Connor Willis has enjoyed a successful debut season in the GB4 Championship, taking his maiden victory in the reversed-grid race at Silverstone in August.
The Hillspeed driver is 12th in the drivers’ standings entering the penultimate round of the season at Donington Park, in what he describes as “a good year of learning, development and growth.”
The American finished all of his opening six GB4 races inside the top 10 but has suffered from an increase in misfortune since a difficult weekend at Donington in June.
“We were fighting for sixth or seventh in the championship before Donington, then we had two DNFs and that really hurt us,” said Willis. “Since then, we’ve been trying to fight back and regain our positions in the championship.”
Willis finished 13th in race one at the Leicestershire venue before retiring from the following two races, slipping from eighth in the standings to fall outside the top 10.
At Silverstone, Willis managed finishes of eighth and 11th in the ‘main’ races, before taking his maiden victory in the reversed-grid. Two further top-10 finishes followed at Snetterton, before a gutting retirement from the final race of the weekend, after being hit by a competitor while running in second.
The 19-year-old is confident of being able to recapture his form from the opening two rounds of the season when the GB4 Championship returns to Donington Park next weekend.
“We know what to do moving forward,” said Willis. “We’re just getting quicker and more experienced every weekend.”
With only trips to Donington and Brands Hatch remaining, Willis is hopeful for a strong end to the season, having placed inside the top 10 on all days of pre-season testing at the venues.
“We know we have some good pace at both Donington and Brands,” he said. “No matter where we go, we will be pushing as hard as we can to be in the fight.”
Donington Park is a circuit that Willis particularly enjoys in the Tatuus MSV GB4-025, specifically enjoying the fast left-right flick through the Esses chicane.
“The chicane is really fun,” he said. “Nowhere has the chicane like Donington and being precise over those kerbs, hitting them in the right area and missing the bumps, it’s really satisfying.
“It’s a unique track and the grid is always close, so it makes for good racing. It’s a good view when you see the planes fly over as well, it’s cool from a driver’s point of view.”
