Elite Motorsport’s Alex Kattoulas enjoyed an ideal Saturday at Silverstone, as the Japanese-Greek contender claimed both pole positons on offer in qualifying, took a dominant race one win and secured the GB4 Championship lead in the process.
Kattoulas was a tenth clear of the pack in qualifying, and overcame a three-way challenge on the first lap of the race this afternoon to become the fourth different winner from the opening four contests of the season.
Qualifying
Multiple drivers took turns to hold top spot in the 15-minute qualifying session, but it was Kattoulas who kept putting his name into the position, and took hold of the times in the final five minutes, setting a best lap of 2m00.337s.
He ended up 0.159s clear of teammate Isaac Phelps, with Douglas Motorsport’s Luke Hilton just 0.040s further back in third, his best qualifying performance so far. The third Elite car of Ary Bansal was fourth ahead of Fortec’s Jack Taylor and Arden’s Leon Wilson.
Each driver’s second quickest times will form the race two grid tomorrow morning, with Kattoulas topping that chart too. His effort of 2m00.502s put him 0.153s ahead of Phelps again, with Bansal rising to third. Hilton, Wilson and Taylor were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, and will line up in those positions for race two.
Race one
Kattoulas converted pole into victory, but had to withstand an attack from Hilton and Phelps on the first lap, with Hilton having to take to the escape area at Becketts while challenging for the lead.
Having emerged unscathed from that moment, Kattoulas built a lead of 1.4 seconds on the first lap and pulled away to win with a margin of 6.5 seconds at the end of 18 minutes of racing. The result, Kattoulas’ third podium of the year, puts him 10 points clear at the top of the standings.
Bansal took second ahead of Taylor, who survived a late skirmish while defending the final podium spot from Phelps, who dropped to fifth behind Wilson as a result. Pre-event championship leader Daniel Guinchard climbed to sixth for Hillspeed, having started ninth.
Race one winner Kattoulas said: “I got pretty bad wheelspin off the line, going three-wide into turn one was interesting, but I made the most of it. I just got in the lead, put my head down and kept going so I'm really happy.
"All three of us [in the Elite team] are really good drivers, we’re just working together, bouncing off each other and just keep getting faster and faster together. It’s a great team, the people behind it, the drivers, everyone is doing a good job this year so I’m happy to be a part of it."
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone qualifying top-six:
1. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, 2m00.337s
2. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, +0.159s
3. Luke Hilton, Douglas Motorsport, +0.199s
4. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +0.206s
5. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, +0.703s
6. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +0.715s
Click here for full result
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone race one top-six:
1. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, 9 laps
2. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +6.582s
3. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +12.750s
4. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +13.487s
5. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, +15.661s
6. Daniel Guinchard, Hillspeed, +16.906s
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GB4 Championship, drivers' championship standings after race four of 21:
1. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, 93pts
2. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 83pts
3. Daniel Guinchard, Hillspeed, 83pts
4. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, 80pts
5. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, 56pts
6. Alex Berg, Graham Brunton Racing, 53pts
Click here for full standings
GB4 Championship, teams' championship standings after race four of 21:
1. Elite Motorsport, 213pts
2. Hillspeed, 139pts
3. Douglas Motorsport, 114pts
4. Graham Brunton Racing, 90pts
5. Fortec Motorsports, 87pts
6. Arden Motorsport, 64pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information, visit www.gb-4.net