Aussies rule after GB3’s Dutch duels at Zandvoort

Antipodean success was a key theme of GB3’s annual visit to Zandvoort last weekend, with Patrick Heuzenroeder and Alex Ninovic among the winners and Australians heading the championship standings.

With Silverstone dominator Freddie Slater absent owing to Formula Regional European commitments, it was the turn of Xcel Motorsport’s Heuzenroeder to deliver a star showing. The sophomore contender claimed his first series pole on Saturday, enjoying a margin of nearly four tenths of a second to the rest of the field in Q1, which determined the race-one grid.

Heuzenroeder made full use of his front-row advantage to hold the lead on lap one. After initially breaking clear of the one-second barrier, the key figure required for GB3’s new DRS feature, Heuzenroeder had to contend with Hitech’s Deagen Fairclough in the early stages as the Briton got back within that second range.

But Fairclough’s challenge faded and David Brabham’s protege streaked clear to claim the first GB3 win for both himself and Xcel Motorsport, over 6s ahead of Fairclough, who earned his first podium. Another Aussie, Rodin’s Gianmarco Pradel took third, only two tenths behind Fairclough, while Ninovic plus Argenti with Prema duo Reza Seewooruthun and Yuanpu Cui were in the train behind.

Rodin’s Ninovic was the next Australian to impress in race two. Having taken pole in the second qualifying segment, he held the lead at Turn 1, while Heuzenroeder blasted from third past a slow-starting Fairclough to take second. Fairclough was initially demoted to fourth, but dispatched Seewooruthun immediately at Turn 3.

The lead trio soon broke away from the chasing pack, though Ninovic and Heuzenroeder were able to edge clear late on, with Ninovic claiming victory by just 0.6s while Fairclough was 3s further back in third. Seewooruthun continued his strong weekend with fourth ahead of Fairclough’s team-mate Nikita Johnson, with Cui sixth again.

The top-12 reversal from the combined qualifying result put JHR’s Kai Daryanani on pole for race three, but Elite’s front-row starter Will Macintyre and VRD’s Hugo Schwarze from fourth were able to move past on the first tour, with Schwarze then passing Macintyre after a mistake on lap two.

The race was then neutralised behind the safety car after Flynn Jackes went off at Turn 1 and, after green-flag running resumed for just a few seconds, the safety car was dispatched again when Pradel’s Turn 3 lunge on Daryanani triggered a three-car collision. With the cars interconnected, the second safety car lasted much longer, and there was time for just two racing laps at the end of the contest.

Schwarze rebuffed Macintyre’s threat behind to claim a first GB3 win in his second season, while Hitech’s Keanu Al Azhari earned a breakthrough podium. Fairclough was a reversed-grid hero again as he carved from 11th to fourth, ahead of JHR’s Noah Lisle, with Johnson sixth.

A seventh place capped off a superb weekend for new championship leader Heuzenroeder, with Ninovic and Lisle completing an Australian top three in the standings after six races. Fairclough is the only Briton in the top five, with yet another Aussie, Pradel, rounding out the lead quintet.

VRD’s Schwarze topped a truncated reversed-grid finale

Photo by: JEP