VRD Racing's championship leader Nikita Bedrin stormed to his third win of the year with a controlled drive in the second and final GB3 Championship race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Italian-based driver made a strong start, and was untroubled on the run to Les Combes on lap one. From there he was able to stretch out a small margin on each lap to put himself out of reach and grow his points margin at the top of the standings further.
His nearest standings challenger Maxim Rehm was his closest rival in the race too, with the German driver making amends for his race one podium loss by claiming second on Sunday, ahead of teammate Martin Molnar, who passed Deagen Fairclough for third at Les Combes early on.
Fairclough had to settle for fourth ahead of Rodin's race one winner Abbi Pulling, who lost out in a lap one squabble, but still completed her best ever GB3 weekend in fifth. She finished just clear of VRD's Patricio Gonzalez after a late race tussle at Les Combes, with the pair finishing nose to tail across the line.
Jin Nakamura banked seventh for Hitech, ahead of Xcel's Lucas Fluxa, with Elite's Kirill Kutskov and Arden's Lewis Gilbert completing the top-10. Elite's Flynn Jackes just missed out on a top-10, after a charging drive to 11th from 22nd on the grid.
At the start, Bedrin led away nicely from pole, while Rehm and Pulling went side by side through La Source. That remained the order through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, as the battling Rodins fended off a quick starting Fairclough, with Molnar slotting into fifth.
A clean run allowed Bedrin to break clear, while Pulling was demoted to fifth as Fairclough and Molnar moved past at Les Combes.
Bedrin led by just over a second crossing the line after lap one, and that margin was to grow by a few tenths per lap, as he added a Spa win to his Silverstone double, with a margin of over six seconds to Rehm.
As Bedrin made his escape, the main early attention was on the fight for the remaining podium spots with Fairclough coming under big pressure from Molnar. Exiting La Source on lap four Molnar was able to get into the tow and made his move for third around the outside at Les Combes. Further back, Gonzalez chose the inside line as he surged past Nakamura into sixth.
While the order remained static after that, it was Gonzalez who looked most likely to gain further, as he closed up to the back of Pulling. He was able to draw alongside her on the approach to Les Combes on the penultimate lap, but she stood her ground and then resisted a further challenge on the final lap.
Bedrin now holds a 27-point lead at the top of the standings, with the series resuming in Hungary on 4/5 July.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps, provisional race two result:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 12 laps
2. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, +6.516s
3. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, +7.539s
4. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +12.540s
5. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +14.782s
6. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +14.891s
7. Jin Nakamura, Hitech, +16.315s
8. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, +20.022s
9. Kirill Kutskov, Elite Motorsport, +20.744s
10. Lewis Gilbert, Arden Motorsport, +21.483s
11. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +24.378s
12. Ricardo Baptista, Xcel Motorsport, +27.457s
13. Dante Vinci, Hillspeed, +27.822s
14. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, +29.716s
15. Yuhao Fu, Hitech, +32.614s
16. Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +34.338s
17. Peter Bouzinelos, Hillspeed, +36.362s
18. Jason Pribyl, Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing, +36.701s
19. Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport, +37.100s
20. Aurelia Nobels, Hillspeed, +42.709s
21. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +49.876s
22. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +1m27.446s