Silverstone GB4 Podiums For Marzorati And Gilkes Keep Hillspeed On Top Of Team Standings
Title challenging GB4 Championship partnered by the BRDC squad Hillspeed remains at the top of the Teams’ points table after the latest outing at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit over the weekend, 30th/31st July, with Max Marzorati and Megan Gilkes both securing podium finishes.
Erstwhile championship leader Marzorati, who started the first two GB4 races of the event on pole position, missed out on a challenge for victory in round 16 on Saturday when a puncture following contact from a rival led to an enforced pit visit – duly finishing ninth. Hitting back to take second place in round 17 on Sunday, he was then second again in round 18 – his 10th podium of the year.
Team-mate Gilkes, who was actually fastest of all in qualifying but had to start race one from fourth on the grid due to a penalty from the previous event at Snetterton, took third place in round 16 and was then fifth and fourth in the other two encounters.
Championship debutant Marcus Short, also making his single-seater debut, impressed the Markham Vale team. After qualifying ninth fastest, the 17-year-old raced to fifth in the opener, was then ninth in race two and capped a strong maiden GB4 weekend with eighth in race three.
In the GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC, Nick Gilkes looked set to challenge for the second podium of his rookie campaign at F3-level in the third and final race of the weekend but a luckless spin, while challenging for second place, led to a drop down the order and a recovery to 16th. He started off with 14th place in round 16 and a top 12 finish in round 17.
“From the sheer pace we had in both GB3 and GB4 we could have had a lot more from the weekend, so overall we are a bit disappointed”, said Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “Having said that, we’re obviously pleased to still be leading the Teams Championship in GB4 and Max and Megan both led the way in qualifying. Its just a shame we couldn’t convert that into more podiums.
“Marcus did an incredible job on his debut, coming in fresh against drivers who have been in there all season. He worked very hard to learn the car, the tyres, and thoroughly enjoyed it. In GB3 Nick was very unlucky with the spin in race three, but he raced very well all weekend. We’ve seen a real transformation in the second half of the season from Nick, he’s making big strides.”
Triple podium haul for Hillspeed in GB4
Hillspeed absolutely dominated GB4 qualifying on Saturday morning with Megan Gilkes scorching to the fastest time, 0.129 seconds quicker than team-mate Marzorati, but a three-place grid penalty from the previous event at Snetterton meant she would drop to the second row for race one. Short, meanwhile, claimed the ninth fastest time on his first competitive GB4 outing.
Everything started well for Marzorati with a textbook launch to lead into Copse, but midway around the lap at Abbey a challenge from Jack Sherwood triggered a race-changing incident after third placed Jarrod Waberski attempted a slingshot past both and tagged Marzorati. Waberski’s car rode up over Sherwood’s, both rivals out on the spot, but Marzorati managed to recover in second.
The Safety Car appeared with Marzorati second, Gilkes fifth and Short seventh but Gilkes soon pitted with a puncture. Just ahead of the lap four re-start, Marzorati then pitted with his own puncture which had become apparent after preparing for the resumption – a legacy of the lap one contact.
At the re-start Gilkes set about pushing on and after taking fourth on lap seven she grabbed third on a dramatic eighth and final lap. Short, who was sixth at the resumption, grabbed fifth on lap eight for a strong debut, while Marzorati finished ninth – but set fastest lap to show what might have been.
Marzorati made the most of pole at the start of round 17 on Sunday morning to lead, as Gilkes was edged back from second to third and Short held ninth. Gilkes was then shuffled to sixth out of Stowe and, just ahead, Nikolas Taylor was able to slice past Marzorati to grab the lead into Vale.
Thereafter, Marzorati remained second throughout to bag important points for the championship and he also concluded the race with the fastest lap again – a time of 2m02.358 seconds. Gilkes went on to finish fifth, queued up behind Tom Mills and Waberski at the flag, and Short was ninth.
