GB4: Female drivers add to their points tally in shortened Brands Hatch weekend

It was a positive latest round of the GB4 Championship as the six female drivers all scored championship points at Brands Hatch. Competing on the iconic Grand Prix circuit, Ava Dobson and Megan Bruce both achieved 11^th place results as they contended for top-10 finishes across the event.

Photo credits: JEP

It was a positive latest round of the GB4 Championship as the six female drivers all scored championship points at Brands Hatch. Competing on the iconic Grand Prix circuit, Ava Dobson and Megan Bruce both achieved 11^th place results as they contended for top-10 finishes across the event.

Dobson’s best result came in race one, before she battled to a second top-15 result of the weekend with a 13^th place finish in race two. After Bruce herself finished 13^th in Saturday’s contest, she made an excellent start in Sunday’s race to take the chequered flag in 11^th position, just a quarter of a second away from the top-10.

Switching to Hillspeed, Flame Airikkala secured a best result of 15^th in race two, while Fox Motorsport driver Holly Miall achieved a highest finish of 16^th position. Lily Watkins secured a 17^th place finish for KMR Sport in race one and Caitlyn McDaniel also banked two points scoring finishes at Brands Hatch. Following an incident in a Ginetta Junior Championship race on Sunday, the third GB4 Championship contest was postponed and will subsequently be run during the season finale at Donington Park.

Following a thrilling event held in mixed conditions last time out at Silverstone, the GB4 Championship drivers arrived at Brands Hatch for the penultimate round of the 2025 season. After a trio of points scoring finishes in the previous round, including a 12^th place result in race two, Bruce arrived into the weekend as the highest-placed female driver in the championship standings in 16^th position.

Dobson was her nearest challenger and she was looking to bounce back from a challenging event at Silverstone where she was unfortunate with a bold tyre strategy gamble. Miall twice finished inside the points at the home of British motorsport, while McDaniel and Watkins also added to their points tally following race three. Airikkala also returned to the grid at Brands Hatch, now driving for Hillspeed, after a superb top-10 finish on her debut in the Kyojo Cup, an all-female Japanese single seater series utilising F4 level machinery.

Photo credits: JEP

The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit was set to be a new venue for the majority of the drivers with only Bruce and Miall having prior experience of racing on the challenging track. Nonetheless, all six drivers participated in a recent official test day held earlier this month. On that occasion, Dobson was the fastest of the group as she set the 13^th quickest time overall with Bruce closely behind in 14^th. Watkins also impressed as the KMR Sport racer ended the day in 18^th position, less than two seconds away from pacesetter Thomas Ingram Hill.

In preparation for the weekend’s action, a series of short test sessions were held on Friday, albeit on the Indy configuration. Dobson was the standout driver as she ended the day in 12^th position, less than half a second away from the fastest time set by Isaac Phelps. Teammates Bruce and Watkins also ended testing inside the top-20 with Watkins continuing her promising form from earlier in the month.

Miall set the 21^st fastest time in her Fox Motorsport machine with McDaniel just a tenth behind in 22^nd position. Airikkala participated in just the final session and she ended the day with the 23^rd quickest lap and was therefore aiming to make progress throughout the race weekend.

Qualifying took place early on Saturday afternoon with the young drivers unleased on the Grand Prix circuit for the first time during the event. It was a fast start to the session for Dobson and Bruce was regularly challenged for top-10 places during the first half of qualifying. Improvements were significant as the drivers gained confidence and this led to a close fight for positions throughout the field.

At the conclusion of an uninterrupted fifteen-minute session, Dobson matched her personal best qualifying result of 13^th, missing out on reverse grid pole by less than a quarter of a second. Bruce qualified in 16^th position to secure a solid starting spot with Watkins and Miall also inside the top-20 as they set the 19^th and 20^th fastest times respectively.

Airikkala improved on her final lap of the session to qualify in 21^st position as she continued her progress, while McDaniel banked valuable mileage as the Fox Motorsport driver completed 10 laps on her way to a 22^nd place starting spot.

Photo credits: JEP

The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with the grid positions based on the results from the first qualifying session. Dobson was the highest placed female driver and she started in 12^th after a grid penalty was applied to a driver ahead. Bruce lined up from 16^th with Watkins in 19^th, Miall in 20^th, Airikkala in 21^st and McDaniel starting from 22^nd on the grid.

As the lights went out, it was a clean run through Paddock Hill bend and into Druids. On the entry to Graham Hill bend, contact was made between Leon Wilson and Dayton Coulthard and as a result, the drivers were required to avoid the damaged cars. At the end of the first lap, Dobson remained in 12^th position with Bruce enjoying a fantastic start as she moved onto the rear of the Arden Motorsport driver in 13^th.

Due to the incident ahead, Watkins completed lap one in 17^th with Miall in 18^th, Airikkala in 19^th and McDaniel in 21^st spot. Following an issue in qualifying, Dudley Ruddock was on a recovery drive and he overtook McDaniel on the first lap and then mounted a successful attack on Airikkala on lap two. Meanwhile, Dobson and Bruce were battling for top female honours and the gap remained just half a second between the pair in the early stages of the race.

