Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic and Argenti with Prema’s Reza Seewooruthun were the winners as GB3 Championship action at the Hungaroring came to a close with two entertaining contests on Sunday.
Ninovic won race two this morning from pole, while Seewooruthun claimed his and the team’s first win having started third in the finale. With this year’s championship now at the halfway stage, Ninovic holds a 34-point margin over the rest of the field at the top of the standings.
Race two
Ninovic made a good start from pole but had to be watchful in his mirrors with Hitech TGR’s Keanu Al Azhari within DRS range for the first half of the race, with the Emirati driver holding his second-place starting position.
Ninovic was able to break clear in the second half of the race to win by 1.7 seconds from Al Azhari, who claimed his second podium of the event with second, while Rodin’s Gianmarco Pradel was promoted to third at the expense of JHR’s Noah Lisle, who picked up a one place penalty post-race.
Lisle therefore finished fourth ahead of Elite’s Will Macintyre, who was combative early on, but fell to seventh behind Hitech’s Deagen Fairclough and VRD’s Hugo Schwarze. The German driver was soon dispatched for sixth, while Macintyre moved past Fairclough on the final lap, with the latter having to settle for sixth.
Race three
The top-12 reversal of the qualifying result put JHR’s Kai Daryanani on pole for the final race, ahead of Elite’s Flynn Jackes. But Seewooruthun from third battled past the duo in thrilling style through the opening sequence of corners and then rocketed into the distance.
Such was his advantage, he held a near three second lead at the end of the first lap, was 10.7 seconds clear at the end of nine laps, and won by 16.5 seconds, the second biggest winning margin in GB3 history.
Daryanani had to settle for second ahead of Schwarze, who moved up from fourth on the grid, while Jackes was fourth, his best-ever GB3 result. After a combative drive, Fairclough claimed fifth ahead of Xcel’s Patrick Heuzenroeder, who completed the top six.
GB3 action resumes at Silverstone on 2/3 August, with Ninovic topping an all-Australian top-three in the standings.
Championship leader Ninovic said: “I’m super happy with the season so far. To be at the halfway point and be leading it is pretty cool and I’m really happy with how the team has been working to get to this point. I’m super happy and looking forward to the rest of the season.
“This weekend has been a pretty good one, to top qualifying, finish P4 in race one and then get the win in race two gave us a really good jump in the championship. Then in the reverse grid to come away with really good points with overtaking and the position at the end, I’m really happy with the weekend as a whole.”
Race three winner Seewooruthun said: “I knew that I had to make the move early on because I was expecting a proper fight to the end. I saw a gap on the outside and they weren’t moving over, and I thought ‘This is my chance, I’ve got to take it.’ Kai tried to defend a bit but I made it past, made the move stick and then just drove away.
“I don’t know what the lead was but I couldn’t see anyone behind me, so I knew it was good and we had some purple sectors, but I’m happy with that. We’d saved the tyres for the end, having a bit of a sacrifice in the second race but it definitely paid off.”
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Hungaroring race two result:
1. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, 15 laps
2. Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +1.762s
3. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +9.611s
4. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, penalty
5. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +13.586s
6. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +15.646s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Hungaroring race three result:
1. Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, 15 laps
2. Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +16.585s
3. Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +19.259s
4. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +20.016s
5. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +21.840s
6. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +24.007s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, provisional driver standings after race 12 of 24:
1. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, 233pts
2. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, 199pts
3. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, 181pts
4. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, 181pts
5. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, 167pts
6. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, 165pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, provisional team standings after race 12 of 24:
1. Rodin Motorsport, 422pts
2. Hitech TGR, 407pts
3. Argenti with Prema, 306pts
4. Xcel Motorsport, 301pts
5. JHR Developments, 282pts
6. Hillspeed, 274pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.