Waberski doubles up on Sunday
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
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
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
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, final team's championship standings
1. Kevin Mills Racing, 931pts
2. Hillspeed, 888pts
3. Fortec Motorsport, 882pts
4. Elite Motorsport, 732pts
5. Graham Brunton Racing, 498pts
6. Rossoverde Racing, 137pts
