Hedley recorded a best 10th place finish on his debut in the category with Elite at the final GB3 event of the year at Donington Park last October. The BRDC Rising Star began Cadet karting as an 11-year-old and joined Elite for a few races in 2017, including the Winter Series. He embarked on a full Ginetta Junior Rookie season with Elite in 2018 and was the fourth best-placed Rookie, scoring two overall podiums in a 26-race season that saw him achieve 10 top-six overall placings.
Having won the ’18 Ginetta Junior Winter Series, James claimed the 2019 GJ title by almost 100-points achieving 18 top-threes, including seven wins, 10 poles and 12 fastest race laps with the Norfolk squad.
For the past two years, Hedley competed in the British Formula 4 Championship. He won four races in his British F4 “Rookie” season in 2020 and claimed fifth in the ’21 standings, having achieved eight podiums – including four wins.
Meanwhile Hedley’s Elite team-mates, John Bennett and Tom Lebbon, have also been sharing the Elite’s new 2022 spec GB3 machine. The opening three races in this year’s series are staged at Oulton Park in Cheshire over 16-18 April.
James Hedley (GB). Age: 18. Born/Lives: Poole, Dorset (UK).
“My Goal is to be the 2022 GB3 Champion! Elite is a great team and with our previous history together that included winning the 2019 Ginetta Junior Championship and linking up again for the final event of last year’s GB3 series, it was no surprise that I felt right at home – almost like I’d never left.
“GB3 is a series that continues to grow, with big grids making it very competitive, which I like. The new car is awesome and is very fast because of the extra aero which could make the actual racing more difficult.
“Elite is also running John and Tom in GB3 and so getting seat time in the new car has been quite restricted compared to teams that are running just one or even two drivers – it hasn’t been ideal but it’s just a case of cracking on with things. I am extremely grateful to Elite and my loyal sponsors, especially Goodbody Health and the Hendy Group, because without them, none of this would be possible.”
Eddie Ives, Elite Motorsport Team Owner & Manager.
“I’m delighted to have secured James for his first full season in GB3. He’s obviously no stranger to us at Elite, having first competed for us in 2017 and going on to win the 2018 Ginetta Junior Winter Series before an outstanding season in 2019 saw him pretty much dominate Juniors and claim the title outright.
“The early running we’ve done with James in the ’22 GB3 car has been really promising and from a team perspective it’s awesome to have a full squad of Elite alumni. There’s still six weeks before the season begins so I’m confident that we’ll hit the ground running.”
