Hillspeed's Dante Vinci just missed out on a maiden podium at Brands Hatch, but still enjoyed his best results yet in the GB3 Championship.
The Australian came close to equalling his best qualifying results, with 10th and seventh on the grid for the opening two races. He converted the first into an 11th place finish, before moving up a spot to sixth in race two, matching his best race performances at the Hungaroring and Red Bull Ring.
It was in the event finale where the 18-year-old came close to ending his wait for silverware, running third early on after blasting up from sixth on the grid. But he was passed by Hitech's Kanato Le on lap 13, and had to settle for fourth, still his best result in the series.
"I expected it to be quite good because I’m quite strong around this track. It’s just a shame how it ended because we were holding P3 for a very long time but we just didn’t have the pace to hold it," he reflected.
"We still finished P4 which is good points and the most important thing is we finished all three races and took away good points, but I’m still hungry for a bit more in Barcelona."
Vinci scored a total of 42 points across the event, a new high mark for his campaign, and he was quick to praise his Hillspeed squad for their efforts behind the scene.
"I can’t thank the team enough for putting it all together and creating a good car that can be in the top-six, so I’m still happy about that. But I’m a racing driver and I’m always going to be searching for more!"
He now hopes to carry that form over to the Barcelona season finale, and he's counting on his prior experience of the circuit to land a podium. Vinci raced at the Grand Prix venue last year, and scored a top-seven finish in Italian F4.
"To be honest, I was expecting it [a podium] to come at Brands Hatch because it's a strong track of mine. But in all honesty there’s still a high chance that it can happen in Barcelona, even in race one or two, because I know the car is strong, especially there, and also that I have the prior experience of Barcelona as well. So hopefully that will be an upper hand for me.”