Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy winner Jason Smyth has been confirmed as the final driver in Douglas Motorsport’s line-up for the 2026 GB4 Championship.
The 19-year-old Irishman rose to acclaim in 2025, destroying the opposition in the United Formula Ford Championship, before storming to victories in the legendary end of year festival events.
Smyth won 10 of the 12 races in this year’s United Formula Ford series, which encompassed the Champion of Brands elements, and stood on the podium in every contest.
He also claimed nine pole positions and seven fastest laps, and finished 77 points clear of the opposition.
Then, at the iconic Formula Ford Festival at the end of October, Smyth qualified on pole and won his heat, before controlling the semi-final, leading every lap along the way. Starting from pole for the Grand Final, Smyth again led every lap to take the famous prize, over two seconds clear of the pack despite safety car periods, emulating his father Neville, who was also a Festival winner in 2010.
Just a week later, Smyth doubled up by winning the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone in hugely dramatic fashion. From 13th on the grid for the final, he blasted his way to victory in a thrilling contest.
Signs of Smyth’s potential were demonstrated in 2024, as he won the Northern Ireland Formula Ford Championship and was the winner of the Martin Donnelly Trophy in the same year. Now he joins GB4 race-winner Dayton Coulthard and fellow Irishman Conor Grant in Douglas Motorsport’s capacity line-up for the new GB4 campaign.
Jason Smyth: "I'm looking forward to the next step in my motorsport career and success in the coming year with Douglas Motorsport. I really can’t thank Douglas Motorsport enough for this opportunity in my first season in slicks and wings, I'm really looking forward to translating my dominance in Formula Ford into the GB4 series next year and just can’t wait to get going"
Douglas Motorsport Team Manager Gemma Stevenson: “We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to find a way for Jason to move up to GB4 with us in 2026. There’s no denying the speed and talent he has in a Formula Ford car, and he’s adapted well to slicks and wings in the limited testing he’s done so far with us. It’s going to be very exciting to see how he gets on next year.”
24 December 2025
