Colin Queen takes podium on GB4 debut
Colin Queen marked his card as ‘one to watch’ this season after picking up a maiden podium finish in the GB4 Championship season opener at Oulton Park this weekend [8-10 April].
The 18-year-old travelled to the 2.6-mile Cheshire circuit to kick off his first campaign in the series, and with new team Fortec Motorsport, having starred in the UK’s highly-competitive Formula Ford scene last year.
After showing front-running pace in practice, the lap didn’t quite come together for Queen during qualifying, and he took fourth in a closely-matched field. That proved crucial for the weekend ahead, with overtaking opportunities at such a premium around the narrow circuit layout at Oulton Park.
Nevertheless, Queen got stuck in, and put on a thrilling show for the spectators – and those watching online - in the opening race on Saturday evening.
Despite a small off-track moment breaking the bolt in his steering column on just the second lap, Queen continued on, matching the pace of the front runners for the rest of the race distance.
He even briefly made a pass for the final spot on the podium but had to yield to Cooper Webster on the unfavoured outside line into Old Hall corner. Nevertheless, it gave the paddock just a hint of Queen’s potential, heading into the break for Easter Sunday.
In stark contrast to Queen’s native California, wet weather greeted the GB4 field on their return to the circuit on Monday morning for the second race of the weekend.
Queen improved to third at the start but, pushing hard in a bid to close the gap to the top two, made a mistake at Lodge on the opening tour and retired with rear wing damage after skimming the wet grass and hitting the barrier.
He made amends in superb fashion later in the day, however. Starting tenth for the reverse grid race, Queen made up two places after a strong start, and gradually scaled the order to run third behind Harry Reynolds.
Lap after lap, the two circulated nose-to-tail as Queen inched ever closer, but a low-risk opportunity to pass never presented itself as they took the flag a mere 0.198 seconds apart.
Still, it meant third, and a first podium for Queen, who heads next to Silverstone GP on 5-7 May.
Colin Queen (#62) said:
“It’s great to leave Oulton Park with my first GB4 podium, and to end the weekend on a positive note. Qualifying put us on the back foot a little bit, we weren’t where we should have been.
“That made it incredibly tricky to pass and make progress, particularly on a circuit this narrow and with the typical, changeable British weather also in play.
“Ultimately, we’ve made some mistakes, but learnt from them and begun the process of bouncing back. We’ll debrief with the team and identify some areas we can work on, then come back stronger at Silverstone.”