Hillspeed’s Daniel Guinchard returned to the top of the GB4 Championship standings after his first series victory in the final race of the Silverstone weekend, becoming the fifth different winner from the six races held so far this year.
Before that, Elite’s Isaac Phelps earned his second win of the year in race two, fending off race one winner Alex Kattoulas on the run to the line, with Ary Bansal securing the second Elite podium clean sweep of the season.
With plenty of drama at Silverstone, the championship standings with over a quarter of the season complete could barely be closer. Guinchard holds a two-point lead at the top, with Kattoulas, Bansal and Phelps all equal on 122 points and just two points further back.
Race two
Phelps passed pole-sitting teammate Kattoulas on the first lap, and survived two safety car restarts to add a Silverstone triumph to his Donington success earlier in the month.
It was a close-fought contest, though with Kattoulas in his mirrors throughout, and the duo separated by little over a tenth of a second at the chequered flag. Bansal was just a second further back to complete the podium.
A feisty drive from Fortec’s Jack Taylor propelled the Australian from sixth on the grid to fourth, finishing a quarter of a second clear of Guinchard with Hillspeed teammate Leandro Juncos claiming sixth.
Race three
The top-12 reverse grid for the final contest put Graham Brunton Racing’s Callum Baxter on pole position, but it was ADM’s Jason Pribyl who got the best launch off the grid to lead the early stages ahead of Guinchard, who slotted into second from third at the start.
After three laps of pressure, Pribyl made the tiniest of errors at Club, and that was all Guinchard needed to take the lead. A late tangle between Taylor and Phelps brought out the safety car, but Guinchard made a good restart and secured his first GB4 win, a second clear of Pribyl, who took his and ADM’s first podium.
Juncos was another new face on the podium, having started fourth, with Bansal climbing to fourth from ninth, ahead of Baxter and Fortec’s Thomas Ingram Hill.
Race two winner Phelps said: “That was really tough, the track was really ungrippy to be honest. It was really hard to keep Alex behind me because he was just so fast, as I would probably have a bit better pace than him for the whole lap, but then he would catch up. In the hairpins he had some good pace on me and down the straight with the tow it was just really scary every lap into Brooklands.”
Race three winner Guinchard said: “It was really good, the pace was very strong and I knew we had a good chance from the start. I got a really clean getaway and got into second, then just waited for a few mistakes from Jason, who drove a really good race. I got into the lead, settled in and thought, 'you know, maybe it’s not going to be too bad' and then the safety car came out just to make things more interesting. Overall, I'm really happy, the safety car restart was really strong and overall very happy with the result.”
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone race two top-six:
1. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 8 laps
2. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, +0.129s
3. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +1.224s
4. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +2.532s
5. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, +2.766s
6. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, +3.781s
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GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone race three top-six:
1. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, 9 laps
2. Jason Pribyl, ADM, +1.132s
3. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, +1.776s
4. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +2.590s
5. Callum Baxter, Graham Brunton Racing, +3.129s
6. Thomas Ingram Hill, Fortec Motorsports, +7.611s
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GB4 Championship, drivers' championship standings after race six of 21:
1. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, 124pts
2. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 122pts
=. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, 122pts
=. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, 122pts
5. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, 89pts
6. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, 69pts
Click here for full standings
GB4 Championship, teams' championship standings after race six of 21:
1. Elite Motorsport, 299pts
2. Hillspeed, 213pts
3. Douglas Motorsport, 156pts
4. Graham Brunton Racing, 143pts
5. Fortec Motorsports, 120pts
6. Arden Motorsport, 96pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information, visit www.gb-4.net