Hillspeed’s Daniel Mavlyutov won the final GB3 race of the weekend at Oulton Park, which was run under safety car conditions for the majority of the contest.
Mavlyutov started on reverse grid pole position, and led every lap in a race that was affected heavily by changeable weather conditions.
With rain falling at the start, there was a split amongst the grid in terms of tyre strategy, and that contributed to plenty of drama and multiple pit stops throughout.
At the start, pole sitter Malvyutov made a clean getaway but behind there was trouble immediately, as McKenzy Cresswell stalled on the grid and was hit by Lucas Staico.
Moments later, Shawn Rashid and Zak Taylor made contact at Old Hall, and double podium finisher Callum Voisin went off at the same corner into retirement. Through all that, there had been some big gainers, including early championship leader Joseph Loake, who had shot up to 14th from 25th on the grid, and James Hedley in 13th, having started 21st.
With four cars off, there was no option but to deploy the safety car, and with cars in multiple places around the track, the race could only resume on lap five.
However there was more drama, as this time Fortec’s Max Esterson and Chris Dittmann Racing’s Arthur Rogeon went off into the barriers at the high speed Island Bend, forcing the safety car out once more.
With Rogeon’s car well into the barriers and Esterson’s car deep in the gravel, the safety car stayed out for the duration of the race, meaning Mavlyutov took the chequered flag ahead of Elite’s Ayato Iwasaki and Fortec’s Edward Pearson; maiden GB3 podiums for each and Mavlyutov’s first car racing victory.
Behind them came Michael Shin (Hitech), Jarrod Waberski (Fortec) and Rodin Carlin’s Costa Toparis.
Nah Ping took seventh for Arden VRD ahead of the second Hillspeed car of Gerrard Xie, with David Morales (JHR) and Alex Dunne (Hitech) completing the race three top-10.
Race one winner Joseph Loake bolstered his early championship advantage with 12th, while race two winner James Hedley took 11th. Both drivers now enjoy a decent margin at the top of the standings, with Voisin failing to finish.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Oulton Park race three provisional result:
1. Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed, 9 laps
2. Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport, +0.718
3. Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +1.509
4. Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +2.395
5. Jarrod Waberski, Fortec Motorsport, +2,932
6. Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin, +3.697
7. Noah Ping, Arden VRD, +5.338
8. Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed, +6.336
9. David Morales, JHR Developments, +7.073
10. Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +7.830
11. James Hedley, Arden VRD, +8.950
12. Joseph Loake, JHR Developments, +9.520
13. Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport, +9.931
14. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +10.155
15. Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +11.017
16. Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport, +11.864
17. Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing, +12.629
18. Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD, +13.345
DNF Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport, 4 laps completed
DNF Arthur Rogeon, Chris Dittmann Racing, 4 laps completed
DNF Lucas Staico, Douglas Motorsport, 1 lap completed
DNF Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport, 0 laps completed
DNF McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, 0 laps completed
DNF John Bennett, Rodin Carlin, 0 laps completed
DNF Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin, 0 laps completed