Dayton Coulthard steered clear of repeated incidents to claim his second victory of the 2026 GB4 season in Race 2 at Donington Park.
The Douglas Motorsport driver passed polesitter Demitri Nolan before Redgate and controlled two Safety Car restarts to secure his third career GB4 victory. Luke Hilton climbed from eighth to second, while Torrin Byrne surged from 17th to complete the podium.
Coulthard crossed the line 1.414s ahead of Hilton after 11 laps, with Byrne another 4.753s behind. The result gave Coulthard a third consecutive podium and strengthened his position in the championship fight.
Coulthard takes control before Redgate
Nolan started from pole alongside Coulthard, but the Douglas Motorsport driver made the stronger launch and moved ahead before the field reached Redgate.
Coulthard immediately began to establish control at the front. However, the action behind him quickly brought the race under neutral conditions.
Fred Green appeared to move early from 13th on the grid before his race ended at Goddards on the opening lap. Contact removed the Elite Motorsport driver from contention and prompted officials to deploy the first Safety Car.
Green’s retirement also carried championship consequences. The Race 1 points leader left the second contest without completing a lap, opening the door for several rivals to move ahead.
Coulthard controls first restart before further drama
Officials withdrew the Safety Car at the beginning of Lap 5, and Coulthard immediately created enough space to keep Nolan behind.
Further back, Thomas Ingram Hill had climbed from 11th to seventh before encountering trouble at McLeans. At the same time, Michael Koh suffered a puncture at Coppice while fighting among the podium contenders.
The incidents brought out another Safety Car and halted the action for a second time. Josh McLean also retired after completing four laps, joining Koh and Ingram Hill on the growing list of non-finishers.
Coulthard therefore needed to control another restart on Lap 8. Once again, he accelerated clear and denied the cars behind an opportunity to challenge into Redgate.
Nolan’s damage promotes Hilton into second
Nolan remained second after the restart but carried rear-wing damage following earlier contact.
The Hillspeed driver could not continue at the required pace and eventually returned to the pits, ending his challenge after eight laps. His retirement promoted Hilton into second.
The Race 1 winner had started eighth but avoided the incidents unfolding around him during the opening phase. Hilton rose to third during the Safety Car periods before Nolan’s retirement handed him another position.
Although Hilton closed sufficiently to remain within sight of Coulthard, he could not mount a sustained challenge for the lead. Nevertheless, second place completed a productive weekend opening for the Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing driver.
Hilton also recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 1m30.440s on Lap 9.
Byrne charges from 17th to breakthrough podium
While Coulthard controlled the front, Byrne produced the race’s most eye-catching recovery.
The Pace Performance driver gained eight places during the opening lap alone, moving from 17th to ninth before the first Safety Car. He then claimed another three positions on the first restart lap.
That progress placed Byrne in the middle of a fierce podium battle involving Jasser Iskander and Connor Willis. Iskander defended determinedly and initially prevented Byrne from taking the position.
However, Byrne maintained the pressure and eventually forced his way ahead at the Melbourne Hairpin. He then secured third and crossed the line 6.167s behind Coulthard.
The result gave Byrne a breakthrough GB4 podium after he gained 14 positions across the 20-minute contest.
Hallman error eliminates Iskander and O’Donnell
Iskander retained fourth immediately after Byrne passed him, but his defensive driving brought several cars into the same battle.
Enzo Hallman joined the group and attempted to make further progress during the penultimate lap. However, the Hillspeed driver misjudged his braking at the Melbourne Hairpin.
The resulting incident eliminated Iskander and John O’Donnell, while Willis also failed to complete the final two laps. Hallman continued and eventually finished 11th.
The collision transformed the order behind the podium and allowed several drivers who had started deep in the field to move into the leading positions.
O’Grady snatches championship lead with fourth
Alex O’Grady emerged from the late drama in fourth after starting 14th.
