Lights-To-Flag Maiden GB4 Win For Willis At Silverstone GP

Connor Willis produced an outstanding performance in the final GB4 Championship partnered by the BRDC race of the weekend at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, 2nd August, to seal his maiden race victory in the series and, with it, Hillspeed’s first win of 2026.

Lining-up on pole position for round 12 of the season, the American led from lights-to-flag and handled a mid-race Safety Car re-start perfectly. Making no mistakes throughout, Willis’ first podium visit of his rookie GB4 campaign was a leap straight to the top step.

“I don’t know where to start, I’m really out of words”, said an elated Willis after the race, “We’ve been working so hard this weekend, and the boys have been incredible – to end the weekend on a win means so much. We’ve been working so hard, finally for that work to pay off is incredible.

“We knew we were starting on pole, my first time on the front row, and we just prepared well going into it. We’ve been working so hard, it was bound to come soon. We’re just so happy, thanks to all my partners, everyone in the team, and a big shout out to all of the charities we have onboard and to my parents. There are so many people who deserve this win, not just me – it’s really a dream.”

Hopes were high of a possible double podium with Enzo Hallman starting the last race from second on the grid. After sustaining a broken front wing on lap one though he had to pit for a new nose cone, and so his best result of the weekend was 11th place in round 10. Demitri Nolan produced three strong race drives, having battled a fuel problem throughout qualifying, to take a best of 18th position in round 10.

For Hillspeed’s GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC squad, the return to Silverstone GP Circuit was a rather frustrating one with Dante Vinci taking away a best result of 14th place from round 13, Peter Bouzinelos netting 15th position from the same race and Aurelia Nobels taking a highest finish of 16th in round 14. The latter’s speed in round 15, though, was notable – just a tenth shy of podium pace.

GB4
Qualifying proved a mixed bag for the team’s GB4 trio, Hallman experienced a major handling issue with his car which restricted him to the 10th fastest time for the round 10 grid – although he was elevated to ninth due to a penalty for another competitor. Willis started race one from 10th rather than 11th place, while Nolan was badly hampered by the fuel issue impacting his car and pace, leading to 22nd spot.

Hallman and Willis each launched well at the start of race one, the former swiftly moving up to eighth while Willis remained in the top 10. Hallman grabbed seventh in quick order, impressive considering ongoing handling trouble which the team had tried to resolve, and then took sixth at the end of lap one. Nolan served up a fantastic first tour, avoiding chaos and neatly threading through all the way to 16th.

After a challenge on lap seven Hallman slipped to seventh, but he hit back impressively on the outside at Stowe and retook sixth into Vale. He then remained sixth to the flag, Willis had moved up into ninth and stayed there to the finish and Nolan was 15th. Unfortunately, Hallman and Nolan each received five second track limits penalties and were demoted to 11th and 18th, as Willis was elevated to eighth.

Willis and Hallman shared the fifth row for round 11 on Sunday, Hillspeed having worked late into the night to discover the problems with the Swede’s car were down to a tyre issue, with Nolan set to start 24th. Oil deposited on the grid on the formation lap led to another, and although there was a trail of the fluid ahead of Hallman’s grid slot, he was able to rocket into eighth while Willis slipped to 10th place.

Hallman was edged back to ninth later in the lap and did try to retake the slot into Brooklands on lap two, but to no avail. Willis, meanwhile, was elbowed back to 11th on the second tour as the pack around the top 10 battled tooth and nail and soon slipped to 12th place.

With nothing to choose between six or seven cars, Hallman then ran wide at Club on lap five – struggling with the bad set of tyres – and rejoined just ahead of Willis. The American then made his move into Brooklands, taking 11th from his team-mate, and that is how they took the flag. Nolan held 23rd position initially and kept his race clean and tidy, ultimately climbing through to finish inside the top 20.

From his first pole position in round 12, Willis handled the pressure superbly and made no mistakes on his way to a fantastic win. Leading by half a second into lap two, the Safety Car was deployed for lap three and at the re-start on the sixth tour Willis did the job perfectly to seal a terrific triumph.

