Ava Dobson Kicks Off First Full GB4 Season with Top-Ten Race Finish at Donington Park

Ava Dobson powers through Donington Park in her #55 Arden Motorsport car during the opening weekend of the 2025 GB4 Championship.

Donington Park, England, 6 April 2025 - 16-year-old American woman formula racing

driver, Ava Dobson, gave a breakout performance in the beginning three rounds of her

first full season in the 2025 GB4 Championship at Donington Park Circuit, racing for

Arden Motorsport.

Last year, Dobson completed two rounds of GB4 competition at Silverstone and

Donington Park, as part of a joint venture of Velocity Racing Development and Arden

Motorsport. She recently participated in a series of testing sessions with Arden at

circuits around England, just before announcing her new contract to race for Arden in

GB4 full-time in 2025.

Following three productive practice sessions last Thursday and Friday at Donington

Park, Dobson showed promise in this season’s first qualifying session, completing a lap

time quick enough to start in P14 out of 25 on the grid for Race 1.

“The car felt quick and the conditions were fantastic, so we had a pretty strong first

‘quali’,” said Dobson, “The goal is always to make my way near the front of the field, and

that will be my main goal in the races this weekend.”

Then, in Saturday evening’s Race 1, Dobson drove consistent laps, displaying full

comfortability with the car, track, and pace of the competition. She applied consistent

pressure to the drivers ahead and finished in P12, a positive gain of 2 positions, which

earned her 9 championship points.

Following the race, a member of the commentary team took a moment to highlight Ava’s

significant progression since her GB4 outings last season, exclaiming she had a

“cracking drive”.

Next, starting from P13 in Race 2 on Sunday morning, Dobson showed exceptional

speed, confidence, and racecraft - firmly positioning herself in the fight. She stayed

clear of multiple incidents on track and secured P10 at the chequered flag. This top-ten

finish awarded her 11 additional points.

“It feels empowering to place in the top-ten this early in the year, and this gives me so

much energy to keep pushing, find even more time through the corners, and keep

fighting for positions,” said Dobson.

Unfortunately, Dobson’s weekend of scoring points came to an end in the opening stage

of Race 3 on Sunday afternoon, due to contact between her front wing and the right rear

tire of the car ahead, which caused her front wing to detach. The resulting loss of

downforce and handling forced her to return to the pit for a new wing, causing her to fall

down the order and ultimately finish in P25. While this was not the end to the weekend

Dobson hoped for, she noted that all track time on the formula racing ladder is valuable,

and she was able to push the car’s limits in clean air for many consecutive laps after the

stop.

In the opening weekend the 2025 GB4 Championship, Ava Dobson scored a total of 20

points, enough for 15th in the drivers’ standings. Donington Park was full of promising

successes and informative lessons for the young woman driver, and she will continue to

work with her Arden Motorsport team to reach the front of the field in 2025.

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Ava Dobson is a 16-year-old American woman formula racing driver chasing her dream

of racing glory around the world. After graduating from karting, she began her single-

seater racing career in United States Formula (USF) Junior and United States Formula

4 series. She is now racing in Great Britain in the 2025 GB4 Championship, piloting the

red and white #55 Arden Motorsport car.