Caldicot-based SD teams is already a major supporter of sportsmen and women across both Britain and Wales, backing athletes in the fields of hockey, cycling and motor racing. Across recent years SD has been a constant in the British GT Championship paddock, backing drivers Nick Jones and Scott Malvern with their Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.
This new deal marks SD’s expansion into junior single-seaters, with Kevin Mills Racing set to field two of the new Abarth-engined racers, with drivers for the new venture set to be unveiled soon.
GB4 is a brand-new championship for this year, and has been designed to help young drivers get a foothold on the career ladder towards Formula 1. The brainchild of British motorsport powerhouse MotorSport Vision, the new category uses the popular Tatuus F4-T014 cars, which are powered by 160bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged racing engines made by Abarth. The car has proven extremely popular around Europe, with over 200 being manufactured since its launch in 2014. Across its use in the Italian, German and Spanish championships, the cars have helped the likes of McLaren Formula 1 star Lando Norris, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll and Ferrari Academy star Mick Schumacher launch their careers. This season will mark the first year the cars have been used for a UK series. The majority of GB4 races will be held in support of British GT events this year.
Kevin Mills Racing steps up to GB4 off the back of many years of success in Formula Ford 1600. Founded in 1998 by Kevin Mills – a successful racer in his own right – the team has gone on to rack up multiple FFord titles at both regional and national level, along with five wins in the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy event and a victory at the historic Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
SD’s partnership with the team will feature prominently in both the livery of the cars and marks the first phase in a planned expansion of motor sport sponsorship, aimed at eventually supporting drivers through single-seaters and ultimately into a career in GT racing, giving the GB4 project a natural link to SD’s current British GT3 programme.
SD teams director Nick Jones said: “This new deal to support Kevin Mills Racing in the GB4 Championship is very exciting for us at it brings an awful lot of opportunity for both sides. I’ve known Kevin for many years and raced with him in Formula Ford at Castle Combe and even with Radicals, so I know first-hand the quality of the race cars he turns out. GB4 is an exciting new series and here at SD we’re all about giving the next generation opportunities to progress, be that professionally within a trade or professionally within a field of sport. Eventually we’d like to have a driver development programme where we can help talented drivers climb the ladder toward a professional career in motor racing. We already have the GT3 programme in British GT, and now thanks to the expansion into GB4 we have the chance to join the dots. It’s going to be an exciting season.”
Kevin Mills added: “The move up to the GB4 Championship this year will be a big one for the team, but we’re more than ready for the challenge and it’s amazing to have SD onboard with us. SD has helped the team in the past, but this takes our relationship with them to a whole new level and a whole new stage. We’ll have the two cars this year and, while we’re already close to confirming our first driver for the project we’re on the lookout for a second to join us for the season. With the addition of SD’s backing and its ambition to help young drivers climb the racing career ladder, we’re expecting a lot of interest in that second seat.”
The new GB4 Championship gets underway at Snetterton on April 2/3, before making its debut on the British GT Championship support bill at Oulton Park on April 15-18.
