GB4: Jordyn Martin recovers in Brands Hatch, secures top female finisher award
The 2026 GB4 Championship season came to a conclusion at the iconic Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, with Jordyn Martin ultimately securing the €50,000 MSV Highest Female Award after finishing 18th in the overall championship.
The 2026 GB4 Championship season came to a conclusion at the iconic Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, with five female drivers taking on one of the UK's most challenging and historic layouts in a weekend that produced contrasting fortunes, several close battles and a particularly eventful final round.
Jordyn Martin, Solenn Amrouche, Lily-May Watkins, Holly Miall and Caitlyn McDaniel all competed in the season finale, with Martin ultimately securing the €50,000 MSV Highest Female Award after finishing 18th in the overall championship.
The weekend followed an earlier test at the Grand Prix layout two weeks previously, where Watkins had been particularly encouraging and had consistently run around the overall top 15. Martin had not participated in that test, instead joining the pre-event running on Friday at the Brands Hatch Indy layout, where she also showed competitive speed by placing 11th in one of the sessions before the field switched back to the Grand Prix layout for qualifying.
Qualifying immediately produced an encouraging sequence of improvements from the five female drivers. McDaniel was initially inside the top 10 after her opening lap, while Martin moved up to sixth before Amrouche also climbed into sixth. Martin then produced a 1:26.9, moving to fourth, with Watkins responding with a 1:26.8 to move ahead. Amrouche continued to improve with a 1:27.3, remaining inside the top 10, while Martin lowered her benchmark to 1:26.2 and Watkins found several more tenths with a 1:26.0. Miall was also competitive on a 1:26.5.
The session was interrupted by a red flag with eight minutes remaining after Watkins went off while running 14th. Once qualifying resumed, Amrouche continued her progress with a 1:26.2, although Martin lost a lap to track limits after setting another competitive time. Amrouche subsequently set a 1:26.135 before improving again to 1:25.989, making her the highest-placed female qualifier in 15th overall. Watkins qualified 17th with a 1:26.0, followed by Martin in 18th on a 1:26.212 and Miall in 19th with a 1:26.302, while McDaniel would line up in 22nd with a 1:27.638.
The opening race on Saturday afternoon began with Amrouche leading the female entries from 15th overall, followed by Watkins in 17th, Martin in 18th, Miall in 19th and McDaniel in 22nd. The season finale immediately proved difficult, however, with several of the five drivers becoming involved in incidents during the opening stages.
Watkins sustained front-wing damage, while Miall was tagged into a spin after contact and also suffered damage. The biggest incident involved Amrouche, who suffered a heavy crash that brought a major interruption to her race, while Martin also went off track during the opening sequence. Watkins was running 18th despite her damaged front wing, while McDaniel gained two positions to 20th before the Safety Car was deployed. Miall and Martin were both able to rejoin, although they had fallen to the back of the field.
Amrouche required attention from the rescue crew following the heavy impact; despite the severity of the incident, Solenn was eventually able to return to the circuit the following morning.
When the race resumed with eight minutes remaining, Watkins was clearly compromised by her damaged front wing and soon lost another position to Organji. McDaniel closed in and moved past, while Martin also came through, bringing the two drivers up to 19th and 20th respectively, with Watkins falling to 21st.
The two Americans then became involved in a close battle for the position. McDaniel, now the leading female driver in the race, and Martin were circulating together in the 1:30.4 range, with Martin applying increasing pressure. They ran side by side on lap nine, but McDaniel defended effectively. Martin attempted another move into the final corner, with the two cars touching wheels, although both remained on track and McDaniel retained the position.
Martin eventually found her way through on the final lap, making another attempt at the final corner and crossing the line just 0.1 seconds ahead to take 19th place. McDaniel followed in 20th after an impressive run. Miall also fought back from her opening-lap incident to finish 22nd, while Watkins, who had been compromised throughout by her front-wing damage, came home 23rd.
Sunday's second race began with Amrouche back in the car despite the heavy crash the previous day. The steering wheel had been bent in the impact and struck her thigh, leaving her with some bruising, but she was luckily not seriously injured and was able to return to competition.
The start was delayed after Coulthard suffered an engine failure on the formation lap, requiring track clean-up and a revised starting procedure. The race was subsequently shortened to 18 minutes, with Amrouche starting 15th, Miall 17th, Watkins 19th, McDaniel 20th and Martin 22nd.
The opening lap was much more positive for several of the female drivers. The entire 24-car field negotiated Paddock Hill Bend cleanly, with Amrouche moving up to 14th, Watkins gaining three positions to 16th and Miall settling into 17th. Martin also made significant progress, gaining three places on the opening lap, while McDaniel remained 20th and immediately became involved in a battle with Organji.
Miall was subsequently passed by McLean for 17th, while Amrouche was attacking Leverton and demonstrating strong pace, applying consistent pressure and appearing faster through several sections of the lap as she searched for a way past. Watkins was also setting competitive times, recording a 1:27.6 while closing on Bocquet and Amrouche ahead, although she eventually lost a position to McLean and dropped to 17th on lap five.
