Jack Taylor drove a calm and collected race to claim his maiden GB4 Championship partnered by the BRDC victory at Silverstone this afternoon after leading every lap from pole position.
The Fortec Motorsport driver made a strong start following his pole position this morning, holding the lead into Copse as the field streamed into action for the first time. This came following a delayed start when Lily-May Watkins came to a halt on the green flag lap. But the pole-sitting Australian was unfazed, making a strong getaway.
Behind him, series debutant Arjen Kräling made a slower launch from the line in his Douglas Motorsport machine, immediately losing ground to the rapid Leon Wilson. From there, Wilson immediately set about place Taylor under pressure, but the leader was able to shake it off.
Thereafter, Taylor drove superbly to just keep the rest of the pack at arms’ length behind. As the race wore on it was Wilson who faced a greater threat, with Thomas Ingram-Hill shooting up from sixth to third on the opening lap before attacking for second. On the fourth lap, Ingram-Hill made his decisive move on the Infield loop on the full Grand Prix circuit to make it a Fortec Motorsport one-two.
Wilson attempted to fight back, but had to settle for third, eventually dropping several seconds behind the car ahead. With the leading duo driving home to a comfortable finish, Wilson came under late pressure from Alex Kattoulas who was just four tenths in arrears across the finish line.
Kraling’s impressive start to life in GB4 continued after his slower start. He dropped to fifth during the opening exchanges, but remained composed from there on in to secure a well earned top-five finish. This was despite coming under late scrutiny from Leandro Juncos who was just under three tenths behind across the line.
Isaac Phelps was seventh for Elite Motorsport, ahead of teammate Ary Bansal who entered the race as the main rival to Daniel Guinchard in the standings. With Guinchard starting from 17th, this represented an opportunity for ground to be gained, but the points leader charged almost immediately to 14th before picking up further places to take 11th at the finish. This meant that Guinchard limited his loss of advantage to a mere three points.
Behind Bansal, Dayton Coulthard drove to ninth after losing ground from fifth on the grid early on whilst Jason Pribyl completed the top-10.
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, provisional race one result:
1. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsport
2. Thomas Ingram Hill, Fortec Motorsport, +2.960s
3. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +6.239s
4. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, +7.639s
5. Arjen Kräling, Douglas Motorsport, +7.371s
6. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, +7.665s
7. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, +8.228ss
8. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +8.950s
9. Dayton Coulthard, Douglas Motorsport, +11.540s
10. Jason Pribyl, ASM, +12.339s
11. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, +12.722s
12. Enzo Hallman, Douglas Motorsport, +14.120s
13. Alex O’Grady, KMR Sport, +18.258s
14. Joshua McClean, Pace Performance, +20.803s
15. Ava Dobson, Arden Motorsport, +22.486s
16. Megan Bruce, KMR Sport, +24.119s
17. Luca Magnussen, Fortec Motorsport, +24.835s
18. Callum Baxter, Graham Brunton Racing, +25.251s
19. Mayer Deonarine, Graham Brunton Racing, +29.861s
20. Flame Airkkala, Pace Performance, +31.873s
21. Dudley Ruddock, Arden Motorsport, +32.294s
22. Holly Miall, Fox Motorsport, +34.904s
23. Stefen Bostandjiev, Pace Performance, +36.123s
24. Caitlyn McDaniel, Fox Motorsport, +47.991s
DNF. Lily-May Watkins, KMR Sport
