Following a successful outing at the ROKiT F4 British Championship pre-season test at Thruxton Circuit, Gabriel Stilp has finalised his deal to compete with Hitech Pulse-Eight. The British karting star marked himself out as one of the favourites for the Rookie Cup, having lapped consistently within a second of two-time British F4 race winner Aiden Neate. Across the five sessions, he set the 10th fastest time overall amid awkward track conditions to lead the rookie classification.
His transition to cars follows a successful junior career in IAME X30 karts with MadCroc Promotions, during which he secured consecutive titles in the Junior X30 IAME World Finals in 2021 and 2022. He also clinched the hotly contested British Junior X30 Championship in 2022, among other prestigious karting accolades in the Mini X30 category.
“I’m really pleased to be joining the British F4 Championship this year. To be joining last year’s champions Hitech is just amazing,” ‘Stilpy’ said. “It was a late decision to race this year, so I haven’t had as many test days and the weather hasn’t been kind to me. I’m hoping with the team and my teammates’ experience I can get up to speed and be fighting for podiums by mid-year. I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
Hitech F4 team manager, Dominic Stott, is enthusiastic to have Stilp bolster an already strong line-up as they look to claim the team’s title that they missed out on in 2022.
“We are very happy to welcome Gabriel to the team which completes our British F4 lineup for 2023. Gabriel’s results in karting speak for themselves and we are excited to see his progression with us during the season. Having already tested with us, he is already working hard with the rest of the team to be ready for Round One at Donington.
“Having missed out on the team’s trophy last year, everyone here is eager to get out and go for the double. There is definitely some strong competition, but we think Gabriel is a strong addition to an already competitive line-up.”
Confirmation of Stilp’s entry has bolstered the grid to a record-matching 20 entries ahead of this weekend’s opening round. This adds to an interesting grid of rookies, which will feature fellow established kart stars Josh Irfan and Gustav Jonsson.
