Hillspeed's Freddie Slater dominated in the first running of GB3's new two-part qualifying session at Silverstone, obliterating the field in both sessions to secure pole position for races one and two of this weekend's season opener.
Having topped the first session with a half second margin to the field to secure race one pole, he went even quicker in session two, demolishing the previous generation GB3 qualifying lap record by 1.1 seconds to bank both poles on offer.
Slater storms to pole for race one
Slater laid down a marker in the first 15-minute session, and was never usurped once he’d taken top spot.
The British driver registered three successive laps to extend his margin at the front of the field, with his best time of 1m52.194s putting him over half a second clear of the pack.
Rodin Motorsport's Gianmarco Pradel’s late lap put him second fastest, and will start alongside Slater on the front row for race one, though he was just 0.032s ahead of JHR Developments’ Noah Lisle. Reigning F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling meanwhile also delivered a late lap to put her Rodin car fourth ahead of her GB3 debut.
The third Rodin car of Alex Ninovic was fifth, 0.031s further back, and a tenth of a second clear of the lead Hitech car of Nikita Johnson in sixth.
JHR’s second car, piloted by Kai Daryanani was seventh in Q1, just 0.018s clear of Hillspeed’s next runner Hiyu Yamakoshi.
The Japanese driver’s teammate Kanato Le ensured all three Hillspeed cars were inside the top-10 in Q1, with Dion Gowda completing the top-10 for the race one grid for newcomers Xcel Motorsport.
'Fast Freddie' even quicker in session two
It didn't take long for Slater to show even more pace in the second session for the race two grid. Almost immediately into the 1m51s, his best time followed midway through the 15-minute session, with his 1m51.647s effort being four tenths clear of Ninovic this time, with Lisle third again and Yamakoshi moving up to fourth.
Having been second in Q1, Pradel was fifth in session two, 0.013s away from the second Hillspeed while teammate Pulling secured another top-six spot for race two, and only half a tenth further back.
Johnson was again the lead Hitech runner in seventh, just two thousandths of a second away from Pulling and the final driver within a second of Slater's scorching pace.
Patrick Heuzenroeder was the lead Xcel car in the second session, 0.036s ahead of Daryanani while Gowda again completed the top-10.
The first race of the weekend, with the grid based on the results of the first qualifying session, is due to start at 15.07 with full live coverage available on the GB3 Championship website.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Qualifying 1 provisional result:
1. Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, 1m52.194s
2. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +0.556s
3. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +0.588s
4. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +0.719s
5. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +0.750s
6. Nikita Johnson, Hitech, +0.853s
7. Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +1.003s
8. Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +1.021s
9. Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +1.126s
10. Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +1.142s
11. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +1.215s
12. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +1.217s
13. Keanu Al Alzhari, Hitech, +1.240s
14. Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +1.492s
15. Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +1.587s
16. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +1.647s
17. Yuan Pu Cui, VRD Racing, 1.738s
18. Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +1.756s
19. Mike Abrahams, Fortec Motorsports, +1.967s
20. Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +2.023s
21. Enzo Tarnvanichkul, VRD Racing, +2.223s
22. Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +2.489s
23. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +2.719s
24. Divy Nandan, Chris Dittmann Racing, +3.664s
25. Stefan Bostanjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +3.673s
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Qualifying 2 provisional result:
1. Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, 1m51.647s
2. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +0.427s
3. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +0.752s
4. Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +0.920s
5. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +0.933s
6. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +0.985s
7. Nikita Johnson, Hitech, +0.987s
8. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +1.032s
9. kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +1.068s
10. Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +1.084s
11. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +1.111s
12. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +1.111s
13. Keanu Al Alzhari, Hitech, +1.119s
14. Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +1.120s
15. Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +1.227s
16. Yuanpu Cui, Aregenti with Prema, +1.367s
17. Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +1.482s
18. Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +1.730s
19. Mike Abrahams, Fortec Motorsports, +1.831s
20. Enzo Tarnvanichkul, VRD Racing, +1.895s
21. Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +1.954s
22. Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +2.523s
23. Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +2.558s
24. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +3.588s
25. Divy Nandan, Chris Dittmann Racing, +4.536s