Fred Green has secured the 2026 George Russell Pole Position Cup with one GB4 round remaining after Elite Motorsport teammate Yani Stevenheydens swept both pole positions at Donington Park.
Green entered the penultimate event holding a three-pole tally advantage over championship leader Alex O’Grady’s two. O’Grady represented the only driver capable of catching him, but Stevenheydens instead dominated Donington Park Qualifying to take both available poles and mathematically settle the competition before the Brands Hatch finale.
Green therefore remains on five poles, while O’Grady and Stevenheydens sit joint-second with two each. Only two pole positions remain available at Brands Hatch, leaving Green’s three-pole advantage impossible to overturn.
Stevenheydens makes immediate impact at Donington
Stevenheydens only joined Elite Motorsport shortly before the Donington weekend as a stand-in for the injured Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso, but the Belgian immediately established himself at the front despite limited experience with both the Tatuus MSV GB4-025 and the circuit.
The 20-year-old had previously competed as high as Eurocup-3 and used that experience to adapt quickly during Thursday and Friday testing. When Qualifying began, Stevenheydens produced a 1m27.990s to secure Race 1 pole by 0.372s over Green, becoming the only driver to break the 1m28s barrier.
His advantage remained substantial when the second-fastest laps established the Race 2 grid. Stevenheydens recorded a 1m28.448s second-best effort to beat Green by 0.211s and complete a remarkable double pole on his championship debut.
The performance earned Stevenheydens the full £300 in qualifying prize money available during the weekend as well as two pole-position trophies. With his Donington appearance expected to remain his only GB4 event of 2026, the result also leaves him tied for second in the Pole Position Cup standings despite contesting only one round.
O’Grady’s final opportunity disappears
O’Grady arrived at Donington as the only driver still capable of preventing Green from securing the George Russell Pole Position Cup.
The KMR Sport driver had claimed two poles during the season and therefore realistically needed to sweep the Donington Qualifying classifications himself to close the gap before Brands Hatch. Instead, he qualified third for Race 1 and fourth on second-fastest times for Race 2, while Stevenheydens took the maximum available haul.
That outcome left Green with five poles compared with O’Grady’s two. Even if O’Grady claims both remaining poles at Brands Hatch, he can reach only four and therefore cannot overtake the Elite Motorsport driver.
Green did not take either Donington pole himself, but his second-place starts still placed him in an excellent position for the races. He converted his front-row starting spot into victory in Race 1 after Stevenheydens made a slow start, before finishing behind his teammate in Race 2.
Green rewarded for season-long qualifying strength
Green’s Pole Position Cup success reflects one of the strongest aspects of his 2026 campaign. His five poles represent more than double the tally achieved by any other full-season driver heading into Brands Hatch.
O’Grady has taken two poles, while Luke Hilton, Demitri Nolan and Thomas Ingram Hill have one each. Stevenheydens’ Donington sweep places him alongside O’Grady on two despite making only a single appearance.
The Pole Position Cup rewards the driver who claims the most GB4 poles across the season, with separate recognition for the successful team. Green will receive the George Russell Pole Position Cup and an additional £1,000 prize at Brands Hatch.
Elite Motorsport will simultaneously receive the David Poole Warren Pole Position Cup and a further £1,000 after its drivers combined for seven of the 12 poles awarded across the opening six rounds.
Elite secures both driver and team awards
Stevenheydens’ Donington performance ensured Elite Motorsport could celebrate both sides of the qualifying competition before the final weekend had even begun.
Green had already built the foundation through his five poles, while Stevenheydens’ two Donington successes pushed the team’s overall tally further clear. The pair also locked out the front row for both principal races, underlining Elite’s Qualifying strength during the penultimate event.
John Cavill will present the awards at Brands Hatch. Cavill has supported drivers competing in MotorSport Vision championships since 2013 and has continued backing competitors who have progressed further through the motorsport ladder.
Green can therefore enter the final round with one season-long prize already secured, even as his larger Drivers’ Championship battle with O’Grady continues. While the KMR Sport driver leads the main standings heading to Brands Hatch, Green has already guaranteed himself recognition as the championship’s strongest qualifier across 2026.
2026 George Russell Pole Position Cup standings
- Fred Green — 5 poles
- Alex O’Grady — 2 poles
- Yani Stevenheydens — 2 poles
- Luke Hilton — 1 pole
- Demitri Nolan — 1 pole
- Thomas Ingram Hill — 1 pole
With only two pole positions remaining at Brands Hatch, Green cannot be caught. O’Grady could move to a maximum of four, while Stevenheydens is not expected to return after his highly successful one-off Donington appearance.
The Pole Position Cup may already belong to Green, but Qualifying at Brands Hatch will remain crucial to his other objective. He enters the season finale chasing O’Grady in the Drivers’ Championship, meaning his established one-lap speed could play an important role in whether he can turn his qualifying success into an overall GB4 title challenge.
