Alex Ninovic extended his lead in the GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC with a dominant showing for Rodin Motorsport in the opening race of the weekend at Silverstone this afternoon (Saturday).
The Australian converted pole position into a comfortable fourth victory of the season after launching well from the front and never being headed. Ninovic managed to keep the chasing pack just at arms length during the opening stages, before extending as the fight behind intensified and crossing the line almost five seconds clear of his nearest rival.
Whilst it was relatively simple in clear air at the front, the battle for the remaining podium places was frenetic throughout. Reza Seewooruthun initially converted his front row start into second on the road, just behind Ninovic, a spot he held during the opening laps until he came under more intense pressure on lap four.
The Argenti with Prema driver defended into Vale with Gianmarco Pradel on his tail, after the latter had passed Deagen Fairclough off the line to run third. Pradel made the move work in his Rodin entry, but Fairclough nearly passed both of them after sweeping around the outside at Club and onto the Hamilton Straight. Pradel just held on to second in his Rodin Motorsport entry, but Fairclough did manage to steal third.
At the tail end of this tense scrap for the podium spots, Seewooruthun made slight contact with Fairclough which was enough to remove his front wing. Fairclough escaped without damage and, whilst Seewooruthun attempted to carry on, it was effectively the end of his race before he retired to the pit lane.
A major beneficiary was Keanu Al Azhari, who’d run sixth behind Patrick Heuzenroeder during the early stages. Al Azhari’s Hitech car moved past the Xcel Motorsport car shortly before Fairclough and Seewooruthun touched, meaning that it was he who inherited fourth. From there, Al Azhari was a driver on a mission during the closing laps as he hunted down Fairclough ahead.
Al Azhari produced a bold move on Fairclough at Luffield to take third and move onto the podium, completing the top-three that would run home to the chequered flag. Whilst Ninovic streaked away in a race of his own, Pradel came under late pressure from the charging Al Azhari, but smart defence during the final laps guaranteed second.
Fairclough crossed the line fourth, a handful of tenths away from a visit to the rostrum. Will Macintyre in fifth threatened to be another in the podium fight during the latter stages, but he just ran out of time and was forced to settle for a top-five. Behind that, Patrick Heuzenroeder was sixth after running fifth early on and losing places to both AL Azhari and Macintyre.
Hillspeed’s Yuanpu Cui ended up seventh, just ahead of Enzo Tarnvanichkul’s VRD Racing entry in eighth. Kai Daryanani secured ninth with a strong move on Abbi Pulling at Stowe. Pulling had risen up the order after starting 12th but just missed out on the top-10 after Lucas Fluxa passed her for the position on the penultimate lap.
Ninovic passed the chequered flag after 11 laps, with the race running to a slightly shortened distance after a delayed start. This came after separate problems at the start for Yevan David and Noah Lisle, both of whom had their cars pushed from the grid.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, provisional race one result:
1. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport
2. Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +4.931s
3. Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech, +5.325s
4. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +6.024s
5. Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +7.285s
6. Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +10.357s
7. Yuanpu Cui, Hillspeed, +11.870s
8. Enzo Tarnvanichkul, VRD Racing, +14.911s
9. Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +18.378s
10. Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +19.547s
11. Michael Shin, Hillspeed, +20.118s
12. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +20.764s
13. August Raber, Argenti with Prema, +24.599s
14. Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +24.969s
15. Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +26.707s
16. Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +27.888s
17. Yevan David, Xcel Motorsport, +28.494s
18. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +28.628s
19. Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, +29.085s
20. Rodrigo Gonzalez, Chris Dittmann Racing, +33.645s
21. Nicolas Stati, Chris Dittmann Racing, +33.940s
DNF. Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema
DNF. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing
NC. Noah Lisle, JHR Developments