Hitech TGR’s Keanu Al Azhari and Rodin Motorsport’s Gianmarco Pradel were victorious on Sunday at Silverstone, with both drivers reigniting their title chances.
Meanwhile, a collision between championship leader Alex Ninovic and Al Azhari’s teammate Deagen Fairclough in race two added extra spice to this year’s red hot title battle.
Race two
From his second pole position of the event, Ninovic led the early stages of the race, only for Fairclough to squeeze past at the Loop, before a safety car intervention.
Upon the resumption on lap five, Ninovic immediately began to apply pressure, and was able to blast past down the Wellington Straight with the aid of DRS on lap seven. Fairclough refused to give up, however, and the pair collided at Brooklands. Fairclough pitted minus a front wing, while Ninovic recovered to the back of the field.
That handed the initiative to Al Azhari, who had just passed Xcel’s title challenger Patrick Heuzenroeder for third moments before the collision at the front. Heuzenroeder was able to re-pass Al Azhari, this time for the lead at the complex on lap nine, but Al Azhari pounced again a lap later, this time at Brooklands, to seal the win.
Heuzenroeder had to settle for second, with the top-two finishers benefiting massively in the championship stakes as a result of the earlier collision, while Hillspeed’s series returnee Michael Shin claimed a maiden GB3 podium.
Argenti with Prema’s Reza Seewooruthun, JHR’s Noah Lisle and Elite Motorsport’s Will Macintyre completed the top-six, the latter finishing fifth on the road but picking up a one place penalty post race for gaining a lasting advantage after exceeding track limits.
Fairclough secured the final point on offer for 20th place, ahead of Ninovic, but picked up a three place grid penalty for causing the collision.
Race three
Pradel started the final race from pole, benefiting from the top-12 reversal of the qualifying order to form the starting grid. The Australian led from lights to flag to secure his second GB3 win, finishing 1.8 seconds clear of Seewooruthun, who ran sixth early on but was the main beneficiary of an intense battle for the podium spots behind Pradel.
JHR’s Noah Lisle claimed the final spot on the podium with a move late on, while Ninovic salvaged fourth from 11th on the grid after an inspired drive. Xcel’s Jack Sherwood looked on course for a maiden GB3 podium, having run in the top-three for a significant portion of the contest, only to be shuffled back to fifth amongst the squabbling.
JHR’s Kai Daryanani was another to challenge for the podium, but had to settle for sixth ahead of Rodin’s Abbi Pulling, who gained six spots throughout the contest in one of her standout drives of the campaign so far.
Despite his dramas, Ninovic has actually extended his championship lead to 39 points across the weekend, with Heuzenroeder still second and Pradel third. Meanwhile, Al Azhari, Macintyre, and Lisle have all climbed above Fairclough in the table, with events at Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Monza still to come.
Race two winner Al Azhari said: “It’s an incredible relief, I’m very happy to finally take this result back to Hitech. It’s a first win of the season for them in GB3, and I managed to settle into the race quite nicely. I took whatever opportunities I could find, and obviously we can see the result.
“I got ahead [of Heuzenroeder] as Alex and Deagen had their contact, and then I settled in nicely, the pace was looking good, and then I hit a wet patch or oil or something and just ran myself off the track. I had to make it a bit more interesting for everyone, and I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I think it shows my mental strength to be able to come back from that and take the win.”
Race three winner Pradel said: “It’s great to finish off the weekend with a win, the reverse grid made the job a little bit easier. But nevertheless it was still a game of managing and making sure we got to the end. A big thanks to the team, the car felt really good and I’m really chuffed.
“It was just about building the gap in the first few laps, and after that, just holding and maintaining. I was looking in my mirrors a little bit, just monitoring to see if I needed to push a little bit more or a little bit less, and in the end I was able to manage it, and I’m really happy I could.”
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, race two result:
1. Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR
2. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +1.588s
3. Michael Shin, Hillspeed, +2.914s
4. Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +3.174s
5. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +7.542s
6. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +4.773s*
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, race three result:
1. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport
2. Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +1.838s
3. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +6.489s
4. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +6.920s
5. Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +10.046s
6. Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +10.545s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, provisional driver standings after race 15 of 24:
1. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, 288pts
2. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, 249pts
3. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, 242pts
4. Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, 220pts
5. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, 211pts
6. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, 203pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, provisional team standings after race 15 of 24:
1. Rodin Motorsport, 538pts
2. Hitech TGR, 488pts
3. Argenti with Prema, 385pts
4. Xcel Motorsport, 378pts
5. JHR Developments, 357pts
6. Hillspeed, 347pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information, visit www.gb-3.net.