Monday 30th September 2024
Round 7 and the final Round of the GB4 Championship took place at Brands Hatch and was held on the GP layout on Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th September.
This was to be Alisha's seventh race meeting in a single seater and and would be the finale of her 2024 GB4 racing season. This would be the championship decider, with Alisha sitting in second place but it was still possible to take the overall title.
SATURDAY 28th SEPTEMBER:
Qualifying:
Race 1 = P6
Race 2 = P7
Race 3 = P6 (full reverse grid from Race 1 qualifying position)
Qualifying proved to be a major challenge! Upon exiting the pitlane at the start of qualifying, as Alisha opened the throttle for the first time, the car immediately went into limp mode and resulted in Alisha having to do an outlap and go straight back into the pitlane. A repair was made to the boost hose that had popped off and Alisha was sent back out but several laps behind her competitors. As she began to push she found the car had become very snappy from the day before and was on the edge! As she went into Hawthorns, a very committed high speed right hander, the car snapped and caused her to have a full spin. She was extremely lucky not to hit a barrier hard at either side of the circuit and the spin effectively damaged all four of her tyres. At this point she had not even set a single competitive lap time and the clock was ticking down. With less than 5 mins to spare she was able to post two laps that would place her 6th & 7th respectively. This was not ideal at all, especially given that this would likely impact the title challenge, but could have been a lot worse. It certainly gave her a lot to do for the rest of the weekend, especially as she was now at a huge disadvantage due to the tyres becoming damaged and having to use a pair of extremely worn on one side of the car!
Race 1: P6 - P4
The racing was going to be difficult due to the tyre situation and one that would get worse as the races went on. Alisha made a very good start and immediately moved up into P4. She set about trying to close down both her main championship rivals ahead and at the end of lap 1, the championship leader who was leading the race went wide into Clearways and dropped back into P4, promoting Alisha into P3. Alisha pushed hard, but as expected her tyres were a limiting factor and the cars ahead were able to open a gap. The car behind also began to push hard and put pressure on her. As she went into Stirlings she had a snap and ran a tyre width wide onto the dirt which allowed the car behind, the championship leader, to pass and take P3. She was able to continue and crossed the line in P4. Her other title rival also won the race. This effectively ended Alisha's title challenge and dropped her into 3rd overall. The focus would therefore shift from the overall title to regaining 2nd.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
SUNDAY 29th SEPTEMBER:
Race 2: P7 - P3
Starting in 7th Alisha had a good start and was able to move up into P6 by turn 1. As the first part of the lap unfolded, Alisha made another place up into P5 and was immediately behind both of her title rivals. As a car ahead ran wide into Clearways this put Alisha up into P4 and still on the back of her key rivals placing pressure on them. As she entered Hawthorns she was able to carry out an undercut and despite being squeezed to the edge of the track made the move stick to take P3 on one of her rivals. This was to prove to be a key moment of the weekend for her. For there she raced hard and despite a level of pressure from behind was able to hold P3 comfortably. However the two ahead were able to open a gap, but Alisha crossed the line to yet again maintain her run of achieving a podium finish at every single round.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Race 3: P6 - P2
It was all still to play for Alisha to gain 2nd in the championship. The race start was delayed due to a driver entering the gravel on the outlap meaning an extra green flag lap was needed. Alisha had a great start and was almost challenging for the top 3 into turn 1, but got boxed in and so emerged in P5. However, going into Graham Hill she got pushed out wide which dropped her down to P6 and crucially her rival for 2nd in the championship got passed. She made a move up the inside into Dingle Dell but was pushed out wide onto the grass but was able to safely re-join. She continued to follow closely and upon exiting turn 1 managed to get up the inside leading up towards Druids. However she was again squeezed onto the grass but managed to slow the car and in the process there was contact amongst other cars resulting in Alisha taking P4. A safety car was quickly scrambled and her rival went into the pits for a front wing change and joined at the back of the safety car line. On the restart the driver in P2 had a very poor start which allowed P1 to open an immediate lead and slowed Alisha from making progress as no overlapping is allowed before the start / finish line. Alisha was quickly able to make a move into turn 1 to take P3 and later in the lap at Westfield to take P2. At this point P1 had a sizeable lead and P2 in the championship was down to how many places her rival could make up form the back. Alisha eventually crossed the line in P2 with her rival in P7. This was enough for Alisha to clinch P2 in the championship by 1 point!
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Overall a very difficult start to the weekend but one that had a very positive outcome! The GB4 race season has absolutely flown over but has been an extremely enjoyable and valuable experience for Alisha as she has commenced with her single seater career.
A big thank you as always goes to Elite Motorsport, Ed Ives, Chris Hodgetts, Sarah Moore, Jody Fannin, Oli Bailey & Demi Belt for all the hard work and support throughout the weekend! An equally big thank you also goes to the GB4 team who have been absolutely first class, offering an extremely well run championship, with drivers promoted very well on social media. It's certainly a championship that can be recommended!
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