- Daventry team looking to start strongly in inaugural GB4 Championship.
- Rookies Taylor, Edgar and Adestam lead three-car assault in Norfolk.
- Three races broadcast live and free-to-air on YouTube.
Fortec Motorsport kicks off a new motorsport season this weekend at Snetterton (2/3 April) with a three-car assault for the opening meeting of the new-for-2022 GB4 Championship partnered by BRDC.
The Daventry-based outfit will add to its portfolio this season by joining the inaugural GB4 Championship grid alongside the team’s commitments in GB3, bringing a trio of youngsters along to lead the attack which begins in Norfolk at the 2.99-mile Snetterton 300 circuit.
The team arrived at the circuit on Thursday for the first of two days of testing, with young rookie Nikolas Taylor shining brightly on track ahead of his maiden weekend by topping the times on day one after an afternoon of mixed conditions.
British-Malaysian driver Taylor has been part of the Young Racing Driver Academy and will now get the chance to put that experience into practice after showing impressive pace in all conditions in the GB4 car during testing.
Jessica Edgar will take the wheel of the second of three Tatuus F4-T014 machines and also made further steps forward in testing, the 17-year-old from Cumbria embarking on her first full season in car racing after a successful karting career which included sealing the Rowrah Club Championship crown in 2017.
Completing the Fortec line-up will be super Swede Elias Adestam. The 16-year-old karting ace from Nacka near Stockholm made his single seater debut in 2020 with outings in the Formula Nordic category, before finishing third overall with two victories and an additional five visits to the podium last year. Thursday marked his first visit to Snetterton, and he spent the day finding improvements consistently to finish his pre-season runs in the thick of the frontrunning times.
Four test sessions remain on Friday before the main action gets underway on Saturday morning, with a short qualifying session to decide the grid at 10:25. The first of the weekend’s three 18-minute races take place later that afternoon at 14:50, while Sunday sees two more races taking place at 10:20 and 15:08 respectively.
The grids for races one and two are decided by first and second quickest laps from qualifying, with a complete reverse grid for the final outing of the weekend.
Fans will not miss a moment of the action once racing gets underway on Saturday afternoon, with race one and Sunday’s double header all streamed live on the GB4 website and its YouTube page. You can also follow Fortec Motorsport for social media updates from Snetterton.
Oliver Dutton, Team Manager said:
“It’s a new challenge for all of us when a brand new championship gets underway, but we’ve already got experience with the Tatuus chassis from racing in GB3 prior to this so we’re hoping to start strongly.
“It will of course be a learning experience for a lot of these young drivers, but they’ve already shown what they can do in testing and that should stand them in good stead for this weekend.
“A good start is what we all want. We’ll enter this weekend with optimism, and a solid start at Snetterton will help us kick on for the year.”
#8 Elias Adestam
“I am thrilled to be heading into my first season of racing outside Sweden, and thankful for the trust Fortec Motorsport has placed in me. Pre-season testing has gone well and I feel comfortable with both the team and the car. I am highly excited heading into the GB4 Championship and I look forward to working hard with the team to deliver the best possible results.”
#17 Jessica Edgar
“I’m looking forward to the season opener at Snetterton. I have progressed well in the pre-season testing that I have done with Fortec so far. The team have been extremely helpful to me in my transition from karting into cars and I am looking forward to this next step in my racing career.”
#66 Nikolas Taylor
“I’m really excited to see how it’s going to go. I don’t want to be too optimistic heading into the weekend, but my pace has looked good so I’ll be happy with finishing inside the top half. I don’t know what to expect from the races – in testing we’ve looked good and I’m really comfortable with the car.”
