Connor Willis heads into the penultimate round of the 2026 GB4 Championship determined to finish his rookie campaign strongly after a season that has combined encouraging pace, a maiden victory and several costly setbacks.
The Hillspeed driver sits 12th in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of GB4’s return to Donington Park. However, his position does not fully reflect the consistency he showed during the opening stages of the year, when he finished each of his first six races inside the top 10.
Since then, Willis has encountered considerably more misfortune. Nevertheless, the 19-year-old believes the experience has contributed to what he describes as a productive year of learning and development, while his reversed-grid victory at Silverstone provided a major highlight.
Willis reflects on progress through rookie GB4 campaign in 2026
Willis began the season with impressive consistency and established himself firmly inside the championship’s top 10 after the opening two rounds.
However, his first visit to Donington Park in June proved costly. Willis finished 13th in the opening race before retiring from the following two contests, dropping him from eighth in the standings and interrupting the momentum he had built.
“We were fighting for sixth or seventh in the championship before Donington, then we had two DNFs and that really hurt us,” said Willis to GB4. “Since then, we’ve been trying to fight back and regain our positions in the championship.”
Those setbacks changed the shape of his campaign, but Willis has continued to demonstrate the pace that placed him among the stronger rookies early in the year. As a result, he still views his first full GB4 season as an important step in his development.
He describes 2026 as “a good year of learning, development and growth,” with each weekend providing further experience in the new Tatuus MSV GB4-025.
Silverstone delivers maiden GB4 victory
Willis received his biggest reward of the season during GB4’s second Silverstone meeting in August.
He finished eighth and 11th in the two main races before producing a breakthrough performance in the reversed-grid finale. Willis converted his opportunity into a maiden GB4 victory and joined the championship’s growing list of first-time winners.
The result provided a significant boost after the difficult run that followed Donington and demonstrated that Willis could capitalise when presented with a chance to fight at the front.
He then maintained that improvement at Snetterton, where two further top-10 finishes followed. However, another strong result disappeared in the final race when contact from another competitor forced him into retirement while he ran second.
Despite that disappointment, Willis believes the team now possesses a clearer understanding of what it needs to improve during the final two weekends.
“We know what to do moving forward,” said Willis. “We’re just getting quicker and more experienced every weekend.”
Donington offers chance to reset
The return to Donington gives Willis an opportunity to rewrite the story of his difficult June weekend.
Although the results from the previous visit hurt his championship position, he remains confident that both his own development and Hillspeed’s progress since then will allow him to perform more strongly when the championship returns.
His confidence also comes from pre-season testing. Willis finished inside the top 10 on every day of running at both Donington and Brands Hatch, the two circuits that will host the final rounds of the campaign.
“We know we have some good pace at both Donington and Brands,” he said. “No matter where we go, we will be pushing as hard as we can to be in the fight.”
With only six races remaining across the two meetings, Willis has limited opportunities to climb back towards the championship position he occupied earlier in the season. However, his Silverstone victory and recent pace give him reason to believe he can finish the year strongly.
Willis relishes Donington challenge
Donington also ranks among the circuits Willis particularly enjoys in the Tatuus MSV GB4-025. The American highlighted the Esses as one of the most satisfying sections of the lap, with its combination of speed, kerb use and precision demanding full commitment from the driver.
“The chicane is really fun,” he said. “Nowhere has the chicane like Donington and being precise over those kerbs, hitting them in the right area and missing the bumps, it’s really satisfying.
The circuit’s varied layout and close competitive margins also add to its appeal. Donington regularly produces tightly matched GB4 fields, which leaves little room for mistakes in Qualifying and creates opportunities for close racing.
“It’s a unique track and the grid is always close, so it makes for good racing. It’s a good view when you see the planes fly over as well, it’s cool from a driver’s point of view.”
Willis targets strong conclusion to 2026 GB4 campaign
Willis enters Donington 12th in the championship, but his season has already delivered several important milestones.
He opened the campaign with six consecutive top-10 finishes, secured his maiden GB4 victory at Silverstone and has continued to improve his understanding of the car through a year that has also tested his ability to recover from setbacks.
The final two rounds now provide an opportunity to convert that progress into another run of strong results.
With previous testing pace at both Donington and Brands Hatch, Willis believes the ingredients are in place to recapture the consistency he showed earlier in the year and finish his rookie GB4 campaign on a high.
