Kattoulas leads Elite 1-2 for first GB4 win

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Elite Motorsport’s Alex Kattoulas scored a maiden car racing victory in the opening GB4 race of the weekend at Silverstone.

Kattoulas claimed the points lead by finishing a commanding 6.582 seconds clear of his team-mate Ary Bansal, with Fortec Motorsports’ Jack Taylor coming home third.

A 15-minute qualifying earlier on Saturday determined the grid order for the race. Kattoulas took pole by setting the quickest time in the session, and his second-best lap time was good enough to also take pole for Sunday’s second contest.

He initially trailed his team-mate Isaac Phelps by 0.120s  before setting a 2m00.337s to take over at the top by 0.206s, while Bansal improved six places to second.

Douglas Motorsport’s Luke Hilton broke Elite’s stranglehold by relegating Bansal and Phelps to third and fourth, but the latter responded to reclaim second by 0.04s, while Kattoulas’s earlier effort remained unchallenged.

Taylor made a late improvement to fifth ahead of Arden’s Leon Wilson, while Douglas’ Dayton Coulthard edged out Hillspeed’s Leandro Juncos to seventh by 0.02s.

Pre-event points leader Daniel Guinchard was just 0.001s behind his Hillspeed team-mate in ninth, while Fortec’s Thomas Ingram-Hill completed the top 10.

Hilton made a good launch at the beginning of the opening contest to make it a four-way fight for the lead with Elite’s three drivers, but he went off the road at Becketts and slipped to third.

Kattoulas emerged with the lead ahead of Bansal, while Taylor passed both Hilton and Phelps before the opening lap was completed to run third.

Phelps wrestled fourth away from Hilton on lap two after a wheel-to-wheel battle that lasted several corners, with Hilton losing further places to Wilson and Guinchard.

Taylor was caught by Phelps by the halfway stage, and was forced to defend from his pursuer into Brooklands. Phelps had a look up the inside one corner later, but was forced to concede.

Phelps tried the outside line at Luffield a couple of laps later, but slight contact with Taylor on the exit sent him bouncing across the grass, and he lost a place to Wilson as a result.

Kattoulas, meanwhile gradually edged away from Bansal during the race before taking victory, with Taylor completing the podium.

Wilson maintained fourth ahead of Phelps, while Guinchard fended off a late challenge from Hilton to finish seventh. Coulthard and Juncos both passed Ingram-Hill, to come home in eighth and ninth, the latter having initially slipped to 10th on the opening lap.

Race result (9 laps)