Luke Hilton claimed his maiden GB4 victory with a controlled lights-to-flag performance in Race 1 at Donington Park. The Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing driver took full advantage of his inherited pole position and resisted late pressure to secure the team’s first win in the championship.
Fortec Motorsports rookie Franciszek Cegielski followed just 0.528s behind in second to earn his first GB4 podium, while Douglas Motorsport’s Dayton Coulthard completed the top three. Demitri Nolan and Joshua McLean rounded out the top five after an interrupted 11-lap contest.
Hilton establishes early advantage before Safety Car
Hilton made a clean getaway from pole and led Cegielski into Redgate. The British driver immediately opened a small margin and ended the opening lap more than one second clear of the Fortec rookie.
However, a collision between Douglas Motorsport’s Conor Grant and Scorpio Racing’s Archie Davies brought the early action to a halt. The pair tangled at the Fogarty Esses and both cars became stranded in the gravel, prompting officials to deploy the Safety Car. Neither driver completed a racing lap.
The neutralisation erased Hilton’s early advantage and brought Cegielski, Coulthard and the rest of the field back onto his rear wing. Nevertheless, the polesitter remained composed as officials cleared the incident.
Hilton controls restart as Cegielski resists Coulthard
Racing resumed on Lap 5, and Hilton timed his restart well enough to retain the lead without facing a challenge into Redgate. Cegielski stayed close, while Coulthard immediately applied pressure in the battle for second.
The Douglas Motorsport driver searched for an opening but could not dislodge the Polish rookie. Cegielski defended his position and remained within reach of Hilton as the leading trio began to edge away from Nolan.
Hilton gradually rebuilt his advantage after the restart, although Cegielski remained close enough to increase the pressure during the closing laps. Despite that threat, Hilton never needed to make a major defensive move and continued to control the race from the front.
Byrne suffers damage in midfield incident
Further back, Torrin Byrne damaged the front wing of his Pace Performance car after making contact with the rear of Thomas Ingram Hill at the final hairpin.
Byrne initially continued with the damaged component before losing the entire front wing later in the race. He carried the compromised car to the finish in 15th, having started 20th.
Ingram Hill escaped the contact and continued his recovery from 15th on the grid. The Fortec driver eventually finished 11th, just over half a second behind championship leader Fred Green.
Iskander retires after contact with O’Donnell
The most dramatic incident after the restart came at the beginning of Lap 8 as Jasser Iskander attempted to regain a position from John O’Donnell.
The Fox Motorsport driver moved to the inside of the Pace Performance car at Redgate but misjudged the overtaking attempt. Iskander made contact with O’Donnell’s right-rear corner, broke his own front-left suspension and ended his race in the gravel.
O’Donnell continued despite the contact and maintained his recovery through the field. He eventually finished ninth after starting 14th, gaining five positions during the race.
Fox Motorsport endured a difficult contest, with Enzo Rujugiro also retiring after completing eight laps. Michael Koh joined the list of non-finishers after seven laps for Arden Motorsport.
Hilton withstands late pressure to secure first win
Cegielski closed on Hilton during the final phase and remained within striking distance as the pair approached the chequered flag. However, Hilton kept the rookie behind and completed the 11 laps in 20m38.943s.
Only 0.528s separated the leading two at the finish, while Coulthard followed 1.856s behind the winner. The result gave Hilton and Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing their first GB4 victories, while Cegielski celebrated his maiden overall podium.
Coulthard secured his first podium of the season at a venue where he claimed victory in 2025. Meanwhile, Nolan produced his strongest result of the campaign in fourth, finishing 0.714s behind the Douglas Motorsport driver.
McLean advanced one place from sixth to complete the top five. The Oulton Park Race 3 winner crossed the line 0.270s ahead of Alex O’Grady after a close battle during the final stages.
O’Grady and Hallman recover after Qualifying penalties
O’Grady had originally secured pole position during Saturday morning’s Qualifying session, but widespread track limits penalties dropped him to 10th on the amended grid.
The KMR Sport driver recovered four positions to finish sixth and became the highest-placed driver among the established championship contenders. He ended the race just 3.655s behind Hilton and less than three-tenths behind McLean.
Jordyn Martin produced her strongest GB4 result in seventh and finished as the leading rookie behind teammate Cegielski. The Fortec driver had started fifth but remained comfortably inside the top 10 throughout the contest.
Hallman completed one of the race’s most impressive recovery drives. The Hillspeed driver climbed from 19th on the grid to eighth and also recorded the fastest lap with a 1m30.877s on Lap 10. O’Donnell and Green completed the top 10, with the championship leader gaining eight positions from 18th.
Del Grosso makes largest gain through the field
Emilio Valentino Del Grosso delivered the largest positional gain of Race 1 after starting 25th for Elite Motorsport.
The Venezuelan climbed 13 places to finish 12th behind Ingram Hill. Connor Willis followed in 13th, while Romuald Bocquet and the damaged Byrne completed the top 15.
Caitlyn McDaniel and Jamie Leverton brought the remaining Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing cars home in 16th and 17th. Holly Miall gained eight places to take 18th, while Archie Bullard finished 19th after officials applied a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Solenn Amrouche and Matan Achituv completed the classified finishers in 20th and 21st respectively.
2026 GB4 Donington Park Race 1 results
- #42 Luke Hilton — Nitrous Competition ADM Racing — 11 laps, 20m38.943s
- #11 Franciszek Cegielski (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +0.528s
- #28 Dayton Coulthard — Douglas Motorsport — +1.856s
- #6 Demitri Nolan — Hillspeed — +2.570s
- #76 Joshua McLean — Pace Performance — +3.385s
- #3 Alex O’Grady — KMR Sport — +3.655s
- #88 Jordyn Martin (R) — Fortec Motorsports — +7.631s
- #7 Enzo Hallman — Hillspeed — +8.006s
- #17 John O’Donnell — Pace Performance — +8.930s
- #51 Fred Green — Elite Motorsport — +9.534s
- #8 Thomas Ingram Hill — Fortec Motorsports — +10.087s
- #5 Emilio Valentino Del Grosso — Elite Motorsport — +14.900s
- #99 Connor Willis — Hillspeed — +19.244s
- #9 Romuald Bocquet — Scorpio Racing — +22.497s
- #18 Torrin Byrne — Pace Performance — +26.743s
- #35 Caitlyn McDaniel — Nitrous Competition ADM Racing — +27.535s
- #4 Jamie Leverton (R) — Nitrous Competition ADM Racing — +27.805s
- #23 Holly Miall — KMR Sport — +29.499s
- #48 Archie Bullard (R) — Fox Motorsport — +29.730s*
- #95 Solenn Amrouche — Arden Motorsport — +34.388s
- #77 Matan Achituv — Elite Motorsport — +48.180s
Not classified
DNF. #36 Enzo Rujugiro (R) — Fox Motorsport — 8 laps
DNF. #33 Jasser Iskander (R) — Fox Motorsport — 7 laps
DNF. #24 Michael Koh (R) — Arden Motorsport — 7 laps
DNF. #87 Archie Davies — Scorpio Racing — 0 laps
DNF. #54 Conor Grant (R) — Douglas Motorsport — 0 laps
*Bullard received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Fastest lap: Enzo Hallman — 1m30.877s on Lap 10.
