GB4: Lily-May Watkins breaks into top ten at Snetterton, Jordyn Martin continues strong rookie season
- RACERS
- 18 hours ago
- 7 min read
The five female drivers contesting the 2026 GB4 Championship produced one of their most competitive weekends of the season at Snetterton, with Lily-May Watkins achieving her maiden overall top-ten finish in the series while Jordyn Martin continued to lead the group of female entries in Race 1 and 2 with another strong performance.
The five female drivers contesting the 2026 GB4 Championship produced one of their most competitive weekends of the season at Snetterton, with Lily-May Watkins achieving her maiden overall top-ten finish in the series while Jordyn Martin continued to lead the group of female entries in Race 1 and 2 with another strong performance.
The fifth round of the championship saw Martin, Watkins, Solenn Amrouche, Holly Miall and Caitlyn McDaniel all feature prominently in the battles across the three races, with several drivers producing their best results of the season. Martin continued to establish herself as the leading female rookie in Races 1 and 2, while Watkins converted her improving pace into a breakthrough ninth-place finish in Race 3. Amrouche also enjoyed another positive weekend, particularly in the opening two races, while Miall and McDaniel continued to fight through the midfield despite difficult circumstances.
Martin had once again been the benchmark in qualifying, eventually securing 13th on the grid after a late improvement, with Watkins just behind in 16th. Amrouche qualified 23rd, followed by Miall in 25th and McDaniel in 27th.
The opening qualifying session initially saw Holly Miall among the leading female drivers, setting the pace after the first representative laps before the times began to tumble rapidly. Jordyn Martin quickly emerged as the strongest challenger from the group, posting a 1:50.3 lap to move into the overall top ten before continuing to improve. The Fortec Motorsport driver soon broke into the 1:49s, recording a 1:49.544 to move into 14th position.
Watkins was also making significant progress. The KMR Sport driver initially posted a 1:50.7 before improving to 1:49.398, placing herself just behind Martin. She then found another improvement to dip below the 1:49 barrier, setting a 1:48.996 to temporarily become the fastest female driver in 14th place.
Martin responded immediately, however, reclaiming the position with a 1:48.889 and then improving again to 1:48.867. She remained 13th overall, narrowly missing the top-12 position required to secure reverse-grid pole for Race 3.
Watkins ultimately qualified 16th, while Amrouche improved to 1:50.038 for 23rd. Miall recorded a 1:50.663 for 25th, with McDaniel completing the female entries in 27th on a 1:50.957.
It nevertheless represented another encouraging qualifying performance for Martin and Watkins, both demonstrating the pace to challenge considerably further up the grid.
Martin started Race 1 from 13th, with Watkins alongside her in 16th. Amrouche lined up 22nd, Miall 24th and McDaniel 26th. The five drivers all made clean starts, with Martin immediately gaining a position to move into 12th while Watkins climbed to 15th.
Amrouche produced perhaps the strongest opening launch of the group, gaining three places to move into 19th, while McDaniel and Miall initially found themselves together at the back of the field.
As the opening lap developed, several incidents elsewhere in the field allowed the female drivers to gain further positions. By Lap 2, Martin was 12th, Watkins 14th, Amrouche 18th, McDaniel 24th and Miall 25th.
Martin quickly established herself just outside the overall top ten, running comfortably in 12th and maintaining a small gap over Davies behind. Watkins was also becoming increasingly involved in the midfield battle, leading a group of cars while defending from Bullard and Achituv.
Further back, McDaniel was engaged in a close battle with Nolan, with the two American drivers repeatedly exchanging positions and Miall following closely behind.
Martin's pace remained strong as the race progressed. When Davies began closing in, Martin responded with a 1:49.8 before improving again to a 1:49.7, allowing her to maintain a gap of roughly half a second.
A problem for championship contender Fred Green then created another opportunity, with the slowing car eventually being forced into the pits. Martin inherited 11th, while Watkins moved into 13th.
Amrouche was also enjoying a solid run in the midfield, although her battle with Leverton eventually saw her lose one position.
Martin continued to defend strongly during the closing stages and held onto 11th at the chequered flag, finishing as the leading female driver.
Watkins produced one of her strongest races of the season to finish 13th, improving on her previous best result of 15th. Amrouche completed an impressive recovery from 22nd to 19th, securing another top-20 result.
McDaniel and Miall remained locked together throughout the race, with McDaniel ultimately finishing 24th and Miall 25th. McDaniel's performance was particularly notable given that she continued to deal with health issues during the weekend.
The second race on Sunday morning began with a delayed start after two spins during the formation lap forced the field to complete additional formation laps.
Martin again started from 13th, Watkins from 15th, Amrouche from 24th, Miall from 25th and McDaniel from 27th.
