Fortec Motorsports delivered a strong showing in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA, as the series showcased its talents in a pair of standalone races alongside the Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix 2025.
The team was represented by familiar faces Henry Joslyn, Ary Bansal, and Thomas Ingram Hill, who were joined by youngster Emily Cotty – making just her second appearance in the series and her debut with Fortec.
The quartet had 45 minutes of practice on Friday afternoon to familiarise themselves with the circuit and fine-tune the cars, before qualifying first thing on Saturday morning. In a close and competitive session, Ary was the quickest in the team in eighth, followed by Henry in 13th, Emily in 20th, and Tom in 23rd.
With the grid for Race One set by each driver’s second-fastest lap, Ary lined up fourth. Although he dropped a position into Turn One, he quickly reclaimed it, but unfortunately, on the second lap, the race leader spun onto the Hangar Straight, forcing the Indian racer to take to the grass in avoidance, dropping him to tenth.
Contact from another car shortly after pushed him back to 11th, where he would remain to the flag. “The start wasn’t good,” he said afterwards. “Then I had to take avoiding action which lost me a few more positions, and I couldn’t recover from there.”
Behind him, Henry, Tom, and Emily were all involved in close battles, with Tom taking a heavy hit from another car late in the race, though he was able to continue and take the flag. Henry struggled to find his usual front-running pace, while Emily drove a solid race to gain two places and finish inside the top 20.
The second contest, held early on Sunday morning, was positive for Ary, who fought hard on track and made two good overtakes to secure a sixth-place finish at the flag. “Race two went better,” he said. “It’s been fun to be part of the weekend and experience the atmosphere.”
Emily also enjoyed a good race, again making strong progress, this time gaining four places to finish 16th. Henry continued to struggle with his pace, unable to show the form he is capable of. “It was a struggle this weekend,” he said. “But it was really cool to see all the fans staying late or coming in early to watch us race.” Unfortunately, Tom was forced to retire. “We had a DNF due to an electrical fault,” he explained. “So, it was disappointing, but it was a really good event, and I enjoyed the experience.”
Fortec Motorsports will return to Wera Tools British F4 action over 25–27 July, as the series heads to Zandvoort, home of the Dutch Grand Prix, while the GB4 Championship resumes after an early summer break at Snetterton next weekend, 12–13 July.
#46 Ary Bansal
Grid 1 – 4, Race 1 – 11
Grid 2 – 8, Race 2 – 6
#26 Henry Joslyn
Grid 1 – 18, Race 1 – 19
Grid 2 – 13, Race 2 – 20
#8 Thomas Ingram Hill
Grid 1 – 22, Race 1 – 23
Grid 2 – 23, Race 2 – DNF
#14 Emily Cotty
Grid 1 – 20, Race 1 – 18
Grid 2 – 20, Race 2 – 16
