Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Britain’s GB4 series for first-generation Formula 4 cars has attracted two more teams for its 2024 season.
The first is Idola Motorsport, which arrives from the Praga Cup UK sportscar series. It won the title there last year, running YouTuber Jimmy Broadbent and Gordie Mutch.
The Cheshire-based and Al Boulton and John Whatley-led team will move into GB4 in partnership with Arden, a team with a long single-seater history including years in Formula 3000 and GP2 and currently races in GB4’s parent series GB3 in a partnership with American squad Velocity Racing Development.
Idola will start its GB4 venture with a single car, bought from rival team Evans GP, but wants to be able to run two cars in the series.
“We have always kept a keen eye on the GB4 championship for its evenly matched cars and close racing,” said Whatley, the team’s owner and technical director.
“We spent the last year evaluating the next step for the team and felt that a single-seater approach was the best solution as we hope that the application of principles in aerodynamic-dependable prototype racing could be transferred to single-seaters. We look forward to understanding the GB4 car more over our winter testing schedule and hope to bring a competitive package to the beginning of the 2024 season.”
The second GB4 newcomer is Indian Warriors Racing, which will be based in Milton Keynes and will enter in partnership with Scorpio Motorsport who have ran Rossoverde Racing’s entry the past two seasons.
Indian Warriors has already been testing with Indian drivers Prateek Verma and Mohammad Anas Shaikh at several circuits.
“We spent a lot of time evaluating possible options as a team for 2024 and highlighted GB4 as a sensible single-seater option within the UK,” said team owner Rohit Koul.
“We feel the series is continuing to grow as a formula that offers drivers great experience of single-seaters on a fantastic platform.”
Scorpio’s team principal Jon Pettitt added: “We’re very pleased to be working with Indian Warriors Racing as they look to go racing for the first time. Rohit and his team are showing plenty of ambition, and our established presence in the GB4 paddock from the past couple of seasons will provide them with a strong baseline to work from.”
A private GB4 test was also recently run by Scorpio at Bedford Autodrome for top karters Matthew Higgins and Kai Hunter.