After her good start, Miall came under pressure from Ruddock and after he moved ahead on lap three, Airikkala closed in. With overtaking proving challenging throughout the field, Airikkala was mounting the pressure on Miall as the Hillspeed driver looked to make progress. Watkins was enjoying one of her best races to date as she ran on the fringes of the top-15 and she was showing good pace through the high-speed sections.

During the middle portion of the race, Dobson came under increasing pressure from Bruce who had Enzo Hallman and Luca Magnussen closing in on her. On laps eight and nine, this became a thrilling four-way battle for position and Dobson was racing smartly to protect her position. As the drivers exited Surtees on lap nine, Bruce ran wide and Hallman claimed 13^th position.

Just up ahead, Luke Hilton spun into the gravel at Sheene curve and as a result, the safety car was deployed. With less than five minutes remaining and a complex recovery required, the race was subsequently red flagged and unable to be resumed. Therefore, Dobson was classified in a strong 11^th with Bruce finishing in 13^th after Hilton was removed from the results for causing the red flag.

Watkins was passed by Ruddock just prior to the stoppage with the KMR Sport driver classified in 17^th position. Despite her best efforts, Airikkala was unable to pass Miall who defended well and therefore the Fox Motorsport driver took the chequered flag in 18^th with the Hillspeed racer in 19^th. McDaniel finished in 20^th position with the American driver returning to the top-20 for the first time in five races.

Photo credits: @thruthelensmedia_

Race two of the weekend took place on Sunday morning with the grid positions set by the second fastest times set in qualifying. As a result, Dobson started from 13^th, Bruce from 16^th, Watkins from 18^th, Miall from 20^th, Airikkala from 21^st and McDaniel from 22^nd position. As the lights went out, it was a great initial start from the KMR Sport cars of Bruce and Watkins who quickly made up positions off the line.

As the cars exited Druids and headed down towards Graham Hill bend, contact was made at the head of the field with Leandro Juncos and Jason Pribyl receiving terminal damage while Luke Hilton’s front wing had come loose. Hilton pitted at the end of the first lap and Bruce’s excellent start had elevated herself into 11^th position and ahead of Dobson who was now in 12^th.

Airikkala enjoyed a great second half to lap one as she moved up to 16^th with Miall just behind in 17^th. After her fast start, Watkins was in 18^th after being held up behind the slowing Hilton with McDaniel running in 20^th position.

On lap two, Dudley Ruddock went off the circuit and this promoted Airikkala into 16^th with all those behind the Hillspeed racer also gaining a position. Just outside the top-10, Dobson was beginning to apply pressure to Bruce as Douglas Motorsport driver Enzo Hallman was looking to make a pass on the leading pair of female drivers.

On lap four, Hallman made his move and this dropped Dobson to 13^th with Bruce still doing a nice job to hold onto 11^th. The KMR Sport driver had also set her quickest lap of the entire event as she chased down Stefan Bostandjiev for a position inside the top-10. On the fringes of the top-15, Airikkala was enjoying clean air while Watkins began applying pressure to Miall for 17^th position.

McDaniel was also enjoying a positive race as she set her quickest lap of the event on lap six, before Ruddock overtook the Fox Motorsport driver as he worked on a recovery drive following his earlier off. The battle for the final position inside the top-10 continued to be closely contested with Bruce continuing to apply pressure to Bostandjiev while resisting the challenge of Hallman.

Photo credits: JEP

After coming under pressure from Miall during the middle portion of the race, a series of personal best sectors from Airikkala saw her pull out a comfortable margin over the Fox Motorsport driver. Dobson’s defence from Luca Magnussen was also proving successful and on lap 11, she was the third fastest driver through the first sector.

On the penultimate lap of the race, Hilton overtook McDaniel after his change of front wing while Ruddock’s pressure on Watkins was increasing. Bruce closed out the race with a series of fast laps to finish as the highest-placed female driver in 11^th. In a late attempt to pass Dobson, Magnussen spun at Clearways on the final lap with the Arden Motorsport race taking the chequered flag in 13^th position.

The incident for Magnussen promoted Airikkala to 15^th, a fantastic effort for the Hillspeed driver who started from 21^st on the grid. Miall crossed the line in 16^th with Watkins losing out to Ruddock on the final lap and therefore the KMR Sport driver finished in 18^th position. McDaniel made it back-to-back top-20 results with a 20^th place finish in race two as she also benefited from Magnussen’s late race spin.

Race three of the weekend was set to take place on Sunday afternoon with the top-12 grid positions reversed, however due to an earlier incident in a Ginetta Junior Championship race and subsequent timetable delays, the contest was postponed.

Nonetheless, it was a positive weekend at Brands Hatch for the female drivers in the GB4 Championship who adapted well to the challenges of the Grand Prix layout. Both Dobson and Bruce narrowly missed out on a top-10 result, while Airikkala scored her second top-15 result of her GB4 Championship career. Miall, Watkins and McDaniel all continued their progress while making good steps forward across the course of the event.

The rescheduled third race from Brands Hatch will be added to the program for the season finale at Donington Park which takes place on the weekend of 4^th/5^th October.

Photo credits. JEP