Pair Of Brands GP Podiums Keep Guinchard Atop GB4 As Slater Delivers Double Top Two In GB3
Leader of the GB4 Championship partnered by the BRDC, Daniel Guinchard, holds an advantage of 21 points ahead of October’s season finale at Donington Park after securing two more podium finishes in rounds 16 and 17 over the weekend, 23rd/24th August, at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.
Third place in each GB4 encounter in Kent keeps Hillspeed’s title challenger in the box seat as the category heads into a six week break ahead of the championship finale. There, four races will be contested as round 18 from Brands has been carried over to Donington due to timetable delays.
Leandro Juncos raced to an impressive fifth place in round 16, from 10th on the grid, before an unfortunate penalty dropped him to sixth post-race. Frustratingly, contact on the opening lap of round 17 on Sunday resulted in a bitterly disappointing retirement with damage. New Hillspeed signing Flame Airikkala made strong progress throughout the weekend, concluding with a great top 15 in race two.
Freddie Slater, Hiyu Yamakoshi and Kanato Le made a welcome return to action for the Markham Vale squad in the GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC for the first time since the visit to Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps in June, and all three delivered stellar performances and good results.
Slater converted two front row starts into a pair of second places in rounds 16 and 17, and then added a terrific sixth in the partially reversed-grid round 18. Yamakoshi was incredibly consistent with sixth in the first two races, and a season-best top four in race three. Le had to begin round 16 from pitlane, ending with a 17th place result, but then took strong eighth and seventh places in the other two races.
Hillspeed GB4 trio battle hard at Brands
Guinchard was third fastest in GB4 qualifying on Saturday and his consistency shone through, with his second best lap putting him on the front row for race two. Juncos unfortunately had a lap disallowed for track limits and had to settle for 10th on the race one grid, but his second best hoisted him to eighth on the round 17 grid. Airikkala, meanwhile secured a brace of row 11 starts on her Hillspeed debut.
While Guinchard consolidated third at the start of round 16 later in the day, almost able to get a nose alongside second into Paddock Hill Bend, team-mate Juncos produced an electrifying opening lap and impressively scythed his way through to sixth. Juncos climbed into fifth during the second half of the race to cap a very strong performance, while Guinchard wrapped-up another podium in third.
Airikkala moved up a couple of places on lap one and although slipping back to 20th position the next time around, the Finnish-British driver regained 19th spot when a driver came to grief on lap nine. The Safety Car was deployed initially, and then the race red flagged with the result taken from lap 10.
Round 17 on Sunday morning began with Guinchard on the front row and after a good start he built up to a brave bid for the lead on the outside into Hawthorn, although the attempt left him exposed to an attack from behind and he was shuffled back to third. Remaining there race-long, the points haul for third was welcome reward.
Juncos started an improved eighth and aimed to make big early progress, but contact on the run out of Druids to Graham Hill Bend led to damage, a necessary pit visit and retirement. Airikkala lined-up 21st on the grid and produced a great first lap, climbing to 17th place, and then gained a spot when Juncos pitted. Airikkala then broke into the top 15 on the final lap, wrapping-up a very good drive.
Best of year for Yamakoshi as Slater takes yet more GB3 silverware
Qualifying in GB3 delivered a double front-row start for Slater for rounds 16 and 17, and all three Hillspeed drivers were in the top eight in each session. There was little to separate Yamakoshi and Le, the former taking sixth on the grid for races one and two and Le only a fraction adrift as eighth fastest.
Saturday afternoon’s opening encounter began with frustration for Le, the Japanese racer having to start from pitlane and eventually ending the contest in 17th position. At the sharp end Slater wasn’t quite able to get away from the line as he wanted and slipped to third, but he was able to retake second and somehow get himself into a position to consider an attempt at first place at Druids.
Reeling off fastest lap pace during the early going, Slater ultimately had to settle for second position at the end of 18 laps – a late Safety Car not providing any opportunity to bid for the lead. Yamakoshi held onto sixth off the start and ran a strong and consistent race throughout, driving well to seal a top finish.
