Despite a slow start from pole position, VRD Racing's Nikita Bedrin claimed victory in the opening GB3 Championship race of the season at Silverstone.
The double pole sitter dropped as far as fourth off the line, but fought his way back up the order with multiple overtakes, including a swooping move on then race leader Martin Molnar at Vale on lap six to retake the lead.
He built a lead of over three seconds before a safety car on lap nine, but held his nerve on the restart rebuild the lead to Molnar, with the Hungarian's Rodin teammate Maxim Rehm taking third.
Bedrin dropped to fourth before the first corner as the Rodins of Molnar and Rehm powered past, with Deagen Fairclough also sneaking through into third. As the two Rodin cars entered Maggots, it was Molnar who came out on top as his German teammate slotted into second.
Behind them Fairclough and Bedrin made contact heading through Chapel, with the VRD driver having to take to the run-off and reemerging behind the Briton. However, Bedrin would get the move completed just one corner later through Stowe as, with Fairclough challenging Rehm for second on the inside, he was able to fly around the outside and into third.
Bedrin attempted to continue his recovery charge into Vale with a late-braking manoeuvre on Rehm, but the Rodin driver saw it coming, performing a switchback to hold on to second. It would be lap three before Bedrin got the overtake done, using the DRS to breeze past into Stowe.
Meanwhile, the battling behind had allowed Molnar to streak clear at the front, building up a 2.7s advantage by the time Bedrin had returned to second. It was evident, however, that Bedrin had the pace advantage, and after a string of fast laps, he caught up to the back of the race leader by lap six.
With the DRS open, Bedrin closed on Molnar into Stowe but wasn’t close enough to try at the lead. Instead, the Italian got a better exit and performed a phenomenal switch from the outside to dive down the inside of the Rodin into Vale.
With Bedrin now leading, he showed his speed by extending his lead by about a second per lap, and attentions turned to the battle for third where Fairclough was pressuring Rehm. The Hitech driver had a couple of looks down the inside of Rehm into Brooklands but was never truly close enough before the battle was halted by a lap nine safety car – caused by a retirement for the Hillspeed of Dante Vinci.
The safety car returned to the pits at the end of lap 11, with Bedrin controlling the restart to hold to the race lead. It was a lead he would not be challenged for, allowing him to take his first GB3 victory and VRD’s first since Zandvoort last season.
Molnar took the flag in second, with Rehm holding off Fairclough for the final spot on the podium. Rowan Campbell-Pilling finished his GB3 debut in fifth, with the second VRD of Patricio Gonzalez impressing in sixth. Kyuho Lee (Elite Motorsport), Jin Nakamura (Hitech), Alex Kattoulas (Fortec Motorsports) and Leon Wilson (Arden Motorsport) completed the top-10.
Further back, the Xcel Motorsport of Ricardo Baptista, the Hitech of Yuhao Fu and the Hillspeeds of Aurelia Nobels and Peter Bouzinelos battled hard for 14th through the middle sector. Baptista came out on top, ahead of Nobels, Bouzinelos and Fu respectively.
The second race of the weekend at Silverstone is due to commence at 11.16 UK on Sunday morning.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, provisional race one result:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 13 laps
2. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, +2.550s
3. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, +2.749s
4. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +3.584s
5. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, +4.313s
6. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +4.875s
7. Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport, +5.297s
8. Jin Nakamura, Hitech, +5.739s
9. Alex Kattoulas, Fortec Motorsports, +6.499s
10. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +7.176s
11. Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +9.365s
12. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, +10.102s
13. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +11.063s
14. Ricardo Baptista, Xcel Motorsport, +12.853s
15. Aurelia Nobels, Hillspeed, +13.189s
16. Peter Bouzinelos, Hillspeed, +13.283s
17. Yuhao Fu, Hitech, +13.545s
18. Lewis Gilbert, Arden Motorsport, +13.949s
19. Kirill Kutskov, Elite Motorsport, +14.483s
20. Jason Pribyl, Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing, +39.047s
DNF. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, 9 laps
DNF. Dante Vinci, Hillspeed, 8 laps
DNF. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, 3 laps