Colin Queen launches GB4 campaign at Media Day
Colin Queen officially launched his 2023 GB4 Championship campaign at Donington Park on 23 March at the series’ official Media Day.
The 18-year-old is gearing up for his first season in the ‘slicks and wings’ category with renowned single seater team Fortec Motorsport, with seven events and 21 races in prospect at a whole host of the UK’s world-famous venues.
Ahead of the curtain raiser at Oulton Park over Easter weekend, Queen gave his verdict on a promising testing programme in preparation for his biggest challenge to-date.
“We’ve had a really thorough winter programme, which has helped me acclimate to the GB4 car, and get familiar with all the finer details,” he explains.
“The team have been fantastic throughout that process. We’ve gelled really well as a unit, and even though it’s a slightly bigger environment than I’m used to, I definitely feel like we’ve found a rhythm together and I can focus on delivering to my peak performance.”
Since their formation in the 1990s, Fortec Motorsport have a superb track record for developing young drivers; a cursory glance at their roster of graduates throws up famous names including Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, Juan-Pablo Montoya, Formula E stars Sam Bird and Robin Frijns and Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, among others.
It’s a driver-focused environment that has paid dividends for Queen’s development over the winter, with the Southern California native feeling the impact on his performance levels despite such a relatively short period of time.
“It’s great to be working with a team that puts such an emphasis on driver development,” he adds. “You only have to look down the list of drivers that Fortec have worked with over the past few decades – from Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo to the likes of Juan-Pablo Montoya – and it’s clear that Richard and Ollie [Dutton] know their stuff.”
It has been a winter of adaptation for Colin, adjusting from a Formula Ford to the Tatuus F4-T014 used in GB4.
“The two cars are completely different – the Formula Ford can be driven like a kart, compared to the GB4 that requires more finesse to extract the most out of the car,” explains Colin.
“With the GB4, I’ve had to be a lot more methodical with my actions, for example not letting the tyres get past the slip angle, different braking technique, as well as adapting to the aerodynamics and a bit of downforce.”
One shortcut the US teenager can take, however, is learning the tracks, having served his apprenticeship over two years in Formula Ford on iconic venues such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park.
“I think having experience on all the major UK tracks from Formula Ford is going to be an advantage, perhaps more so against the foreign drivers.
“It’s a really tough proving ground in the UK, and a lot of the tracks punish you for making mistakes. They can be quite narrow, so precision and hitting your marks is as much a challenge as being quick. I think in that regard, two years in Formula Ford are going to serve me well.”
Now in it’s second season, GB4 looks set for an ultra-competitive grid in 2023. An enviable prize offering – including £50,000 towards a GB3 seat to the champion – has attracted a cosmopolitan line-up of talents.
For Queen, however, the focus starts much closer to home, with his own performance.
“It’s way too early to start casting predictions about where we are versus the rest of the grid, but we’ve prepared as well as we can, so I’m going to Oulton Park feeling confident,” says Colin.
“It’s going to be a close, competitive year, and there are plenty of good drivers in the field, but all I can do is make sure I’m extracting the maximum from myself and let the rest take care of itself.”
All rounds of the 2023 GB4 Championship will be live streamed on MSV’s YouTube channel, starting with the opening three races at Oulton Park on 8/10 April.