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.
However, Hillspeed’s Daniel Guinchard returned to the top of the standings after his first series victory in the final race of the 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 Kattoaulas on the run to the line, with Ary Bansal securing the second Elite podium clean sweep of the season.
Race one
Kattoulas converted pole into victory, but had to withstand an attack from Luke 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 Jack Taylor, who survived a late skirmish while defending the final podium spot from Phelps, who dropped to fifth behind Leon Wilson as a result. Pre-event championship leader Dan Guinchard climbed to sixth for Hillspeed, having started ninth.
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. Ary 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.
