Fred Green strengthened his championship challenge with a crucial double pole during Saturday afternoon’s GB4 Qualifying session at Brands Hatch, putting the Elite Motorsport driver at the front for both main races of the 2026 season finale.
Green produced a 1m24.230s late in the 20-minute session to beat Fortec Motorsports’ Thomas Ingram Hill by 0.137s. Championship leader Alex O’Grady took third for KMR Sport, leaving Green two places ahead of his main title rival for Saturday afternoon’s opening race.
The same top three will start Race 2 after Green also led the second-fastest classification with a 1m24.246s. The result gives Green the strongest possible starting position as he attempts to overturn the 49-point deficit to O’Grady that he carried into the final weekend.
2026 GB4: Brands Hatch: Qualifying: Green delivers when it matters
Green entered Qualifying knowing that starting ahead of O’Grady would prove crucial to keeping pressure on the championship leader. O’Grady arrived at Brands Hatch on 373 points, with Green second on 324 after the Elite Motorsport driver reduced the championship gap during the previous round at Donington Park.
The pair initially appeared set to share the front row as the session developed, but Green found another level during the closing stages. With only a couple of minutes remaining, he produced a 1m24.230s to establish a benchmark that nobody could match.
Green’s performance continued the one-lap form that had already secured him the George Russell Pole Position Cup before the finale. He entered Brands Hatch with five poles from the opening six rounds and added two more starting positions at the front when the championship stakes reached their highest.
The result also represented a significant turnaround from Friday Testing at Brands Hatch. Green had placed third on the shorter Indy circuit, 0.195s behind Douglas Motorsport’s Conor Grant, before moving to the Grand Prix layout and taking control when competitive running began.
Green completed 14 laps during Qualifying and set his 1m24.230s benchmark on lap 12. His final margin over Ingram Hill stood at 0.137s, while only 0.302s separated Green from championship leader O’Grady in third.
Ingram Hill splits championship leaders
Ingram Hill produced one of his strongest Qualifying performances of the campaign to secure second for Fortec Motorsports. The Briton set a 1m24.367s and finished just 0.137s away from Green, giving himself a front-row start for Race 1.
His late improvement proved particularly significant for the championship fight because it pushed O’Grady down to third. Ingram Hill entered the weekend as one of five drivers still mathematically capable of taking the title and had already demonstrated his Brands Hatch GP pace by topping the official test earlier in September.
O’Grady ultimately recorded a 1m24.532s, leaving him 0.302s behind Green and 0.165s away from Ingram Hill. Although third keeps the KMR Sport driver close to his main rival, Green now has another car between himself and O’Grady at the start of Race 1.
The championship leader nevertheless remains in control of his own title prospects. O’Grady arrived at Brands Hatch with 373 points to Green’s 324 and therefore does not need to beat the Elite Motorsport driver in every remaining race, although Green’s double pole gives the challenger an opportunity to immediately reduce that advantage.
Hallman leads close fight behind top three
Enzo Hallman took fourth for Hillspeed after setting a 1m24.611s, leaving him just 0.079s behind O’Grady. The Swede entered the weekend fourth in the championship and still mathematically in contention, although he needed a substantial points swing to keep those hopes alive.
Pace Performance’s Torrin Byrne continued his strong Qualifying form with fifth. His 1m24.660s left him only 0.049s behind Hallman and extended his run of top-six starts during the second half of the campaign.
Dayton Coulthard completed the top six for Douglas Motorsport. The third-placed championship contender finished 0.564s away from pole and 0.134s behind Byrne, leaving him on the third row as he attempts to protect his position in the standings while retaining his own mathematical title chance.
Fortec’s Franciszek Cegielski led the rookies in seventh with a 1m24.889s. His result strengthened his position in the Rookie Championship battle, while Elite Motorsport’s Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso followed 0.126s behind in eighth.
Friday Testing pacesetter Conor Grant could not replicate his position at the top after the move from the Indy circuit to the Grand Prix layout. The Douglas Motorsport rookie qualified ninth, while Hillspeed’s Connor Willis completed a top 10 separated by 1.203s.
Track limits influence Brands Hatch Qualifying
Track limits also played a significant role throughout the session, with several drivers losing laps around the 2.433-mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Green himself had four lap times disallowed for exceeding track limits, more than any other driver among the leading runners. However, his 1m24.230s remained valid and comfortably secured pole.
Byrne lost three laps, while Del Grosso, Willis, John O’Donnell, Matan Achituv and Jordyn Martin each had two deleted. Hallman, Ingram Hill, Cegielski, Michael Koh and Faris Organji also lost individual laps during the session.
