Fox Motorsport’s Sid Smith has enjoyed a big upturn in form in the second half of his maiden GB4 campaign, and is edging ever closer to the battle for fifth place in the championship standings.
His best weekend of the season came last time out at Brands Hatch, with three top-six finishes and a pair of top-fives.
Lying ninth in the standings heading to the final round at Donington Park, the reigning Fiesta Junior champion is just 28 points away from fifth place with 105 points theoretically still to fight for.
“As I’ve said all year, it was always going to be hard coming from a front wheel drive Fiesta to this, so this year has really been a learning year, especially in the first half getting used to the car and everything” said Smith.
“With Liam [McNeilly] he’s a bit more familiar with the rear wheel drive and driving it on edge, so it’s taken me time just to get in touch with the car, get used to tracks and how it all works and all the procedures you’ve got to do.
“So once I got all that nailed I’ve been able to work on my detail driving and with that it’s just come to this point where I’ve caught up with the guys and now I’m on the pace. So obviously we’ll keep pushing but that podium never seems to be coming!”
Smith reckons he could potentially be higher up the standings, had it not been for misfortune earlier in the season.
“I got a bit unlucky at the start of the year and had a couple of incidents, some mine, some others, but I can’t change that now, and now we’ve got to the point where we’re actually pushing for the top five positions and not finishing there in reverse grids and stuff, but overall.
“So that’s always good, if we can keep up there at Donington when we come here next, then that’s brilliant for the championship and for me, but obviously I’m hoping for that top five in the championship, so if we keep pushing then who knows? We’ll hopefully be there.”
He’s also set himself a goal of earning a podium at the final event, as he looks to continue his upward trend.
“With the improvement in pace I’m consistently top-five pace wise, and I believe our race craft is pretty good as well, so hopefully Fox keep preparing me a good car like they have done this year, and I can keep going and fight for that podium.”
With the end of year dawning, Smith’s focus will soon move towards his 2024 plans, and he’s keeping all his options open, but believes that his single-seater experience so far has made him a better driver compared to the one that started the campaign.
“We’re not 100% sure on plans for next year, if we’re even going to stay in single-seaters. But even if we don’t, this year has been so fundamental in my progress and it’s taught me so much that you don’t learn elsewhere. In that aspect, whether I do it again or not, it’s helped me massively just as a driver in general and I’m absolutely loving it.”
