spot in the standings, with three wins. One of the top-three teenagers in the series, he then won the GB4 Shoot Out at Snetterton and the £20,000 prize, and opted to join Fortec soon after. A testing pace setter, and a clear contender for regular wins.
Ruhaan Alva (Indian) - one of India's brightest young motorsport prospects, 16-year-old Bangalore resident Alva makes his UK racing debut in GB4. A front-runner in major international karting series, he's also represented his country in the FIA Motorsport Games' F4 contests last year, and was also selected for trials with the Ferrari Driver Academy. Enjoyed his first GB4 test earlier this week, and will be one to keep an eye on.
Aditya Kulkarni (British) - a relative late starter in karting, the 15-year-old has wasted no time in showing his potential. He recently placed seventh in a bumper 73-driver entry in the Junior Rotax division of the British Karting Championship, and has also impressed in the Kartmasters Cup, Rotax Festival and enjoyed an 'O' Plate title success in junior TKM in 2021, while also taking TKM Festival honours. He makes his car racing debut this weekend.
Elite Motorsport
It was in GB4 where the Norfolk squad claimed their first single-seater victory in 2022, and they proved consistent front-runners throughout the season, first with Alex Walker and then with Jack Sherwood. It’s an all-new line-up for 2023, but one that should challenge at the front once more.
Harri Reynolds (British) – mirroring Sherwood by moving from Ginetta Juniors to single-seaters with the team, Reynolds should impress this year in his first single-seater season. Placing fourth overall, he took three race wins and nine additional podiums throughout the campaign and was sixth quickest in the GB4 media day test at Donington Park
Josh Irfan (British) – confirmed on the grid for Oulton Park, Irfan could also make appearances throughout the season at rounds that don’t clash with his F4 commitments. An impressive second quickest at media day, just three tenths of a second away from Mills, suggests the karting graduate has lots of promise to build on.
Graham Brunton Racing
The squad with the longest journeys to each round is back again in 2023, with aspirations of replicating last season’s race winning exploits. It’s a one car entry for now with an exciting Scottish karting prodigy.
Harry Burgoyne Jnr (British) – the youngest driver on the grid at just 15-years-old, Burgoyne has claimed multiple titles in British karting, and competed on the world scene. Honours include a double British Open Plate title and the LGM Series, while also finishing third in the CIK-FIA OKJ World Karting Championship in 2020. The move to GB4 marks his car racing debut.
Oldfield Motorsport
The Formula Ford squad enjoyed a successful debut GB4 weekend at Silverstone last year, taking a victory with Lucas Romanek at Silverstone. Confirmed to attend at least the first two rounds of this year’s championship, the Warwickshire team fields a car with pedigree, the chassis having won the 2021 Spanish F4 title.
Jason Conzo (American) – the 19-year-old has two seasons of experience in a Ford Spec Racer 3 car, and single-seater campaigns in a Formula Enterprise 2 machine, both in the USA. A multiple lap record holder, he took the FE2 title last year with 13 wins, and has plenty of karting experience too,
Evans GP
Having moved operations from Australia and Malaysia specifically for GB4 this year, it’s been a hectic winter for Josh Evans’ team, which has race-winning experience in Formula Regional Middle East in both 2021 and 2022. The move has involved the team starting almost from scratch again, but there appears to be plenty of pace to work with already.
Cooper Webster (Australian) – the 20-year-old trades massive V8-powered S5000 machinery for a nimble GB4 car, and is expected to be a front-runner having won races in his homeland. An impressive fifth quickest at the media day test on the team’s first experience of running the car, he backed up that pace at Snetterton last week with the third fastest time.
Thomas Lee (Taiwanese-American) – moving up from track days and a handful of GT races to a seat in GB4 will pose an interesting challenge for the inexperienced racer, who will experience the car for the first time in the build up to the Oulton Park weekend. Well connected to the team having sponsored them via his Oloi clothing brand in recent years, and also runs the online motoring blog DriveDOPE.
Fox Motorsport
Sports car aces Fox Motorsport make the move to single-seaters for the first time, and Paul McNeilly’s squad has wasted no time by accruing plenty of mileage up and down the country since collecting their ex-Van Amersfoort Racing cars before Christmas. Lap record-breaking pace at Silverstone suggests this team should take podiums and wins before too long.
Liam McNeilly (British) – eight wins and 24 podiums in two Ginetta Juniors seasons show that the 16-year-old could be a force to be reckoned with. Having set a time faster than any other recorded lap by a GB4 car in pre-season testing on the Silverstone GP circuit, things seem to be going very well ahead of his single-seater race debut.
Sid Smith (British) – the reigning Fiesta Junior champion moves to single-seater racing, and like McNeilly, has enjoyed plenty of seat time over the past three months. With father Rob being a class winner in the Le Mans 24 Hours, he also has plenty of family experience to fall back on, and has been getting ever closer to top spot in testing.
Dylan Hotchin Racing
GB4’s first fully-fledged privateer entry, Dylan Hotchin trades tin tops for a Tatuus F4-T014 car and is another single-seater debutant. Viewers certainly won’t miss Hotchin on track, with his bright pink livery, and while he didn’t run a transponder to record lap times, was said to be pleased with his pace at the Donington Park media day. The Lincolnshire resident is also engineering his car alongside a number of apprentices to run the car, with his father Richard heading the team.