Hallman, with slightly better tyres than the previous race, initially held second behind his team-mate through Copse on lap one, but on the run to Maggotts and Becketts he sustained front wing damage. After pitting for a fresh nose cone, Hallman latched on to the tail of the field after the Safety Car and took 18th but was elevated to 16th post-race due to penalties for others. Nolan rose from 21st to 16th on lap one, but an out-of-position start penalty meant 20th.

GB3
For the first GB3 race of the weekend on Saturday, Vinci lined-up on the sixth row with Nobels and Bouzinelos 19th and 21st respectively – all three determined to make progress. Bouzinelos ensured the best gains of all three team-mates, a great start seeing him quickly move ahead of Nobels and he duly climbed to 17th position before the appearance of the Safety Car.

Vinci was right in the battle over the top 10 until later on the opening lap when shuffled back a couple of places while Nobels circulated in 20th spot as the cautionary period arrived. Racing resumed at the beginning of lap four and Vinci finished in 14th position, Bouzinelos climbed into the top 15, and Nobels ended the race in 18th position.

Round 14 on Sunday morning began with Vinci and Nobels sharing row eight, with Bouzinelos on row nine in 18th place. Vinci and Nobels slipped back a place on the opening lap, to 16th and 17th, as all three team-mates ran nose-to-tail. Bouzinelos then picked up damage on lap three and had to pit.

As the race wore on Vinci and Nobels ran as part of a six-car train up to the top 12, and mid-race they moved into 15th and 16th due to a rival dropping back. Staying there to the flag on lap 14, Nobels was a mere 0.2 seconds shy of Vinci while Bouzinelos – having rejoined after repairs – ended five laps down.

Just before round 15, Nobels’ car wouldn’t start and this was traced back to a new wire on the starter motor which failed after just two days of use. With focus turning to the problem at hand, the team hadn’t had chance to complete the final rear wing set-up. With officials not permitting such in the assembly area, there was no option but for Nobels to pit after the green flag lap.

Vinci started on the eighth row, where Nobels was due to start as well, with Bouzinelos just behind. Into lap two Vinci was in 14th position but after slipping back a place, he was then challenged successfully by team-mate Bouzinelos into Stowe, who moved up into the top 15 as a result.

Into lap five Bouzinelos was under attack from Ricardo Baptista, succumbing to the Brazilian soon after with Vinci having already been edged back to 17th – the Hillspeed team-mates then remained in those positions to the flag. In clear air at the back, Nobels showed superb speed to not only reel in the pack and finish in 19th place, but also set a best lap of 1m52.357s – just a single tenth shy of podium pace.

Richard Ollerenshaw – Hillspeed Team Principal:
“What a way to end quite a frustrating and challenging weekend. Everyone in the team worked so hard and to see Connor take his first GB4 win in the last race – and the manner in which he did it – really was fantastic. He’s been knocking on the door of the podium for some time, Connor is a very good driver and he and his whole family really do deserve this success.

“We were very much on the pace in GB4 testing but the fuel problem for Demitri and the handling problem for Enzo, which we later traced back to bad tyres, compromised their qualifying. In GB3 it wasn’t the weekend we wanted, everyone worked hard as always though and Dante, Peter and Aurelia all raced well. We were devastated with the wiring issue which impacted race three for Aurelia, very disappointing for a new part to fail so soon, but the plus point was the true pace of Aurelia and the car.”

Hillspeed’s GB4 Championship squad returns to action a fortnight from now, over the weekend 15th/16th August, at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk. The GB3 Championship now heads into a break until 5th/6th September when the category will resume alongside GB4 at Donington Park GP Circuit.

GB4 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd12)
4th Enzo Hallman, 187pts; 11th Connor Willis, 123pts; 20th Demitri Nolan, 58pts

GB4 Championship Team Standings (after Rd12)
1st Hillspeed, 344pts

GB3 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd15)
13th Dante Vinci, 105pts; 18th Aurelia Nobels, 64pts; 20th Peter Bouzinelos, 47pts

GB3 Championship Team Standings (after Rd15)
6th Hillspeed, 197pts