Fortec Motorsport have confirmed the return of James Higgins to kick off their driver line-up for the 2023 ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA season.
The Daventry-based team returned to action in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series for the final two events of the 2022 campaign at Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP, running Higgins alongside Marcos Flack.
And the 16-year-old impressed right from the off on his single seater debut, twice out-qualifying his more experienced team-mate Flack and finishing on the fringes of his first points on each of his six outings.
Now, with the benefit of a full winter testing programme ahead to gain more valuable mileage in the car, Higgins has confirmed his return to mount a full title challenge with 2020 winners Fortec next season.
“I’m really excited to announce I’ll be staying in ROKiT British F4 for 2023, and with Fortec Motorsport,” says Higgins on the news.
“The two rounds we raced in at the end of last year were really valuable, in terms of helping us identify where we need to concentrate our time and efforts on over the winter.
“Everybody at Fortec has made me feel really welcome since moving up to a race seat, and I’m confident with their help and support, I can keep progressing as a driver and be fighting up at the front next season.”
Fortec have a long and studied history of supporting the next generation of motorsport stars – think Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc, Oliver Rowland, Stoffel Vandoorne – and Team Manager Oliver Dutton is looking forward to getting stuck into Higgins’ development as a driver.
“James is definitely a driver with plenty of promise, and we’re very happy to have him confirmed and on board at such an early stage in the off-season,” says Dutton.
“I think his performances at the end of the year certainly impressed a few people in the paddock, and with the benefit of a proper pre-season – and the knowledge he’ll be racing the full season at the end of it – we can make some serious headway over the winter.
“The standard of competition is always high in this championship, but he’s up for the challenge, and so are we.”
Higgins becomes the fourth confirmed driver on the grid for 2023, after Monica Boulton Ramos and Deagen Fairclough won the ROKiT Racing Star competition, and Dion Gowda was unveiled at Carlin.
Another 10-event, 30-race season at all the UK’s premier circuits begins at Donington Park on 22-23 April, 2023.
