The 2026 GB4 Championship returns to Donington Park this weekend as the penultimate round of the season offers Alex O’Grady his first opportunity to secure the Drivers’ Championship.
Two days of testing will open the event on Thursday and Friday before Qualifying and Race 1 begin the competitive action on Saturday. Race 2 and the reverse-grid Race 3 will complete Round 6 on Sunday, leaving only the Brands Hatch finale later in September.
KMR Sport’s O’Grady arrives with a commanding 70-point championship lead over Elite Motorsport’s Fred Green after his double victory at Snetterton. However, the battle immediately behind remains considerably tighter, with only 19 points separating Green in second from Enzo Hallman in fifth.
The championship has already raced at Donington once this season, while much of the field also completed two days of pre-event testing there in June. Notably, O’Grady, Green, Thomas Ingram Hill, Hallman and Luke Hilton all showed front-running pace during that first visit, setting up another potentially close fight as the season reaches its decisive stage.
O’Grady takes 70-point GB4 championship lead to Donington
O’Grady enters Round 6 in by far his strongest championship position of the season after transforming the title battle during the previous Snetterton weekend.
The KMR Sport driver arrived in Norfolk 25 points ahead of Green but left with 321 points and a 70-point advantage. O’Grady took advantage when Green retired from the lead of Race 1 before resisting his rival throughout Race 2 to complete a double victory. Although he finished only 12th in the disrupted reversed-grid finale, Green’s retirement prevented the Elite Motorsport driver from making a significant recovery.
Those results gave O’Grady 74 points from the weekend and moved him substantially closer to the championship. With only six races remaining, he now has an opportunity to secure the title at Donington and avoid carrying the fight into the Brands Hatch finale.
Donington also offers a circuit where O’Grady has already demonstrated considerable speed. He topped the opening day of testing before the June round with a 1m29.769s and then produced the two fastest laps during the original Qualifying classification, including a 1m29.372s benchmark. Post-session track limits decisions subsequently reshaped his starting positions, but his underlying pace remained clear throughout the weekend.
Green needs strong response to keep title fight alive
Green remains O’Grady’s nearest championship rival on 251 points, but the gap between the pair has increased sharply across the past two rounds.
The Elite Motorsport driver has continued to show front-running speed, including his fifth pole position of the year at Snetterton. However, misfortune has repeatedly prevented him from converting that pace into the results needed to keep O’Grady within reach.
Green led the opening Snetterton race from pole before slowing dramatically and retiring, handing victory to O’Grady. He responded by finishing only 0.482s behind his rival in Race 2, but another retirement after sustaining damage during the opening lap of Race 3 left him with only 29 points from the weekend.
The return to Donington nevertheless provides encouragement. Green topped two sessions during the opening day of testing before the championship’s June visit and then set the fastest time on Friday with a 1m30.172s. His Qualifying weekend subsequently became complicated by track limits, but the testing performances demonstrated that Elite possesses a competitive baseline around the Grand Prix layout.
Green therefore needs to rediscover that front-running form immediately. With O’Grady already holding a substantial advantage, another weekend in which his rival outscores him heavily could end the championship before Brands Hatch.
Coulthard, Ingram Hill and Hallman separated by nine points
While O’Grady has created clear separation at the top, the battle for the remaining championship positions has tightened considerably.
Dayton Coulthard now occupies third on 241 points, only 10 behind Green. The Douglas Motorsport driver enjoyed a consistent Snetterton round with third in Race 1 followed by fourth-place finishes in the remaining two contests, allowing him to climb two positions in the standings.
Coulthard also has encouraging Donington form. He finished third during Race 1 in June and had regularly featured inside the leading group throughout testing before the event. Another strong round could therefore bring him into direct contention with Green for second in the championship.
Ingram Hill follows in fourth on 233 points, just eight behind Coulthard. The Fortec Motorsports driver has emerged as one of the championship’s strongest performers during the second half of the season, including his maiden victory at Silverstone before another productive Snetterton weekend.
He also performed strongly during GB4’s previous Donington visit. Ingram Hill finished fourth on the opening test day before placing second to Green on Friday. He then initially qualified only 0.070s behind O’Grady, demonstrating pace that should again place him among the leading contenders.
Hallman sits only one point behind Ingram Hill on 232. The Hillspeed driver finished second overall during Thursday testing at Donington in June, just 0.007s behind O’Grady, and later topped the final Friday session. Although his Snetterton weekend started quietly, second place in the reversed-grid finale kept him firmly involved in the fight for the top three.
With Green, Coulthard, Ingram Hill and Hallman separated by only 19 points, Donington could produce significant movement immediately behind the championship leader.
Hilton returns to scene of maiden GB4 victory
Luke Hilton enters Round 6 sixth in the standings on 205 points and returns to the circuit where he secured his maiden GB4 victory.
The Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing driver benefited from post-Qualifying penalties to start Race 1 from pole during the championship’s first Donington visit, but he then produced a controlled drive to take full advantage. Hilton led throughout the contest and resisted Franciszek Cegielski after a Safety Car restart to win by 0.528s.
That result became the starting point for a particularly strong middle part of his season. Hilton subsequently won again at Silverstone and put together a sequence of podium finishes that briefly moved him into the championship’s leading three.
His Snetterton weekend proved more difficult, leaving him on 205 points and 27 behind Hallman in fifth. Nevertheless, his previous Donington victory gives him an opportunity to recover ground during the penultimate event.
