VRD Racing will return to the GB4 Championship at Silverstone, fielding a single-car entry for rising American star Ava Dobson. The 15-year-old will make her first European racing appearance at the event, having competed in three different single-seater categories in the USA over the past year.
Her racing debut came in the YACademy Winter Series at F4 level at the start of 2023, before contesting the majority of the F4 United States Championship as her main programme. She also contested rounds in USF Juniors and the USF2000 categories, proving her abilities at multiple levels of the American ladder. Ava has also competed in USF Juniors this year, though this weekend’s GB4 event at Silverstone marks her racing comeback after a crash at Barber Motorsports Park in April.
Prior to her car racing graduation, Dobson has enjoyed a sustained karting career, beginning racing at the age of seven and competing in the World Karting Association, USPKS, SKUSA, ROK Cup and the Route 66 Sprint Series, where she was a multiple winner and podium finisher. Her first experience of the GB4 car came in testing this week, where she quickly built up her pace on the full Grand Prix circuit, and well within the 103% marker for the reverse grid element.
VRD, one of the leading junior single-seater squads in the USA, has established itself in UK paddocks with its race-winning GB3 Championship efforts with Arden, whilst it was a GB4 podium contender in the second half of 2023.
Ava Dobson said: “I’m really looking forward to racing at Silverstone this weekend in the GB4 Championship, it’s an amazing circuit and a real honour to be racing at an F1 venue. It’s a new challenge for me, especially after a few weeks out of the cockpit, but I’ve gained speed in testing this week and I look forward to making more progress across the event.”
VRD Racing Team Principal Dan Mitchell said: “We’re looking forward to giving Ava her racing comeback this weekend. There’s no pressure on her, she’s going to gain some excellent experience in Europe, and as we could see in testing, she was getting closer to the pace in each session. Solid performances in qualifying and the races will do her no harm at all, as she enters her first races for a few months.”
For more championship information, visit www.gb-4.net