Brandon McCaughan continued his title challenge in the GB4 Championship with a sensational second race win of the season during the latest triple-header at Donington Park this past weekend (25-26 May).
McCaughan added two more podium finishes to his tally to continue his hugely impressive start to the season, having scored a memorable victory on his debut at Oulton Park before highlighting his fantastic pace again at Silverstone last time out.
The Northern Irishman, who is racing this season as the inaugural winner of the coveted GB4 Shootout, produced hugely encouraging lap times during two days of official testing in the lead up to the event, topping the timesheets in a couple of sessions and ending both days inside the top three overall.
He carried that momentum into qualifying the next day and finished up less than two tenths of a second off pole as he secured second and third on the grid for the first two races of the weekend, putting him in prime position to challenge for silverware with reigning champions KMR Sport.
The 20-year-old rising star maintained second place through the opening lap of race one and went on to match the lap times of the leader in the opening laps. Edging closer as the race developed, he was right on his tail on the final lap but elected not to make a risky move and came home second.
A change of weather conditions meant a wet track greeted McCaughan for race two on Saturday morning and he truly excelled. Moving up to second on the first lap, he hunted down the driver ahead and pulled off a brilliant move for the race lead down the Craner Curves.
Once released at the front of the field, the Ballymena-based racer was unstoppable. Pulling clear by almost a second a lap from one of the 2023 GB4 title contenders, he built up a 5.5 second winning margin and posted the fastest lap of the race as well.
The final race featured a full reverse grid, meaning McCaughan faced a tough task from 14th at the start. With championship points earned for every position gained though, he knew progress forward was crucial and set about putting in a charging drive.
Gaining four places in the opening three laps to settle into the top ten, he continued climbing throughout and ended up taking the chequered flag in sixth position. Ending the weekend as the highest points scoring driver on the grid, he’s closed to within five points of second in the points standings.
Brandon McCaughan: “It’s been a fantastic weekend. There were times in recent weeks where we weren’t sure we’d make it onto the grid, so to be here and pick up a second win of the season and a double podium finish is a fantastic feeling.
“After some mistakes in recent rounds, I wanted to prove a point this weekend and show everyone what I can do. I feel I did that, especially in race two with the way the race played out and being able to pull clear to win by over five seconds.
“To put together a weekend like this, scoring more points than anyone else, is mega and exactly what we needed to make up some ground in the championship standings. I want to be here for the whole season so I know I need to be outscoring the leading drivers.
“Thank you to my sponsors, my family, the KMR Sport team and everyone who generously donated to the GoFundMe that we set up before this round, without you all I wouldn’t have been racing this weekend. We’ll be working hard now to ensure we’re back on the grid for Snetterton next.”
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.
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