The KMR Sport driver gained 10 positions and finished 1.709s behind Byrne. More importantly, his recovery combined with Green’s opening-lap retirement allowed him to take the championship lead.
Matan Achituv followed O’Grady home in fifth after climbing seven places from 12th. The Elite Motorsport driver finished 3.244s behind the new championship leader.
Conor Grant completed the top six for Douglas Motorsport. The rookie started 18th and gained 12 positions, giving the team two cars inside the top six alongside winner Coulthard.
Del Grosso and Bocquet make major recoveries
Emilio Valentino Del Grosso delivered another substantial recovery for Elite Motorsport.
The Venezuelan started 22nd following a grid penalty but avoided the incidents and climbed 15 places to finish seventh. He crossed the line only 0.646s behind Grant.
Romuald Bocquet made the largest numerical gain of the race. The Scorpio Racing driver started 26th and last but climbed 18 positions to take eighth.
Franciszek Cegielski followed in ninth, finishing in the same position from which he started. Meanwhile, Archie Bullard secured his best result in single-seater racing by rising from 25th to 10th.
Jamie Leverton also made notable progress, moving from 21st to 12th. Archie Davies climbed nine positions to 15th, while Jordyn Martin dropped from third to 16th during a difficult contest.
Coulthard strengthens championship challenge
Coulthard completed the 11 laps in 20m36.968s and secured his second victory of the season.
The result continued a strong run that now includes three consecutive podiums. It also moved the Douglas Motorsport driver into fourth in the championship and halved his deficit to the lead compared with the beginning of the Donington Park weekend.
Hilton followed his Race 1 victory with second, while Byrne’s charge delivered an unexpected but deserved final place on the podium.
With Green failing to finish and O’Grady climbing to fourth, the second race also produced a significant change at the top of the championship before the final Donington Park contest.
2026 GB4 Donington Park Race 2 results
- #28 Dayton Coulthard — Douglas Motorsport — 11 laps, 20m36.968s
- #42 Luke Hilton — Nitrous Competition ADM Racing — +1.414s
- #18 Torrin Byrne — Pace Performance — +6.167s
- #3 Alex O’Grady — KMR Sport — +7.876s
- #77 Matan Achituv — Elite Motorsport — +11.120s
- #54 Conor Grant (R) — Douglas Motorsport — +12.221s
- #5 Emilio Valentino Del Grosso — Elite Motorsport — +12.867s
- #9 Romuald Bocquet — Scorpio Racing — +13.534s
- #11 Franciszek Cegielski (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +13.815s
- #48 Archie Bullard (R) — Fox Motorsport — +15.200s
- #7 Enzo Hallman — Hillspeed — +16.350s
- #4 Jamie Leverton (R) — Nitrous Competition ADM Racing — +16.658s
- #36 Enzo Rujugiro (R) — Fox Motorsport — +18.043s
- #35 Caitlyn McDaniel — Nitrous Competition ADM Racing — +18.497s
- #87 Archie Davies — Scorpio Racing — +18.762s
- #88 Jordyn Martin (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +19.228s
- #23 Holly Miall — KMR Sport — +19.820s
Not classified
DNF. #33 Jasser Iskander (R) — Fox Motorsport — 9 laps
DNF. #17 John O’Donnell — Pace Performance — 9 laps
DNF. #99 Connor Willis — Hillspeed — 9 laps
DNF. #95 Solenn Amrouche — Arden Motorsport — 8 laps
DNF. #6 Demitri Nolan — Hillspeed — 8 laps
DNF. #24 Michael Koh (R) — Arden Motorsport — 4 laps
DNF. #76 Joshua McLean — Pace Performance — 4 laps
DNF. #8 Thomas Ingram Hill — Fortec Motorsports — 4 laps
DNF. #51 Fred Green — Elite Motorsport — 0 laps
Fastest lap: Luke Hilton — 1m30.440s on Lap 9.
