GB4 race 1: Mills wins as Taylor strengthens title grip

GB4 race 1: Mills wins as Taylor strengthens title grip

15 October 2022

15 October 2022

Kevin Mills Racing's Tom Mills claimed his second win in four races in the opening race of the season at Donington Park, finishing ahead of championship leader Nikolas Taylor, who strengthened his grip on the title as a result.

Jarrod Waberski was third as Kevin Mills Racing took the lead of the teams' championship with newcomer Aqil Alibhai fourth on his debut for Scorpio.

Megan Gilkes was fifth for Hillspeed ahead of Elite's newcomer William Macintyre, while Max Marzorati moved up and down the order through various fortunes before settling for seventh and conceding more ground to Taylor.

Chloe Grant showed more strong form to lead home Graham Brunton Racing teammate Logan Hannah, with the pair finishing less than half a second apart, with Hillspeed's Oliver Clarke completing the top-10 despite a wild spin at Redgate late on in the race.

There was drama before the start, as on the first of two green flag laps, pole sitter Jack Sherwood slid off the road at Coppice and out of the gravel.

That forced a delayed start and a reduced race distance of 12 minutes, and when it did get going, de facto pole sitter Mills led the field away from Taylor, while Alibhai slipped into third.

Mills was able to build a lead of around a second over the opening laps, while Waberski found his way into third with a move on Alibhai on lap three.

Before this, Marzorati had climbed up to fifth, but was demoted by teammate Clarke.

While the gap narrowed at the front in the second half of the contest, Marzorati's fortunes took another turn as Clarke ran wide exiting Redgate and spun back across the track, forcing Marzorati and Macintyre into avoiding action.

While Marzorati recovered, he was passed by Macintyre, and demoted to seventh, handing Taylor a big advantage heading into tomorrow's final two races.

Taylor holds a 45-point lead heading into race two, with only Marzorati now mathematically in the hunt, despite positive results for the other contenders. The result is even more remarkable given Taylor suffered considerable damage to his car in qualifying. However, across the two races tomorrow, he now only needs to score 13 points to wrap up the inaugural title and claim the £50,000 prize. 

GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park race one provisional result:
1. Tom Mills, Kevin Mills Racing, 8 Laps
2. Nikolas Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, +0.445
3. Jarrod Waberski, Kevin Mills Racing, +0.873
4. Aqil Alibhai, Scorpio, +2.869
5. Megan Gilkes, Hillspeed, +4.762
6. William Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +7.011
7. Max Marzorati, Hillspeed, +9.434
8. Chloe Grant, Graham Brunton Racing, +11.613
9. Logan Hannah, Graham Brunton Racing, +12.105
10. Oliver Clarke, Hillspeed, +16.604
11. Christian Lester, Rosso Verde Racing, +20.817
12. Carl Bennett, Fortec Motorsport, +23.255
13. Jessica Edgar, Fortec Motorsport, +24.338
DNF Jack Sherwood, Elite Motorsport, 0 laps

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