Fortec Motorsport’s Linus Granfors has been crowned as GB4 Champion after taking podiums in all three races at the Brands Hatch season finale.
The 16-year-old Swede claimed the title after taking second place in the morning’s race two, and then delivered a drive truly worthy of a champion by going from 11th to third in the final contest of the year this afternoon.
In all, Granfors won six times in 2024, and stood on the podium on four further occasions, with an eventual championship-winning margin of 45-points over his nearest rivals. The new champion is now eyeing a graduation to GB3 next year, and receives a £50,000 career contribution prize from MotorSport Vision, which will be paid to the team he contracts with in the series next year.
A dramatic race three settled all remaining scores, with Elite Motorsport’s Alisha Palmowski stealing second place in the standings, just a point clear of KMR Sport’s Harry Burgoyne. In doing so, she cemented her position as this year’s lead female driver, and receives a €30,000 career contribution from MSV to put towards an F1 Academy drive in 2025, should she secure a seat in the series.
Race two
Granfors went into the penultimate contest knowing that if he finished inside the top-two, the championship was secured if Burgoyne failed to win.
While Burgoyne’s teammate Lucas Blakeley blasted into the lead on lap one, and romped into the distance to win by over seven seconds, Granfors withstood massive early pressure to claim the second place he needed.
With Palmowski taking third and Burgoyne fourth, Granfors therefore won the title with a race to spare.
Race three
With the championship settled, all eyes were on the contest for the runner-up spot, and in true GB4 style, it was a dramatic finale!
Graham Brunton Racing’s Callum Baxter led the first lap, but when he ran wide at the end of the first tour, Harrison moved by to claim the lead.
From there he established a clear margin over the squabbling pack behind, with frequent wheel-to-wheel drama ensuring the Tatuus F4-T014 chassis bowed out of the series in thrilling style, ahead of the introduction of the Tatuus MSV GB4-025 next year.
Needing to finish a few spaces ahead of Burgoyne to claim runner-up, Palmowski moved up quickly from sixth on the grid to run second, and then had to hold off pressure from behind as Granfors went from 11th to third, just ahead of Fox Motorsport’s Branden Templeton.
Burgoyne though hit cruel fate, as a damaged front wing before a safety car period resulted in a pit stop to make repairs. Doing that under safety car conditions saved him time, but he had to fight back and pulled off some exceptional moves, including a last lap pass on Leon Wilson, but ultimately fell just a point shy of Palmowski in the final standings after finishing seventh in the race.
Newly crowned champion Granfors said: “To get the podium in the reverse grid was a really good way to end the season. I started P11 and then I was just waiting for the drivers ahead to crash, they went three cars wide into the second corner and I knew that wasn’t going to work! Then the crash happened and I just went up the inside and was up to P5. I got past two cars and got on the podium.
“The whole family is here with us today, so we are going to celebrate tonight and then we will go back to Sweden and then just back to school and everything! I think we’re planning to do GB3 next year, but we don’t know yet, time will tell, but the prize money is going to help us.”
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Brands Hatch race two top-six result:
1. Lucas Blakeley, KMR Sport, 13 laps
2. Linus Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +7.727s
3. Alisha Palmowski, Elite Motorsport, +9.529s
4. Harry Burgoyne, KMR Sport, +11.216s
5. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +21.113s
6. Finn Harrison, Elite Motorsport, +21.730sClic
Brands Hatch race three top-six result:
1. Finn Harrison, Elite Motorsport, 10 laps
2. Alisha Palmowski, Elite Motorsport, +3.518s
3. Linus Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +3.775s
4. Branden Templeton, Fox Motorsport, +4.525s
5. Callum Baxter, Graham Brunton Racing, +7.006s
6. Chloe Grant, KMR Sport, +7.742s
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, final driver's standings after race 21 of 21:
1. Linus Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, 467pts
2. Alisha Palmowski, Elite Motorsport, 422pts
3. Harry Burgoyne, KMR Sport, 421pts
4. Branden Templeton, Fox Motorsport, 317pts
5. Lucas Blakeley, KMR Sport, 306pts
6. Finn Harrison, Elite Motorsport, 291pts
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, final team's standings after race 21 of 21:
1. KMR Sport, 935pts
2. Elite Motorsport, 718pts
3. Fortec Motorsports, 694pts
4. Fox Motorsport, 546pts
5. Graham Brunton Racing, 366pts
6. Arden Motorsport, 202pts
Image credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
