Loughrea teenager Alex O’Grady has been crowned the 2026 British GB4 Champion, securing the title and a cheque for £50,000 with a superb second-place finish at Brands Hatch.
The 17-year-old Co Galway racing driver wrapped up the championship with a race to spare at the famous British circuit, adding another major international achievement to a motorsport career that first brought him to prominence when he won the IAME International Final at Le Mans, France, in 2019 at just 10 years of age. O’Grady entered the second race of the Brands Hatch weekend knowing that a podium finish would be enough to secure the GB4 Championship.
The decisive moment came immediately. O’Grady made an excellent launch from the grid and passed Fortec Motorsports’ Thomas Ingram Hill into the famous Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap to take second place. With the championship now within his grasp, the Loughrea driver produced an assured performance under considerable pressure.
While the race leader pulled clear at the front, O’Grady kept Tom Ingram-Hill behind and didn’t put a foot wrong, maintaining second position all the way to the chequered flag. Crossing the line in second was enough to put the championship beyond reach and confirm the 17-year-old Irishman as the 2026 British GB4 Champion with a race still remaining.
“I feel amazing!” O’Grady said after securing the title. “It was such a difficult race, just always thinking about what happens if I drop it around the back of the track or something. I just drove around and could see the time ticking down, and I was hoping that nothing on the car would break. We brought it home, so a massive thanks to the whole KMR Sport team.”
FROM LOUGHREA TO LE MANS – AND NOW A BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP
O’Grady’s championship victory represents another major milestone in a racing career that began in karting. The young Galway driver first attracted significant attention in 2019 when, at only 10 years of age, he travelled to the legendary Le Mans circuit in France and won the IAME International Final.
Seven years later, O’Grady has made the transition from international karting success to becoming a British single-seater champion. The 2026 GB4 Championship title represents an important step in the Loughrea driver’s progression through the international motorsport ranks. His success is also a major achievement for KMR Sport, with O’Grady paying tribute to the team immediately after clinching the championship at Brands Hatch.
For O’Grady, however, the Brands Hatch result means that a journey which began in karting in Co Galway has now delivered one of the biggest achievements of his young career: a British championship title at just 17 years of age.
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