Douglas Motorsport’s Conor Grant claimed his maiden GB4 pole position during Saturday morning’s qualifying session at Snetterton, narrowly beating teammate George Proudford-Nalder ahead of the inaugural 2026 GB4 Winter Series race. The Irishman produced a 1:49.604 on his penultimate lap to secure pole by just 0.020s.
However, Proudford-Nalder responded by topping the second-fastest lap classification, securing pole position for Saturday afternoon’s second race. The Douglas Motorsport teammates will therefore share the front row for both contests, albeit in reversed positions.
Elite Motorsport’s Jesse Phillips completed the top three in both classifications, while R Racing’s Chase Fernandez secured fourth ahead of John O’Donnell. The results set up an intriguing opening day as 19 drivers prepare to contest the first two races of the championship.
2026 GB4 Winter Series: Grant wins closely contested pole battle
Grant entered Saturday’s qualifying session as one of the leading contenders after finishing second in Thursday’s dry testing, just 0.286s behind Proudford-Nalder.
However, his teammate had dominated the preparation period, topping seven of the eight sessions across Thursday and Friday. Proudford-Nalder demonstrated impressive pace in both wet and dry conditions, establishing himself as the driver to beat.
Nevertheless, Grant immediately challenged his teammate during qualifying as the Douglas Motorsport pair exchanged fastest laps throughout the session.
With approximately two minutes remaining, Grant delivered a 1:49.604 on his penultimate lap, moving ahead of Proudford-Nalder by 0.020s.
The Australian could not respond with a faster time, leaving Grant to celebrate his first GB4 pole position. The result provides an encouraging start to the Winter Series for the Irishman, who secured two podium finishes during the regular 2026 championship.
Phillips secures third on single-seater debut
Phillips continued his encouraging preparations by securing third place for Elite Motorsport, recording a lap just 0.279s slower than Grant’s benchmark.
The British driver enters the Winter Series following a successful Ginetta Junior campaign, during which he secured fourth in the standings with nine podium finishes. Although Snetterton marks his first competitive GB4 appearance, he has already demonstrated promising pace.
Phillips finished second in Friday’s wet testing, emerging as Proudford-Nalder’s closest challenger after improving during the final session.
He carried that momentum into qualifying, securing a second-row start for the inaugural race and finishing comfortably ahead of the remaining Elite Motorsport drivers.
Furthermore, Phillips maintained third in the second-fastest lap classification, meaning he will occupy the same grid position for Race 2.
The result gives the 15-year-old an opportunity to challenge for a podium during his first GB4 race weekend.
Fernandez leads midfield as Elite Motorsport places three cars inside top six
Fernandez delivered an impressive performance on R Racing’s competitive GB4 debut, securing fourth place with a lap 0.608s behind Grant.
The British driver returns to single-seater competition after previous experience in British F4 and will begin the opening race alongside Phillips on the second row.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell finished fifth for Elite Motorsport, recording a time 0.744s away from pole. The American-Korean driver had previously topped Thursday’s second test session and remains among the most experienced competitors in the Winter Series.
His teammate Harrison Mackie completed the leading six, finishing 0.900s behind Grant. The Ginetta Junior runner-up was the final driver to qualify within one second of the pole time.
Consequently, Elite Motorsport secured three cars inside the top six, strengthening its prospects ahead of the opening race.
KMR Sport’s Lewis Goff followed in seventh, continuing his encouraging transition from Ginetta Juniors into single-seater machinery.
Leverton and Firhand complete top nine as Bullard takes tenth
Jamie Leverton secured eighth place for Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing, recording a lap 1.733s slower than Grant’s benchmark.
The Briton had endured a disrupted start to the weekend after illness prevented him from participating in Thursday’s opening two test sessions. Nevertheless, he recovered sufficiently to finish ninth in the combined Thursday classification before returning to competitive action.
Fortec Motorsport’s Qarrar Firhand followed in ninth, finishing 2.351s behind Grant. The Indonesian driver enters the event following his British F4 appearances earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, Fox Motorsport’s Archie Bullard completed the Race 1 top ten, narrowly beating Pace Performance’s William Rohan by 0.156s.
Robert Crawford finished 12th for Fox Motorsport, followed by KMR Sport’s Solenn Amrouche and Fox’s Jasser Iskander.
Further back, Gianna Pascoal secured 15th ahead of Toby Campbell, Max Yuill, Archie Pearce and Alexander De Benedittis, who completed the 19-driver classification.
