Bedrin wins again as his GB3 rivals hit trouble at Silverstone

Photo: Mat Acton

Velocity Racing Development’s completed a GB3 double by winning again from pole in race two at Silverstone.

There was drama before the race even started, as Rodin Motorsport’s Martin Molnar – Bedrin’s closest pursuer in race one – was unable to start at all due to technical issues.

As in the opening contest, Bedrin was beaten away from pole when the lights went out, with Hitech GP’s Deagen Fairclough making the better start from the inside of the front row to lead into Copse. But Bedrin almost immediately drew back alongsde and swept ahead through Maggotts and Becketts.

Fairclough tried to fight back on the outside into Stowe, and Bedrin was forced to go slightly defensive from his rival again into Brooklands but managed to remain in front on completion of lap one, while Rodin duo Maxim Rehm and Abbi Pulling maintained third and fourth.

The safety car was deployed at the end of the second tour due to Hilspeed’s Peter Bouzinelos coming to a halt at the Loop, and racing resumed one lap later.

Bedrin continued to lead at the restart and pulled out a small advantage. Fairclough responded with the fastest lap, but his victory hopes were extinguished when his car ground to a halt on the Hangar Straight – bringing out the safety car for a second time.

There was time for one more racing lap once the action resumed, and Bedrin resisted a challenge from Rehm into Copse before leading the German racer home by 0.8 seconds.

“We are doing a consistent job right now but I still think we are lacking a bit of pace to Bedrin,” said Rehm after scoring his third GB3 podium in a row. “Over the course of the season we will find out what is missing, and after this weekend I think we have a really good chance for the championship.”

The battle for the final podium spot proved far more dramatic. Patricio Gonzalez snatched third from Pulling through Maggotts and Becketts on the final lap, and the latter then reclaimed the place by sweeping around the outside of the VRD racer at Stowe.

Gonzalez tried to squeeze up back up the inside into Vale while Pulling attempted to defend, and resulting contact launched Gonzalez into the air and onto the halo of Pulling’s car. He was remarkably able to continue and finish 12th, while Pulling emerged unharmed after retiring in the gravel.

The incident promoted Lucas Fluxa to third, the Xcel Motorsport driver climbing from eighth on the grid and prevailing in a mid-race scrap with his team-mate Rowan Campbell-Pilling to make the podium.

“The whole race I was trying to the save the tyres a little bit,” Fluxa revealed. “I started the last lap in P6, and I saw already through Maggotts and Becketts the guys in front were getting quite feisty so I just stayed behind and then they crashed. There was a lot of emotion in that race.”

Hitech’s Jin Nakamura battled Gonzalez for fifth early on, and despite losing out to Fluxa on the final lap he took fourth at the flag ahead of Campbell-Pilling and Elite Motorsport’s Kyuho Lee.

Gonzalez’s brother and team-mate Rodrigo finished seventh after being involved in a frenetic battle of his own during the race with Fortec Motorsport’s Alex Kattoulas. The pair rubbed wheels on the exit Copse, and Arden’s Leon Wilson initially capitalised sweep past the pair into Maggotts. Wilson susequently dropped back behind the VRD racer but held off Kattoulas at the finish for eighth.

Race result (11 laps)