American-Korean racer John O’Donnell will make his GB4 Championship debut with Pace Performance in the final round of the season at Donington Park this weekend (4/5 October).
John O’Donnell is a relative newcomer to racing, and did not grow up in karting. This year marks his first behind the wheel, and the 17-year-old has been competing in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series ahead of his GB4 debut.
Born in Korea, and hailing from Boston Massachusetts, but now living in Salt Lake City, Utah, O’Donnell’s racing journey began with an F4 testing programme in the USA.
Driving previous generation Formula 4 machinery, John has contested selected races at Sebring International Raceway, Virginia International Raceway and the New Jersey Motorsports Park, scoring second place finishes at the latter two venues.
Since then, he’s taken part in several GB4 test days with the Pace Performance team, including a full day at Donington Park, where he improved his pace by over three seconds, while also sampling wet weather running.
John O’Donnell: “I’m excited to be making my GB4 race debut this weekend. As a first-year racer with no karting background, this is a huge opportunity, and I'm grateful to the team at Pace Performance for the opportunity. My focus is on gaining experience and learning from the team. I can’t wait to get out on track."
Team Principal Sean Byrne: “We’re really looking forward to working with John this weekend at Donington Park. He’s got a lot of potential and we can’t wait to see what he can do in a pressure free weekend as it’s the last round this year, I’m fully confident he will show everyone why we are giving him this opportunity and let’s see how he gets on. We are confident in his abilities as he steps into one of our GB4 cars for the first time competitively after testing and competing in previous Formula 4 machinery in America.”
02 October 2025
