A growing grid of single-seater youngsters heads to Brands Hatch this weekend, where the big talking point is whether KMR Sport’s Tom Mills can claim the GB4 Championship title with a round to spare.
In his second campaign at this level, the 18-year-old from Gloucestershire has been mighty all season, with victories at every round and eight in total from the 14 contests held so far. It’s a relatively simple task too, as with a 98-point lead and 105 available at each weekend, he simply needs to outscore main rival Cooper Webster by seven points across this weekend’s three races to wrap up the title.
Form suggests he could well be in a position to do it too. His first ever GB4 win came at the venue a year ago, and he was fastest in one of last week’s test sessions, which Webster was not present at.
While Mills has become accustomed to winning in GB4, Webster has taken victories aplenty in recent weeks, in two championships across two hemispheres! His first two victories in GB4 at Snetterton a couple of months ago came at the only event where another driver has outscored Mills, and in the break since Silverstone, has claimed a double win in the S5000 series in his native Australia. It’s clear then, that the Evans GP contender won’t be going down without a fight.
While mathematically still in the title scrap, Fox Motorsport’s double race winner Liam McNeilly is honest about aiming for the runner-up spot instead. And if you’re looking for a form driver at Brands Hatch, this is the contender to consider. The 17-year-old Essex resident has three Ginetta Junior race wins at the circuit, has been fastest in GB4 test days in April and August and reckons home advantage could give him a real boost this weekend.
Fortec’s Colin Queen is next up, and a driver targeting a first GB4 victory having landed podium results at every meeting so far, with eight in total. Only five points behind McNeilly, he too was quick in testing last week.
Graham Brunton Racing’s Harry Burgoyne is making strides forward in his first campaign in single-seaters, while continuing to impress in karting. The 15-year-old’s resurgence has landed a best result of fourth so far, and that first podium looms.
Queen’s teammate Aditya Kulkarni has two podiums to his name courtesy of a third place at Donington Park and a runner-up spot at Silverstone, and like Burgoyne is making good progress in his first year out of karting.
KMR Sport’s Jack Clifford made a big breakthrough in pace at Silverstone, enjoying his best weekend yet with the fifth quickest time in qualifying and two top-six race results. He’s aiming for his first podium, and should achieve it if his improvements continue.
Fox Motorsport’s Sid Smith is another with podium aspirations, having won the Fiesta Junior Championship last season and also counts Brands Hatch as his home venue.
Elite Motorsport’s Josh Irfan makes a welcome return to the series this weekend, and will aim to add to the podium he scored at the first weekend of the season at Oulton Park. He has claimed a win in British F4 since.
Privateer Dylan Hotchin has the same points haul as Irfan, and has enjoyed some entertaining scraps with Evans GP’s Thomas Lee, who races a similarly distinctive-looking machine.
VRD Racing are set for their second weekend in the series, with Zack Ping, brother of GB3 race winner Noah back in action. He was quick too at last week’s test day, with the fourth quickest time and within half a second of the outright pace.
VRD intend to run a second car at the event, while Evans GP expands back to a three car line-up with the return of F4 contender Kai Daryanani.
Finally, Graham Brunton Racing expand their line-up with the addition of Abu Dhabi-based Scottish driver Sebastian Murray. Murray made his single-seater debut with top-10 finishes in in the UAE F4 Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix event last year, and went on to complete the full 15-race series in January and February, having shone in karting before that.
Three GB4 contests will provide plenty of excitement this weekend, with qualifying just after midday on Saturday determining the grids for races one and two. The first contest is scheduled for 17.00 on Saturday, before two further races on Sunday at 10.25 and 17.35, with the latter featuring a reverse grid.
All this weekend’s race action can be followed on the official championship website www.gb-4.net and on the MSV TV YouTube channel.
Brands Hatch GP entry list
#3 Jack Clifford, KMR Sport
#8 Kai Daryanani, Evans GP
#14 TBC, VRD Racing
#15 Aditya Kulkarni, Fortec Motorsport
#16 Josh Irfan, Elite Motorsport
#21 Tom Mills, KMR Sport
#37 Cooper Webster, Evans GP
#48 Liam McNeilly, Fox Motorsport
#50 Dylan Hotchin, Dylan Hotchin Racing
#56 Thomas Lee, Evans GP
#62 Colin Queen, Fortec Motorsport
#68 Harry Burgoyne Jnr, Graham Brunton Racing
#91 Sebastian Murray, Graham Brunton Racing
#97 Zack Ping, VRD Racing
#99 Sid Smith, Fox Motorsport