Despite those deletions, the front of the order remained relatively close. Only 0.659s separated Green from Cegielski in seventh, while Del Grosso and Grant also remained within a second of pole.
Race 1 grid – Full Qualifying results
- Fred Green — Elite Motorsport — 1m24.230s
- Thomas Ingram Hill — Fortec Motorsports — +0.137s
- Alex O’Grady — KMR Sport — +0.302s
- Enzo Hallman — Hillspeed — +0.381s
- Torrin Byrne — Pace Performance — +0.430s
- Dayton Coulthard — Douglas Motorsport — +0.564s
- Franciszek Cegielski (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +0.659s
- Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso — Elite Motorsport — +0.785s
- Conor Grant (R) — Douglas Motorsport — +0.835s
- Connor Willis — Hillspeed — +1.203s
- Matan Achituv — Elite Motorsport — +1.254s
- Michael Koh (R) — Arden Motorsport — +1.280s
- John O’Donnell — Pace Performance — +1.482s
- Jamie Leverton (R) — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +1.488s
- Solenn Amrouche — Arden Motorsport — +1.759s
- Demitri Nolan — Hillspeed — +1.801s
- Lily-May Watkins — KMR Sport — +1.827s
- Jordyn Martin (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +1.982s
- Holly Miall — KMR Sport — +2.072s
- Romuald Bocquet — Scorpio Motorsport — +2.092s
- Faris Organji — Scorpio Motorsport — +3.053s
- Caitlyn McDaniel — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +3.408s
- Enzo Rujugiro (R) — Fox Motorsport — +4.191s
- Josh McLean — Pace Performance — +6.532s
2026 GB4: Brands Hatch: Race 2 grid: Green completes double pole
Green’s advantage extended to the second-fastest classification, which determines the grid for Sunday’s Race 2. His second-best lap of 1m24.246s sat only 0.016s behind his outright pole time, underlining the consistency of his pace during the decisive stages of Qualifying.
Ingram Hill again emerged as his nearest challenger, although the gap increased to 0.223s. O’Grady remained third with his second-best effort 0.328s away from Green, meaning the same three drivers will occupy the first three positions for both of the weekend’s main races.
That repetition gives Green two opportunities to start ahead of O’Grady as he attempts to extend the championship battle. Ingram Hill will again separate the two title leaders and could have a considerable influence on how many points each scores.
Byrne improved one position relative to the Race 1 grid, moving onto the second row in fourth. His second-best lap finished 0.475s behind Green and just 0.005s ahead of Hallman, who dropped from fourth to fifth.
Coulthard remained sixth, while Grant climbed from ninth to seventh. The Douglas Motorsport rookie moved ahead of Cegielski and Del Grosso, with Koh completing the Race 2 top 10 for Arden Motorsport.
Willis dropped to 11th on second-fastest laps ahead of Achituv, O’Donnell and Leverton. Further back, McLean did not record a second representative time and therefore sits at the bottom of the provisional Race 2 classification.
Race 2 grid – Second-fastest Qualifying results
- Fred Green — Elite Motorsport — 1m24.246s
- Thomas Ingram Hill — Fortec Motorsports — +0.223s
- Alex O’Grady — KMR Sport — +0.328s
- Torrin Byrne — Pace Performance — +0.475s
- Enzo Hallman — Hillspeed — +0.480s
- Dayton Coulthard — Douglas Motorsport — +0.704s
- Conor Grant (R) — Douglas Motorsport — +0.852s
- Franciszek Cegielski (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +0.873s
- Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso — Elite Motorsport — +0.889s
- Michael Koh (R) — Arden Motorsport — +1.272s
- Connor Willis — Hillspeed — +1.481s
- Matan Achituv — Elite Motorsport — +1.492s
- John O’Donnell — Pace Performance — +1.497s
- Jamie Leverton (R) — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +1.503s
- Solenn Amrouche — Arden Motorsport — +1.889s
- Demitri Nolan — Hillspeed — +1.923s
- Jordyn Martin (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +1.979s
- Holly Miall — KMR Sport — +2.100s
- Romuald Bocquet — Scorpio Motorsport — +2.112s
- Lily-May Watkins — KMR Sport — +2.134s
- Faris Organji — Scorpio Motorsport — +3.417s
- Caitlyn McDaniel — Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +3.425s
- Enzo Rujugiro (R) — Fox Motorsport — +4.742s
- Josh McLean — Pace Performance — No time
Green and Ingram Hill will therefore form the front row when Race 1 begins at 17:20 BST on Saturday, with O’Grady and Hallman directly behind. Green’s double pole has given the championship challenger the strongest possible platform, but O’Grady remains close enough to keep control of his own title prospects as the final three races of the 2026 season begin.