On the ‘reverse grid’ for round 18 Short lined-up in third place and after taking second straight away, he became engaged in a great scrap with Mills at Abbey and through The Loop. Battling hard, the rookie ultimately had to cede the place which did then precede a slip down the order as some of the established front-runners – including his team-mates – began to slice through.
Starting 10th and 11th respectively, Marzorati and Gilkes had work to do but both stormed through and by lap four they were running fourth and fifth just ahead of Short. Marzorati then moved into the podium placings at Stowe, before Gilkes grabbed fourth into Abbey.
After pressuring Mills for a few laps, Marzorati seized second into Copse on lap seven and Gilkes duly moved into third at Stowe after darting out of the slipstream. Marzorati was under pressure from Gilkes as the chequered flag neared but he held onto second, Waberski pinching third from Gilkes midway around the final lap. Short, meanwhile, sealed another strong result in eighth position.
Max Marzorati – Hillspeed GB4 Driver:
“I knew if we got up to second [in the last race] we’d make up enough points from where we started that we’d make some points back on Nik [Taylor]. We’ve still gained, but once I got into second my rear tyres were done, they were cooked, so I was just hanging on – another lap and I would have dropped like a stone! We’ve kept the title race alive heading to Brands, and we can still get this!”
Megan Gilkes – Hillspeed GB4 Driver:
“Pretty much as soon as the Safety Car came out [after the lap one drama], I started locking my front brakes even though we were going at 30 miles an hour. As the long Safety Car lap progressed I could actually see the rear tyre delaminating in my mirror, so I knew at that point I had to come into the pits. The boys did an excellent job to get me back out there on the same lap as everyone else, so I can’t thank Hillspeed enough for making this podium possible.”
Quick and competitive showing again for Nick Gilkes in GB3
In GB3 qualifying on Saturday morning, Nick Gilkes lapped with the 17th fastest time in a typically close session but he was elevated onto the seventh row of the grid for round 16, 14th position, when three rival cars were disqualified from the session due to non-compliance with the regulations.
Holding position initially in Saturday’s race, Gilkes was elbowed back to 16th into Stowe but moved into the top 15 again on lap two with a good pass into Brooklands. Immediately closing up behind James Hedley, Gilkes pressured and on lap eight made his move to take 14th where he stayed.
Lining-up 13th on the grid for round 17 on Sunday morning, with the threat of rain in the air, Gilkes made a good start but racing fell under Safety Car conditions at the beginning of lap two due to a stricken car – as light rain began to fall at some parts of the circuit.
Gilkes, up into 12th place, got away well at the re-start on lap four and ran strong pace behind Luke Browning while also edging away from Marcus Flack later on. The rain didn’t become anything of significance, actually stopping soon after it started, and Gilkes went on to finish in 12th position.
For the final race of the weekend Gilkes started seventh on the grid and put together an absolutely sensational opening lap. Taking sixth into Copse, he then moved into fifth at Becketts before slicing into fourth into Stowe, and then bagged third out of Club.
Running just 0.2 seconds behind Zak Taylor into lap two, Gilkes was hungry for more and on lap four he saw his chance on the run into Vale. Into the braking zone he looked to have the move for second completed on the inside, but the rear of his car then pitched around. Dropping to the tail of the field in 21st position, Gilkes recovered to take the chequered flag in 16th place after a spirited recovery.
Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent will host the next three rounds of both GB3 and GB4 action six weeks from now, over the weekend 10th/11th September.
2022 GB4 Championship – Driver Standings (after Rd18)
2nd Max Marzorati, 394pts; 5th Megan Gilkes, 310pts; 15th Marcus Short, 39pts
2022 GB4 Championship – Team Standings (after Rd18)
1st Hillspeed, 711pts
2022 GB3 Championship – Driver Standings (after Rd18)
18th Nick Gilkes, 115.5pts
2022 GB3 Championship – Team Standings (after Rd18)
9th Hillspeed, 115.5pts
