A last lap move from Hitech's Jacob Micallef earned the Maltese driver a stunning win in the final GB3 race of the weekend at Silverstone.
The race exploded into life in the final five minutes, after VRD Racing's Rodrigo Gonzalez had taken the lead from Elite's Edu Robinson at the start.
Mexican driver Gonzalez led the majority of the contest, holding a half second lead for the opening 20 minutes, but Robinson was the first to try and pounce, going wheel to wheel with the leader with around five minutes to go. The pair battled through the Aintree, Village and Loop complex, and went wheel to wheel down the Wellington straight, with Gonzalez somehow holding firm.
That allowed Micallef, who had started third, but was demoted to fourth on the opening lap, into the fight. He'd already re-dispatched Arden's Leon Wilson with a move around the outside of the flat out Abbey corner, and when the lead battle condensed he was in position to pounce on Robinson at the entry to Maggotts with under four minutes to go.
Entering the final lap, Micallef was less than half a second away from Gonazlez, and though he was close down the Hangar Straight, he waited to make the move. A locked brake at Vale looked to have scuppered things, but he maintained control and kept Gonzalez within his sights.
Entering the Loop on the final lap, the lead trio were almost as one, in scenes reminiscent of the equivalent contest at Silverstone back in April. Micallef entered the slipstream down the Wellington Straight, opened the DRS and plunged around the outside of Brooklands, the penultimate corner of the race.
The Maltese driver kept Gonzalez at bay on the exit, and crossed the line with a margin of less than two tenths of a second, with Robinson taking third to end his GB3 debut weekend in fine style.
Behind all that there was more epic battling, as Rodrigo's VRD teammate brother Patricio Gonzalez and the team's championship leader Nikita Bedrin dispatched Arden's Leon Wilson late on.
Rodin's Maxim Rehm took seventh behind them after a similarly gripping battle with Xcel duo Rowan Campbell-Pilling and Lucas Fluxa, with Hitech's Deagen Fairclough ending his best GB3 weekend with a run to complete the top-10 from 12th on the top-12 reverse grid.
Rehm was later handed a one place position penalty for crowding Fluxa off the track, dropping him to eighth in the final result, and promoting Campbell-Pilling to seventh.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, race three result:
1. Jacob Micallef, Hitech, 14 laps
2. Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +0.176s
3. Edu Robinson, Elite Motorsport, +0.697s
4. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +3.116s
5. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, +4.742s
6. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +5.646s
7. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, +10.209s
8. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, penalty
9. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, +10.745s
10. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +10.763s
11. Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport, +13.216s
12. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, +13.440s
13. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +15.221s
14. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +15.519s
15. Ricardo Baptista, Xcel Motorsport, +15.732s
16. Peter Bouzinelos, Hillspeed, +20.032s
17. Dante Vinci, Hillspeed, +20.426s
18. Jason Pribyl, Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing, +23.044s
19. Aurelia Nobels, Hillspeed, +26.232s
20. Yuhao Fu, Hitech, +32.748s
DNF. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, 13 laps