Fortec's Nikolas Taylor claimed the 2022 GB4 Championship
in his first season of racing, on the final day of the inaugural
season at Donington Park.
Needing to finish inside the top-eight in this morning's race two,
the Anglo-Malaysian driver did just that by finishing fourth after
a few ups and downs, and then sealed his title glory with a
thrilling rise up the order to third from 11th on the reverse grid
for race three, ending his season with another podium.
In all, Taylor won nine times this season, in addition to five
other podium finishes, and finished 49 points clear of today's
double race winner Jarrod Waberski, who took the runner-up spot in
the championship as a result.
Taylor wins £50,000 towards his next single-seater campaign as a
result of winning the championship, with the 17-year-old now eyeing
a step up to the GB3 Championship for 2023 as a result.
Race two
Starting from pole position in the second race of the weekend,
simply finishing the race would have been enough for Taylor, unless
Marzorati won.
Taylor led from pole but a sensational opening lap saw the lead
change on several occasions, with Waberski ultimately finding his
way into first place, a position he'd keep for the duration of the
contest.
Taylor meanwhile bounced up and down the order, running as low as
seventh at one point, then fought back up to sixth before
benefiting from a collision between Megan Gilkes and Tom Mills to
climb to fourth. A safety car period followed, and when the race
resumed, Waberski led home Elite Motorsport debutant William
Macintyre and Hillspeed's series newcomer Oliver Clarke, while
Taylor crossed the line fourth to take the title a race
early.
Elite's Jack Sherwood and Hillspeed's Marzorati completed the race
two top-six.
Race three
With Taylor crowned champion, the main talking point for the rest
of the day was the battle for second and third in the championship,
with Waberski now just four points behind Marzorati heading into
the contest.
Marzorati held the early advantage as he blasted into the lead
from fourth, but his big margin was wiped out when a safety car was
called for a turn one tangle. When racing resumed, Waberski passed
Jessica Edgar for second and then closed down on Marzorati, knowing
the championship runner-up spot was at stake.
The pair went wheel-to-wheel on lap five, with Waberski eventually
forcing his way through. As the South African gradually pulled
away, Marzorati was vulnerable to further attacks, and had been
demoted to fourth by lap 10 with Macintyre and Taylor moving past,
when his race took another turn for the worse. Teammate Megan
Gilkes collided with him at the Melbourne Hairpin, causing
considerable damage to the car's side pod.
While both cars were just about able to continue, Waberski's
victory handed him the runner-up spot in the championship, while
Kevin Mills Racing took full advantage of Hillspeed's misfortune to
claim the team's title too.
Inaugural GB4 champion Nikolas Taylor said: "It's
my first year of racing, and I already have a championship! It's
been amazing, the team has been incredible the whole season,
they've put up with my ups and downs, but they've given me a
cracking car and I've been able to really show my pace.
"The £50,000 prize is going to be a big help, and I reckon we can
look at GB3 now. I think it's the right way to go.
"I really wanted to increase my win tally to double digits, but it
wasn't meant to be. The DNFs we've had this year, I've been able to
learn from all of those and it will benefit my future career.
"I hope we can start doing some GB3 testing soon, but I'm also
going to be doing some driver coaching. If you coach some other
drivers, you learn a lot more yourself too. We'll see how it goes
over the next few months.
"I want to celebrate but I've got school tomorrow! But we'll find
a special way to celebrate with the team and the
family."
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC,
Donington Park race two top-six:
1. Jarrod Waberski, Kevin Mills Racing, 11 Laps
2. William Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +0.387
3. Oliver Clarke, Hillspeed, +0.981
4. Nikolas Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, +1.824
5. Jack Sherwood, Elite Motorsport, +2.926
6. Max Marzorati, Hillspeed, +3.348
Click here for full result
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park
race three top-six:
1. Jarrod Waberski, Kevin Mills Racing, 11 Laps
2. William Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +0.616
3. Nikolas Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, +5.287
4. Jack Sherwood, Elite Motorsport, +6.158
5. Tom Mills, Kevin Mills Racing, +7.808s
6. Aqil Alibhai, Scorpio, +7.995s
Click here for full result
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, final driver's
championship standings
1. Nikolas Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, 546pts
2. Jarrod Waberski, Kevin Mills Racing, 496pts
3. Max Marzorati, Hillspeed, 482pts
4. Tom Mills, Kevin Mills Racing, 435pts
5. Jack Sherwood, Elite Motorsport, 417pts
6. Megan Gilkes, Hillspeed, 375pts
Click here for full standings
16 October 2022
