Scottish karting star Ross Martin tested the new-for-2016 BRDC Formula 4 car at Bedford Autodrome  (October 6), as he evaluates a step-up to single-seater racing for 2016. The 15-year-old is a protégé of three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Allan McNish and claimed the 2015 Formula Kart Stars (FKS) title in the ‘Super’ category this year.

Martin, who hails from Gartocharn in Dunbartonshire, took to the West Circuit at Bedford in the 230bhp Tatuus-Cosworth car and completed 18 laps. McNish, the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship title-winner, was on hand to witness Martin’s first-ever run in a single-seater.

The teenager won this year’s Super FKS title in superb fashion by scoring nine podiums, including seven wins, from 10 starts. His championship victory was the culmination of a strong karting career which saw Martin achieve top-six finishes in the British Cadet and Junior Kart Championships in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2014, Martin was selected to compete for Great Britain in a three-race Karting Academy Trophy World Championship for up-and-coming karters, in which he finished sixth.

Martin said: “I was very excited to drive the BRDC F4 single-seater for the first time. It was a fantastic experience and I’m now even more determined to make the step up to the category in 2016. I’ve enjoyed a great karting career but now the time is right for me to make a step up the motor racing ladder and open a new chapter in my motorsport career.”

Allan McNish commented: “Ross is the next generation of Scottish drivers coming through. He’d already had a phenomenally successful career in karts before monopolizing Formula Kart Stars this year with an incredible seven wins from 10 races which for me underlines his talent. The weather for Ross’s first F4 test was wet and he never got the opportunity to put on ‘slicks’. That said, he ran well and got up to speed, showed feel on the brakes and also had no fear in the difficult conditions.”