The opening moments immediately proved costly for Watkins. At the Wilson hairpin, she was struck by the Arden car of Koh, with the impact almost sending her car into a rollover. Watkins managed to remain on four wheels, but was forced off track and could not continue, bringing an unfortunate early retirement.
The Safety Car was deployed as a result. Martin retained 13th position during the opening chaos, while Amrouche once again produced a strong start, gaining four places to move into 20th. Miall also made excellent progress, climbing three positions to 22nd, with McDaniel immediately behind in 24th.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 2, but the midfield remained extremely tightly packed, with several cars locking up through the chicane. Amrouche initially lost ground to the recovering Organji, dropping to 21st, while Martin found herself caught in a large group of cars fighting over the midfield positions.
The pressure eventually shuffled Martin down to 18th, costing her five places in a single lap. The Fortec driver nevertheless remained determined to fight back and soon began closing on Bullard.
Martin eventually completed the move on Lap 6 to regain 17th, while continuing to demonstrate competitive pace. She subsequently recorded a 1:50.2, faster than the two cars ahead of her, and continued applying pressure to Davies.
Amrouche also showed strong pace, recording a personal-best 1:51.3 as she continued her fight for another top-20 finish. Further back, McDaniel was gradually recovering ground on Miall, setting a 1:51.9 and closing the gap to the cars ahead.
Martin eventually crossed the finish line in 17th after a determined recovery drive, while Amrouche secured another top-20 result in 20th. Miall finished 22nd, successfully keeping McDaniel behind her, with the latter taking 23rd.
The final race of the weekend was also the 100th race in GB4 Championship history, and it produced the highlight result of the weekend for some of the female drivers. Martin started from 13th, Watkins from 16th, Amrouche from 22nd, Miall from 25th and McDaniel from 26th.
The opening lap immediately brought chaos, with a car suffering a puncture and several drivers forced off track while attempting to avoid incidents. Watkins emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries, making an extraordinary start to climb five places into 11th. Amrouche was even more impressive, gaining eight positions to reach 14th, while McDaniel climbed six places to 21st and Miall moved into 22nd.
Martin, however, was caught up in the opening-lap incidents and suffered damage that forced her to pit. It appeared to end her hopes of another strong result, but the subsequent Safety Car would give her an opportunity to recover. At the front of the female entries, Watkins was suddenly running just outside the top ten in 11th, while Amrouche was also inside the top 15.
The Safety Car was deployed following another incident involving Byrne, allowing Martin to rejoin the field and close the gap. When racing resumed on Lap 4, Martin immediately went on the offensive. Starting from the back of the order, she rapidly passed McDaniel, Bullard and Miall to move into 20th.
Watkins meanwhile remained in 11th, just one position away from her first GB4 top-ten finish.
Amrouche was also continuing her recovery and moved into 14th after passing Organji, although she subsequently suffered damage of her own and was forced to pit.
The race was neutralized again on Lap 5 following an accident involving Willis and O'Donnell. The second Safety Car period dramatically changed the picture once more.
Watkins was now classified in ninth place, putting her on course for a historic result. Martin had climbed all the way back to 17th, while Miall was 19th, with McDaniel 20th.
Unfortunately for Amrouche, the timing of her pit stop proved particularly costly. Having been in the pit lane immediately before the second neutralization, she was ultimately classified as a DNF despite having produced one of her strongest drives of the weekend.
The race was in fact subsequently red-flagged and not resumed, meaning the positions under the final caution became the official classification.
For Watkins, the result represented a major breakthrough: the KMR Sport driver was classified ninth overall, securing her first top-ten finish of the 2026 GB4 season and, importantly, her first-ever top-ten result in the championship.
Miall was the second-highest female driver in 18th, while Martin was classified 19th after her recovery from the opening-lap damage. McDaniel finished 20th.
The result was particularly significant for Watkins, who had already shown encouraging pace before her injury earlier in the season and had returned to the championship at Silverstone. At Snetterton, she finally converted that pace into two personal best results.
Jordyn Martin remains the highest-placed female driver in the GB4 Championship standings after five rounds, with 80 points. Caitlyn McDaniel sits second among the female drivers on 55 points, while Watkins' breakthrough weekend has lifted her to 47 points. Holly Miall has accumulated 34 points, with Solenn Amrouche on 26 points.
For Martin, the weekend reinforced her position as the leading female rookie of the 2026 campaign. For Watkins, meanwhile, the ninth-place finish provides a significant morale boost and represents another important step in her second GB4 season.
The five drivers will now head to Donington Park for the sixth round of the championship on September 5–6, where they will race on the circuit's Grand Prix layout.