Martin was now putting Miall under pressure, prompting the latter to respond with her best lap of the race, a 1:27.7. At the front of the female battle, Amrouche was unable to find a gap on Leverton and subsequently had to concentrate on defending from compatriot Bocquet. The two ran side by side on lap seven before Bocquet eventually found a way through, leaving Amrouche under pressure from both McLean and Watkins.
By lap eight, Amrouche was 16th and leading a four-car train that also included Watkins, Miall and Martin. Martin produced an excellent move at the final corner to pass Miall for 18th, intensifying the battle for the highest-finishing female position.
The order changed again when Amrouche received a five-second penalty for track limits. Meanwhile, Martin began closing on Watkins and attempted a move at Sheene Corner on the final lap. The two cars ran side by side and made contact, with both ending up in the gravel.
Amrouche crossed the finish line 17th but her penalty was subsequently increased to ten seconds, dropping her to 20th in the final classification. Miall finished 17th to become the highest-placed female driver in Race 2, as Martin was disqualified for the final-lap contact. McDaniel consequently inherited 18th place and second among the female drivers, with Amrouche classified 19th post-penalties.
The final race of the 2026 GB4 season took place on Sunday afternoon in light drizzle, adding another variable to an already challenging Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. Amrouche started 15th, Watkins 17th, Martin 18th, Miall 19th and McDaniel 22nd.
Martin endured another difficult opening lap, going off into the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend, while Amrouche was involved in contact a few corners later and spun after being hit by another car, ending up facing the wrong direction and dropping all the way to the back of the field.
Watkins therefore emerged as the best-placed female driver after the opening lap, moving up to 16th, with Miall 18th and McDaniel making a strong start to climb two positions into 20th. Martin was able to rejoin in 21st, while Amrouche was down in 24th and already around 30 seconds behind the field.
Watkins' race soon became difficult as well, with the British driver going off on the second lap and rejoining at the back. Miall moved into 18th, with Martin already closing in by the end of the lap after recovering from her own excursion. McDaniel remained within reach of the pair.
Martin's recovery was taking shape and she passed Miall on lap three to take 18th, having already made up significant ground after her opening-lap off. Once ahead, Martin began to pull away, setting a 1:27.6 before lowering her pace further. She established a six-second margin over Miall while running around six seconds behind Bocquet.
Martin continued to build the gap with a 1:27.151 before becoming the first of the female drivers to break into the 1:26s, recording a 1:26.988 and extending her advantage behind. Miall meanwhile remained focused on defending from McDaniel, who had dropped a couple of seconds back from the KMR Sport driver, although McDaniel was later handed a track-limits penalty while attempting to close the gap.
Watkins was still fighting despite her earlier off-track excursion and began producing some of the strongest pace of the female entries, recording a 1:26.7 and catching Organji and McDaniel as she attempted to recover towards the main pack. With two minutes remaining, she had almost closed the gap despite having fallen to the rear earlier in the race.
Amrouche was similarly demonstrating that her pace remained intact despite the setbacks of the weekend. Even with a substantial gap to the field, she continued to lap in the 1:27.1 range, highlighting the speed she had shown throughout the weekend and the progress she had made during her first GB4 campaign.
Further drama came when Nolan and O'Donnell made contact, with the resulting incident leaving the American driver with a puncture, while the final laps continued to shuffle the order through penalties and incidents.
Jordyn Martin took the chequered flag in 17th place and was subsequently promoted to 14th following penalties applied to drivers ahead, giving her a strong final classification after a difficult race. Miall finished 18th, while Watkins recovered to 20th after McDaniel served her track-limits penalty, with McDaniel classified 21st. Amrouche completed the race after her eventful weekend, once again demonstrating competitive pace despite the setbacks that had repeatedly interrupted her progress.
The final standings confirmed Martin as the highest-placed female driver in the 2026 GB4 Championship, with 93 points and 18th place overall. Her result also secured the €50,000 MSV Highest Female Award, which provides a career contribution towards a potential F1 Academy seat should she secure a place in the all-female championship. Martin follows Alisha Palmowski, who received the award in 2024, and Ava Dobson, the 2025 recipient.
Martin has already gained experience of F1 Academy machinery after participating in the series' Rookie Test, and her next step has now been confirmed with an upcoming campaign in the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship, where she will gain further experience of the Tatuus T421 car.
McDaniel finished the season as the second-highest placed female driver in 23rd overall with 66 points. Her second GB4 season represented another step forward despite a campaign affected by misfortune and some health issues, and she leaves Brands Hatch having shown particularly strong racecraft in the close battles during the finale.
Watkins completed the championship with 48 points after a particularly promising final round, having shown encouraging pace during the pre-event testing and repeatedly demonstrated the ability to run around the top-15 before incidents affected her race results. Miall finished just behind her with 45 points, while her recovery from the opening-race incident and 17th-place finish in Race 2 provided one of the stronger results of the weekend for the female entries.
Amrouche ended her first GB4 season with 31 points, but her final round provided another indication of the speed she has developed during her first campaign in the series. The French driver was particularly unlucky at Brands Hatch, with a heavy Race 1 crash followed by further contact, penalties and incidents across the remaining races preventing her from converting her pace into stronger results. Nevertheless, her pace represented an encouraging conclusion to her second ever season in single-seaters and her first-ever GB4 campaign.
