Months of build-up, speculation and anticipation finally came to an end last weekend as the inaugural round of the new-for-2022 GB4 Championship took place. MotorSport Vision’s newest category has been known about since September last year, when it was touted as being a cost-effective means of going racing in a slicks-and-wings machine.
The machine in question, the Tatuus F4-T014, was used previously in Germany and Italy, meaning there’s an abundance of cars – with MSV itself buying 17 in the off-season – and seemingly a plethora of teams attracted to the concept, with 13 registering formal interest in joining the championship.
All good in theory, but the biggest question during the off-season centred on just how many drivers would actually be drawn to the opening round. Predictions varied between team bosses and MSV chief executive Jonathan Palmer, but all were confident that it wouldn’t be in single figures.
REPORT: The best of the action from Snetterton last weekend
They were proven correct and 12 drivers from five teams lined up for the three races at Snetterton. That being said, only 11th-hour deals managed to get the grid into double digits, with South African Jarrod Waberski – who finished runner-up in his local F1600 championship last year – joining Kevin Mills Racing and ex-W Series driver Megan Gilkes and former GB3 runner Max Marzorati signing with Hillspeed days before the event.
The latter squad had never intended to race in the opener, with team boss Richard Ollerenshaw previously stating that it didn’t make financial sense to do the standalone meeting when the remaining seven rounds are alongside GB3, but said that MSV had “twisted our arm”.
“We had no intention of being here but we got a call from Giles [Butterfield, MSV’s group operations and engineering manager] Monday lunchtime asking if we could put some cars out,” Ollerenshaw says. “Apart from one car we ran at Donington Park, we’ve not done any work at all with the cars since they came back from Spain. Our intention was to start from Monday morning for Oulton Park. Jonathan and Giles just said look at if you can do it in order to support the championship.”
Despite the lack of preparation, the visit to Norfolk paid off as the squad recorded a 1-2 in the fully reversed-grid race, but Ollerenshaw has so far yet to confirm any drivers for the remaining rounds.
Palmer has admitted that he will be disappointed if grids don’t reach 15-plus cars by the end of the season
As for the other cars that competed last weekend, there are encouraging signs that the battle could rage all season for the title, and with it a not insignificant £50,000 prize on the line. Racing debutant Nikolas Taylor just had the edge in terms of speed on Alex Walker and Tom Mills, but lacked the racecraft of the ex-Formula Ford drivers and trails them in the points.
Throughout the field, the racing was clean, with only an incident between Jack Sherwood and Jessica Edgar in the final race meriting any intervention from the officials, and there were no caution periods – which, for a junior single-seater series, is no mean feat. The live TV coverage was a boost, as was being the focal point at the Classic Sports Car Club meeting. That won’t be the case moving forward as GB4 supports British GT at six of the remaining seven meetings.
“I think it’s a good start to what is a completely new championship and, in terms of people on the grid, I don’t think there is anybody here that actually would have been on a British F4 grid,” says Palmer. “It is as we always intended, it is a championship that’s aiming for those that just can’t get near a British Formula 4 grid, but want to develop their careers in single-seater racing.”
The point regarding a lack of budget is certainly true, with Taylor admitting that a part-season of British F4 at best was on the cards if not for the lower costs of GB4. It’s provided him and others with a genuine opportunity to get a foothold on the single-seater ladder, which is certainly no bad thing in principle.
But that ethos needs to be matched by increased participation levels as well as competitive racing. The Snetterton meeting provided a solid start to life for the GB4 Championship, but those at MSV cannot rest on their laurels if they want it to be a long-term success. This writer has no doubt that numbers will fluctuate during the year for a variety of reasons, but it’s imperative that, come the final round of the season in October, entries are consistently averaging more than 12.
Palmer has admitted that he will be disappointed if grids don’t reach 15-plus cars by the end of the season, and certainly anything less will raise serious question over whether there is sufficient appetite for an entry-level single-seater series of this nature in the UK.
The GB4 Championship is officially under way, but the remaining rounds will put to the test whether the series has a bright, long-term future.
