Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Velocity Racing Development’s Nikita Bedrin was crowned champion in GB3’s final round at Barcelona last weekend.
Teams got plenty of mileage at the Spanish track, starting with pre-event testing in which Rowan Campbell-Pilling pipped Martin Molnar to top spot by 0.086 seconds.
Three practice sessions followed, and Bedrin edged Campbell-Pilling by 0.029s. Abbi Pulling was third, 0.082s behind, and Patricio Gonzalez was 0.186s off in fourth.
Qualifying was next, and Bedrin topped Q1 by 0.071s over Lewis Wherrell. Kyuho Lee and Thomas Ingram Hill were within 0.2s of Bedrin, whose title rivals Deagen Fairclough, Lucas Fluxa and Molnar were sixth, seventh and 12th.
Q2 was super close, and Wherrell denied fellow debutant Fred Green race two pole by 0.03s. Pulling, Molnar and Ingram Hill trailed by 0.045s, 0.048s and 0.069s respectively. Bedrin was 0.105s off in sixth, Fluxa was seventh and Fairclough was 17th.
Campbell-Pilling made a stunning start from fifth in race one to take the lead on the outside, and Fluxa leapt up to third. Wherrell lost fourth to Flynn Jackes (up from eighth) during lap one as Fairclough and Molnar sank to ninth and 12th.
Racing was soon neutralised, due to Leon Wilson crashing following contact with Ary Bansal, then resumed on lap six. Bedrin and Wherrell attacked from the off, the former reclaiming the lead with a dive around the outside of turn one on lap 10 for a victory that made him champion.
Wherrell finally cleared Jackes on the penultimate lap, but he slipstreamed back past. Lee was sixth, ahead of Ingram Hill and Fairclough who overtook Pulling after the restart. Fairclough made a lap 11 pass for seventh, but a five-second penalty for track limits abuse undid his gains.
Race two began with jostling before the first corner, but Wherrell stayed ahead on the inside as Pulling took second. Bedrin snatched fourth, and Fluxa pulled off a move around the outside of turn three for fifth. Fairclough made a big jump to ninth.
There was little action up front thereon. Seventh-placed Ingram Hill briefly went off at turn nine, Gonzalez passed Peter Bouzinelos for eighth on lap six, and Green attacked down Pulling’s inside into turn one on lap seven before the safety car appeared due to Theo Palmer crashing.
Wherrell’s 1.9s lead was gone, but he made a strong restart on lap 10 of 15. Green defended into turn one on lap 11, yet Bedrin still squeezed down his inside. Green went off at turn two, Bedrin attacked twice again, before slipstreaming past next time by.
He pursued Pulling, and when she defended into turn one on lap 13 he went around her outside. The leader was 1.44s ahead, but it was a 0.464s gap entering the last lap and Wherrell had to defend into turn 10. He ran wide exiting it, and Bedrin swept around the outside through turn 12 for his eighth win.
Gonzalez, Bouzinelos and Bansal overtook Ingram Hill late on, but Gonzalez and Bansal’s track limits penalties put them ninth and 13th. Fairclough held off Lee for 10th, and Campbell-Pilling was 16th.
Results round-up
Race 1 (15 laps)
1 Nikita Bedrin Velocity Racing Development 26m33.611s
2 Rowan Campbell-Pilling Xcel Motorsport +0.975s
3 Lucas Fluxa Xcel Motorsport +1.427s
4 Flynn Jackes Elite Motorsport +6.239s
5 Lewis Wherrell JHR Developments +7.375s
6 Kyuho Lee Elite Motorsport +8.030s
7 Thomas Ingram Hill JHR Developments +12.255s
8 Abbi Pulling Rodin Motorsport +12.662s
9 Deagen Fairclough Hitech GP +14.140s
10 Fred Green Elite Motorsport +17.554s
Pole: Bedrin, 1m33.389s
Fastest lap: Bedrin, 1m35.648s
Race 2 (15 laps)
1 Bedrin 25m42.688s
3 Wherrell +0.540s
3 Pulling +3.463s
4 Green +4.041s
5 Fluxa +4.482s
6 Martin Molnar Rodin Motorsport +5.528s
7 Peter Bouzinelos Hillspeed +10.228s
8 Ingram Hill +11.186s
9 Patricio Gonzalez Velocity Racing Development +11.440s
10 Fairclough +11.552s
P: Wherrell, 1m33.033s
FL: Bedrin, 1m35.552s
Championship standings
1 Bedrin 515 2 Fluxa 398 3 Fairclough 379 4 Molnar 377 5 Rehm 327 6 Campbell-Pilling 319 7 Gonzalez 279 8 Pulling 251 9 Jackes 236 10 Lee 218