Triple race winner Lucas Blakeley faces a nervous wait to see if he will be able to compete in the GB4 season finale.

By George Sanderson

GB4 will conclude its 2024 season next weekend at the iconic Brands Hatch GP circuit, with Linus Granfors of Fortec Motorsport favourite to claim the title. The Swede holds a 35-point advantage heading into the final round – the equivalent to a race victory in one of the first two races.

One driver who may not be in attendance, however, is Lucas Blakeley. The 23-year-old took over from Brandon McCaughan at KMR Sport from round four onwards and has secured three victories and four further podiums in his nine races.

Speaking to Feeder Series after his triple podium success at Donington Park, Blakeley explained why finishing the season might not be possible.

“I’ve been [financially] backing myself to even get in these cars. I’ve not had a major backer to support me, I’ve not had mass sponsorship to fund my way through it. I’ve had to, every time I go racing, really put my money where my mouth is.”

Due to his dedication to be able to race in GB4, Blakeley said that he is “now at a point where I can’t entirely self-fund myself anymore to continue racing”, meaning he now must rely on funds from elsewhere to be able to race at Brands Hatch. Motorsport “is a very cutthroat business,” said Blakeley, and that self-funding is not a long-term, sustainable option.

“I’m sort of at peace with that reality in some ways because I knew I was on borrowed time racing in general. I knew what I was doing was never going to last forever. It still hurts like hell, don’t get me wrong, when you realise that this could be it.”

A record-breaking season

Blakeley took his opportunities to impress this season, none more so than at Silverstone in round five. With two podiums and a fourth-place finish, his form was already impressive. But it was in race two where Blakeley made history, claiming victory by the largest winning margin in GB4 history: 15.449 seconds.

“I’d always wanted to win at Silverstone. It’s a track that I hold close to my heart,” he told Feeder Series. “It’s a track you watch when you grow up, right? You watch Formula One; you watch your heroes racing around that track. It’s one I really wanted to win, especially on the full layout. I would never in a million years have thought, you know, I’m going to break the record for the largest winning margin ever in GB4.” This result meant so much more to him too, as both of his parents made the journey down to Silverstone.

The following round at Donington Park continued to show Blakeley’s pace, as he picked up a podium in all three races and made two breathtaking first-lap charges around a circuit where overtaking is often at a premium. Yet he was not entirely happy, saying how he was disappointed with his performance in the wet qualifying session.

“The only thing that sort of held us back, I think, was just my inexperience in the wet conditions,” he said. “It’s a double-edged sword because I absolutely love driving in wet conditions, I feel like it’s something I really enjoy, and I really revel the challenge of getting to do. So, whenever it rains, I’ve always got a smile on my face.” Lining up further back on the grid than he had hoped, Blakeley then made two remarkable opening lap charges.

“I had the magical lap one [in race one] where I went fifth to first on slick tyres that were brand new, had no temperature, spitting rain, damp off-line, it was the sketchiest conditions!” It was a lead which he would then not relinquish, taking the chequered flag and a third win of the season.

With his successful results across the weekend, he admitted that it may seem odd to still leave Donington slightly disappointed.

“[A race weekend] will never be complete for me unless I know I’ve maximised every last part of the weekend. It’ll probably sound bizarre to listen to, especially when the results are as good as they were on paper.”

“When I get in the car I try and literally maximise the result that’s possible and go from there, because every time I get in the car I don’t know if there’s a time I’m getting back in it.”

An emotional weekend

Through Blakeley’s strong performances, and the points-scoring results of teammates Harry Burgoyne Jr, Chloe Grant and Brandon McCaughan, KMR Sport were crowned teams’ champions for the third consecutive year in GB4 – an achievement he was unsurprisingly proud to be a part of.

“It was a team effort and something that I’m really, really proud that we managed to achieve at the Donington weekend, and that I was able to share that emotion with the team.” Given his circumstances, it was also a weekend which held even more emotion for Blakeley.

“Every round had had a different emotion,” he explained, recalling back to his first races of the season at Snetterton. The victory in his very first race back in GB4 “was just out of nowhere.” he tells us. 

“Then Silverstone, you know, I’d always wanted to win at Silverstone. We’d done that, we broke the record for the largest margin to win by, had my mum and my dad there. And then Donington, it was a huge emotional rollercoaster.”

This time not only were his parents there to watch him race, but also his younger brother too. Following his victory in race one, the release of emotion from Blakeley and his family was clear to see.

“My brother came up to me where we had the cars pulled up [after the race] and he jumped to hug me, and he nearly knocked me over!” It is these moments that Blakeley says he will cherish, and he has a lot of gratitude towards KMR Sport for helping make them happen.

“An immense thanks to KMR Sport as a team. They have given me the opportunity to get into GB4 in the first place, without them I would never have embarked on this journey whatsoever. I owe them a lot of credit and a lot of thanks for supporting me, being there, being a great team to work with.”

Could Brands Hatch still happen?

Having spoken to Blakeley at the end of Friday testing at Donington Park, his outlook towards the season finale was rather bleak. On the contrary, the man sitting in his sim rig now, whilst still realistic, appeared far more hopeful of being able to work something out.

“It depends on the perspective. If it’s based on my own funds, it is 99% not happening. I am pretty cooked as you would say,” he joked.

“I am hopefully going to work on some things between now and then to see if I can finish the season and make it for the last round in the championship.” Whilst there is some cautious optimism, Blakeley also acknowledged the way motorsport works as a business, admitting that other factors are unavoidably against him.

“I’m 23 as well,” he said, “which is always very deflating when you realise how bleeding old you are compared to everyone that’s driving, even though you mentally might be young up here [in the head]!”

“It’s really weird to think you’re old with inverted commas at 23, it’s a very annoying feeling!” 

The prospect of driving the Brands Hatch GP layout for the first time is all the incentive required for Blakeley. 

“It would be a dream to drive on the Brands [Hatch] GP circuit. I mean, even thinking about it makes me want to be there really badly, so I’m not lacking motivation to be there. I just hope that I can make it happen financially, but that’s for time to tell. I will just have to wait and see on that…”

Header photo credit: Artie C Photo