– Fortec sign highly rated Swedish youngster for 2021 British F4 season
– Granfors joins reigning champions after dominant brace of title wins out in Scandinavia last year
– Daventry-based team excited to continue active role in developing talent, looking ahead to new season with optimism
Joel Granfors has been unveiled as Fortec Motorsport’s first signing for the 2021 F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost season.
The 15-year-old from Sweden joins the Daventry-based outfit off the back of a stunning campaign in the Scandanvia-based Formula Nordic series.
Despite missing the opening three races of the season due to age restrictions, Granfors stamped his mark in fine style with a double victory and further podium at Karlskoga on debut and would notch up another six wins en route to the title.
Equally impressive was Granfors’ campaign in the Aquila Synergy Cup, with nine wins and a further brace of podium finishes enough to dominate the campaign and mark the Eskilstuna-based driver as a star of the future.
In Fortec, he joins a team energised after its maiden title in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series courtesy of Luke Browning in 2020.
Joining British F4 also means Granfors will take advantage of the profile afforded to a BTCC support series – including live, free to air television coverage – and marks the first step on his journey up the FIA Single Seater ladder.
“I’m thrilled to make this announcement and to start my international career in British Formula 4,” said Granfors. “We have worked hard over the winter to make this happen, and I couldn’t be more excited. It is going to be all new for me this year, learning all the circuits and a brand new car, but I’m confident that Fortec Motorsport is exactly the right environment for me to be in.
“They have a long history of driver development, a proven track record in British F4 as the reigning champions and have really made me feel welcome from day one. I’m keen to see what we can achieve together and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
Fortec’s F4 Team Manager Oliver Dutton underlined his delight at securing Granfors for the 2020 season ahead and looks forward to playing an active role in his development.
“Everybody at Fortec Motorsport is really pleased to welcome Joel to the team,” said Dutton. “His track record speaks for itself; to go out and win two well-contested championships in Sweden in such a dominant fashion has really marked Joel’s card as ‘one to watch’ for the future.
“Our family team has a long history of developing future stars and accelerating their journey to the top of the sport, so we’re very excited to get started and help Joel emulate that success.
“It’s going to be a very competitive grid in British F4 – it always is – but Joel has all the raw ingredients he needs to announce himself, it’s just a case now of putting it all together.”
The 2021 British F4 season begins at Thruxton, Hampshire, on 08-09 May.