Race 1 grid – Full qualifying results
- Conor Grant — Douglas Motorsport — 1:49.604
- George Proudford-Nalder — Douglas Motorsport — +0.020s
- Jesse Phillips — Elite Motorsport — +0.279s
- Chase Fernandez — R Racing — +0.608s
- John O’Donnell — Elite Motorsport — +0.744s
- Harrison Mackie — Elite Motorsport — +0.900s
- Lewis Goff — KMR Sport — +1.102s
- Jamie Leverton — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +1.733s
- Qarrar Firhand — Fortec Motorsport — +2.351s
- Archie Bullard — Fox Motorsport — +2.438s
- William Rohan — Pace Performance — +2.594s
- Rob Crawford — Fox Motorsport — +3.495s
- Solenn Amrouche — KMR Sport — +3.506s
- Jasser Iskander — Fox Motorsport — +3.737s
- Gianna Pascoal — Pace Performance — +3.922s
- Toby Campbell — KMR Sport — +4.211s
- Max Yuill — Fortec Motorsport — +4.391s
- Archie Pearce — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +4.402s
- Alexander De Benedittis — Pace Performance — +4.610s
2026 GB4 Winter Series: Proudford-Nalder secures Race 2 pole
Although Proudford-Nalder narrowly missed the outright qualifying benchmark, his second-fastest lap secured pole position for Race 2.
The Australian recorded a 1:49.652, placing him 0.267s ahead of Grant in the second-fastest classification.
His result continued the form that had made him the leading contender throughout pre-event testing. Furthermore, securing a front-row start for both races gives the three-time British F4 race winner two opportunities to challenge for victory.
Grant will start alongside him in second, with his second-best effort of 1:49.919 leaving him 0.267s behind.
Phillips retained third with a second-fastest lap of 1:50.044, placing him just 0.125s behind Grant.
Fernandez and O’Donnell also maintained their positions in fourth and fifth, followed by Mackie, Goff, Leverton and Firhand.
Consequently, the leading nine drivers will start both Saturday races in the same relative order, apart from the reversed positions of the Douglas Motorsport teammates.
Rohan gains position as midfield order changes for Race 2
Although the leading nine remained unchanged, several drivers gained positions through their second-fastest qualifying laps.
Rohan moved ahead of Bullard into tenth, reversing their positions from the opening race grid. The Pace Performance driver recorded a second-best effort 2.827s behind Proudford-Nalder, while Bullard followed in 11th.
Amrouche also gained a position, moving from 13th to 12th ahead of Crawford, who dropped one place.
Meanwhile, Yuill climbed from 17th to 14th, placing himself ahead of Campbell and Iskander. Pearce also improved one position to 17th.
Pascoal dropped from 15th to 18th, while De Benedittis remained 19th after setting the slowest second-best lap.
The changes underline the importance of producing two competitive laps during qualifying, particularly with the Winter Series removing the reverse-grid format used during the regular GB4 season.
Race 2 grid – Second-fastest qualifying results
- George Proudford-Nalder — Douglas Motorsport — 1:49.652
- Conor Grant — Douglas Motorsport — +0.267s
- Jesse Phillips — Elite Motorsport — +0.392s
- Chase Fernandez — R Racing — +0.760s
- John O’Donnell — Elite Motorsport — +0.824s
- Harrison Mackie — Elite Motorsport — +1.050s
- Lewis Goff — KMR Sport — +1.214s
- Jamie Leverton — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +2.004s
- Qarrar Firhand — Fortec Motorsport — +2.369s
- William Rohan — Pace Performance — +2.827s
- Archie Bullard — Fox Motorsport — +3.066s
- Solenn Amrouche — KMR Sport — +3.616s
- Rob Crawford — Fox Motorsport — +4.525s
- Max Yuill — Fortec Motorsport — +4.593s
- Toby Campbell — KMR Sport — +4.689s
- Jasser Iskander — Fox Motorsport — +5.020s
- Archie Pearce — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +5.119s
- Gianna Pascoal — Pace Performance — +5.276s
- Alexander De Benedittis — Pace Performance — +6.222s
Douglas Motorsport leads field into first Winter Series races
Grant and Proudford-Nalder have given Douglas Motorsport the strongest possible start to the inaugural GB4 Winter Series, securing both front-row positions for Saturday’s two races.
However, Phillips remains close behind after an impressive qualifying debut, while Fernandez and O’Donnell will also aim to challenge the leading pair.
The first race begins at 12:20 local time, with Grant starting from pole ahead of Proudford-Nalder. Their positions reverse for the second contest at 15:20.
Saturday’s two races will provide the first championship points before another qualifying session and two races on Sunday determine the inaugural GB4 Winter Series champion.
Fans can follow both races through the official GB4 Winter Series live timing and streaming platform.
