Jessica Edgar makes formula debut in GB4 with Fortec

Karting ace Jessica Edgar is Fortec Motorsport's first signing in the brand-new GB4 Championship.

Photo credits: Jakob Ebrey

Two drivers have been confirmed so far on the grid of the all-new GB4 Championship - and both are women. The exciting news comes on Tuesday morning, as top British racing team Fortec Motorsport signed its first driver for the upcoming season - 16-year-old Jessica Edgar.

Fortec - an outfit with incredible track records in junior formulae, including titles in British F4, British F3, Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 3.5 - comes off a championship winning campaign in F4 in the team's standings and is gearing up for a double program in BRDC GB4 and GB3.

“I am really excited to be racing in the GB4 Championship and am enjoying working with the team at Fortec" - said Edgar, who has tested the Tatuus F4-car in the previous weeks.

"I’m looking forward to the year ahead, they are a great team and have lots of experience in helping young drivers progress from karting to car racing. I know I have a big learning curve ahead of me but want to maximise every opportunity I get."

"Guy [Smith] and Andy [Meyrick] at Greenlight Sports Management have helped hugely in putting everything together to allow me every chance to succeed" - she added, praising the work of her management.

Edgar - who is part of a racing family and is cousin of Red Bull junior and FIA F3 racer Jonny Edgar - was karting Rowrah Club Champion in 2017, before amassing more victories in the Mini X30 category. Jessica made history in 2019, when she became the first female to win more than one round in the LGM Championship and ultimately finished runner-up.

She would come less than a second short of a Kartmasters Grand Prix title, but earned a spot on the X30 Karting World Finals.

Her karting resumé earned Edgar the selection in the Motorsport Games as part of Team UK in 2019, as well as a place in the FIA 'Girls On Track: Rising Stars' programme.

“We’re very pleased to confirm Jessica in our GB4 team for the 2022 season" - commented Fortec Motorsport's Oliver Dutton. "She’s shown a lot of promise in the testing we’ve done together over the last few weeks and made a lot of progress."

"We’re very excited about her potential and we’re looking forward to continuing the good work so far ahead of the first round of the year at Snetterton.”

Edgar joins fellow female racer Logan Hannah, who was announced at Graham Brunton Racing.

The newly-launched GB4 Championship is attracting a lot of attention from young drivers moving their first steps from karting to single-seaters, offering a cost-effective alternative to European F4 championships. GB4 will employ the extremely-successful Tatuus T014 F4 car, that ran in the Italian, German, Spanish, UAE series among the others.

The season is scheduled to start at Snetterton on 2-3 April for the first triple-header, before moving to Oulton Park in mid-April. The 8-event calendar then includes more visits to Silverstone, Donington Park, Snetterton, Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington for the season finale on 15-16 October.