Sunday’s first race was a largely processional affair with all three team-mates finishing where they started – Slater taking second place again, Yamakoshi delivering sixth and Le securing eighth place. The Safety Car was required from laps two to four, but there were no chances to make gains at the re-start.
For round 18, with the top 12 qualifiers reversed, Lee lined-up fifth with Yamakoshi seventh and Slater in 11th spot. Yamakoshi and Slater both launched well and although the former was still seventh at the end of lap one, he had moved past Le who slipped to 10th as Slater was shuffled back to 13th place.
Slater’s fightback began in earnest on lap four when he sliced through to 12th on the run to Druids, he then gained another place on lap five and quickly closed onto the group ahead. Passing Le on lap seven, the action fell under Safety Car conditions on lap 12 due to a car off the track. At the re-start Yamakoshi was sixth, Slater ninth and Le 10th and the Safety Car was swiftly redeployed due to more incident.
Yamakoshi moved up into the top four as a result, Slater sixth and Le seventh and when the Safety Car pitted towards the end of lap 16, there was only time for the cars to take the chequered flag – a best yet top four GB3 result for a delighted Yamakoshi.
Daniel Guinchard:
“I had a go on the first lap [round 17] on Isaac [Phelps], but wasn’t quite enough, it’s a fast corner and with the championship on the line there was no point doing anything too stupid. I stayed with Ary [Bansal] the whole race, thought I was maybe going to have a crack, but the dirty air was just a bit too strong. Overall, a good race.”
Freddie Slater:
“The start wasn’t great [round 16] but I made up for it in T1 and T2, that was the main thing, then try to control the race from there. I tried to manage the tyres as much as I could and look after them the best way possible. I’ve got the right people behind me, the right team. We know where it is [more time], it’s just hard to extract that in such a short amount of time, and obviously we’re looking for fine margins.”
Hiyu Yamakoshi:
“I think if I had the last lap [round 17] I think I could take P3, but P4 is really nice to end my GB3 Championship 2025. It was a really nice experience for me and this is a legendary track, it’s so fun to drive. I’m really happy, every session getting faster and faster, I’m showing I can run quickly – I’ve shown them I’m not slow! Hopefully I have a chance to join the GB3 Championship next season.”
Richard Ollerenshaw – Hillspeed Team Principal:
“The team have been exceptional as always, despite a significant challenge on Saturday when one of the team had to be taken to hospital. Everyone rallied and continued to do an outstanding job, maintaining all six cars. Dan had another strong weekend in GB4 to retain the championship lead and Leandro had a great first race, displaying the pace he has shown all season. Race two was a pure racing incident.
“Flame had a great weekend, she settled into the team immediately and considering her car build was completed in the early hours of Friday morning – so the first time it had run at all – it’s credit to the guys the car ran so well. It was always going to be a challenge for Flame, as she hadn’t had opportunity to test with us previously, but she rose to that challenge and performed admirably.
“It was another exceptional weekend in GB3, fantastic to welcome Fred, Hiyu and Kanato back and the results taking Hillspeed back up to third in the Team standings. We’re obviously sad to see all three return to their FRECA commitments in Europe now, but we wish all three the very best for their futures. I’m delighted to confirm we will have three new drivers joining us for GB3 at Donington and Monza.”
Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit will host the final four races of the GB4 season over the weekend 4th/5th October as well as the penultimate event of the GB3 season, rounds 19, 20 and 21. During September the team will be out testing and the new GB3 drivers will be announced in due course.
GB4 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd18)
1st Daniel Guinchard, 341pts; 7th Leandro Juncos, 207pts; 27th Flame Airikkala, 19pts
GB4 Championship Team Standings (after Rd18)
2nd Hillspeed, 554pts
GB3 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd18)
9th Freddie Slater, 203pts; 13th Kanato Le, 145pts; 17th Yuanpu Cui, 122pts;
18th Hiyu Yamakoshi, 121pts; 22nd Michael Shin, 40pts
GB3 Championship Team Standings (after Rd18)
3rd Hillspeed, 470pts