Cegielski continues to lead rookie contingent
Cegielski remains the highest-placed rookie in the championship despite a difficult conclusion to his Snetterton weekend.
The Fortec Motorsports driver sits 10th overall on 167 points, only one behind Elite Motorsport’s Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso. Cegielski finished fifth in the opening Snetterton race and 12th in Race 2 before damage ended his reversed-grid contest on the opening lap.
Donington has already delivered one of his strongest results of the season. The Polish driver finished second behind Hilton in Race 1 during June’s visit, securing his maiden GB4 podium after starting near the front.
He also demonstrated consistently competitive pace throughout the preceding test. Cegielski finished seventh overall on Thursday before moving to fourth on Friday, while his original Qualifying performance placed him among the leading rookie contenders again.
The return therefore provides another opportunity for Cegielski to strengthen his position inside the championship top 10 while continuing to build on an impressive first GB4 campaign.
Previous Donington running points towards tight Qualifying battle
GB4’s earlier visit provides substantial data for teams ahead of the second Donington event, although the championship picture has changed significantly since June.
O’Grady led the opening test day with his 1m29.769s effort, but Hallman finished only 0.007s behind and Green another 0.041s further back. Ingram Hill took fourth ahead of Hilton, while Torrin Byrne, Cegielski, Connor Willis, Coulthard and John O’Donnell completed a top 10 separated by only 0.651s.
Green led the second day with a 1m30.172s as higher temperatures affected the outright pace. Ingram Hill and Hallman followed, while Cegielski placed fourth and O’Grady fifth.
The original Qualifying classification became even closer. O’Grady’s 1m29.372s put him only 0.070s ahead of Ingram Hill, while Hallman sat 0.107s away and Green only 0.121s behind. Willis and Byrne completed a top six separated by less than three tenths.
Although post-session track limits penalties significantly altered the grids that weekend, the underlying times showed how little separated many of the leading contenders.
Two more days of testing before Round 6 will allow teams to refine those earlier set-ups. However, with championship positions increasingly important and margins traditionally small around Donington, maximising both representative laps during the 15-minute Qualifying session could prove decisive.
Teams’ Championship remains wide open
The Drivers’ title may be moving towards O’Grady, but the Teams’ Championship remains exceptionally close heading into Donington.
Pace Performance leads on 434 points after taking over at the top during Snetterton. Fortec Motorsports sits only six points behind on 428, while Hillspeed follows on 418.
Douglas Motorsport remains firmly involved with 411 points, and Elite Motorsport sits fifth on 399. KMR Sport occupies sixth on 392, meaning only 42 points separate the leading six teams with six races remaining.
That battle should add another dimension to the Donington weekend. Even if O’Grady moves closer to securing the Drivers’ crown, every position across all three races could carry significant consequences for a Teams’ Championship that remains far less settled.
Testing and race schedule for 2026 GB4 Donington Park
Drivers will receive three hours of testing across Thursday and Friday before Qualifying begins on Saturday afternoon.
Thursday 3 September – Live timing
- 10:20–10:50 – Session 1
- 14:55–15:25 – Session 2
- 17:40–18:10 – Session 3
Thursday provides 90 minutes of track time across three sessions. Teams can use the running to revisit the data collected during their June appearance while adapting their cars to the different conditions expected for the championship’s second Donington weekend.
Friday 4 September – Live timing
- 10:20–10:50 – Session 1
- 13:40–14:10 – Session 2
- 16:35–17:05 – Session 3
Another three sessions provide 90 further minutes of testing on Friday. The final outing should give teams their last opportunity to refine their Qualifying set-ups before competitive action begins the following afternoon.
Saturday 5 September – Live timing and streaming
- 14:05–14:20 – Qualifying
- 18:00–18:20 – Race 1
The 15-minute Qualifying session determines the grids for the opening two races. Each driver’s fastest lap establishes the Race 1 order, while their second-fastest time sets the grid for Race 2.
Race 1 follows at 18:00 and begins a potentially title-deciding sequence for O’Grady and his remaining championship rivals.
Sunday 6 September – Live timing and streaming
- 11:25–11:45 – Race 2
- 17:35–17:55 – Race 3
Race 2 opens Sunday’s GB4 running at 11:25 before the reversed-grid Race 3 concludes the penultimate round at 17:35.
With only the Brands Hatch finale remaining afterwards, the three Donington contests provide Green, Coulthard, Ingram Hill and Hallman with their final opportunity to prevent O’Grady from carrying an unassailable advantage into the last event.
How to follow the 2026 GB4 Donington Park action
GB4 will provide live timing throughout both test days, Qualifying and all three races.
The championship will also stream each race live through the official GB4 website and MSV TV YouTube channel. Broadcast coverage begins 20 minutes before each scheduled race start and includes previews and post-race analysis. Jon Jackson will host the Donington programmes, with Lewis McGlade providing commentary.
O’Grady arrives with the opportunity to turn a 70-point advantage into the 2026 championship, but the battle behind him remains considerably less certain. Green must respond after a difficult Snetterton round, while Coulthard, Ingram Hill and Hallman enter Donington separated by only nine points from third to fifth.
Meanwhile, six teams remain within 42 points at the top of their championship. Consequently, even if the Drivers’ crown moves towards an early conclusion, Donington Park still carries major implications throughout the GB4 field.
All times are local British Summer Time.
