Podium Return For Hallman At Snetterton In GB4’s Landmark 100th Race

Hillspeed’s Enzo Hallman charged to his fourth podium result of the GB4 Championship partnered by the BRDC season at Snetterton 300 Circuit on Sunday, 16th August, rising from sixth on the grid to claim second place in a red-flagged weekend finale.

Midway through round 15 the Markham Vale team looked odds-on to secure a double podium result, with Connor Willis in second place and Hallman fourth – swarming behind third spot. But on lap six, Willis’ bid was brought to an unceremonious end when a late attempt at a pass by a rival resulted on contact and retirement for both. Hallman duly moved through to take second, and also set fastest lap.

Willis had achieved ninth in round 13 on Saturday, 15th August, and another top 10 in Sunday morning’s round 14, while Hallman chalked up 10th and eighth in the first two encounters. Demitri Nolan made good progress, despite some dramas, and after finishing in 20th place in race one, he improved to 15th in race two and then took 14th position in round 15 even though having to avoid a collision on lap one.

With six GB4 races still to go this season, Hallman is fifth in the standings just a single point shy of fourth and only 19 points outside second place. Willis is 12th in the championship while Nolan has maintained 20th place. In the team standings, Hillspeed is third and just 16 points away from the series lead.

GB4’s landmark 100th race brings podium return for Hallman
Excellent pace in testing prior to the weekend gave way to missed opportunities in qualifying for Hallman and Willis, grip levels contrasting significantly. While not as competitive as expected, their consistency was still strong with Hallman seventh fastest for the race one grid and his second quickest time was just three hundredths of a second shy – meaning an improved top six start for race two.

Willis’ second best effort was only half a tenth outside his quickest, the American qualifying 11th and 10th for the first two races, while Nolan secured 17th on the grid for the opening contest and an enhanced 16th for race two. For the weekend’s opening race, though, Willis would actually start an elevated 10th two places ahead of Hallman due to a penalty for the latter from the previous meeting.

After initially slipping a place off the start, Willis had Hallman right behind until the Swede was edged back to 13th position through the infield. Nolan, meanwhile, encountered a clutch issue at the start which dropped him to 27th. When a rival slid off the road at Riches at the start of lap two, the three Hillspeeds each moved up a place and Hallman then produced a strong pass on lap two to take 11th.

Willis and Hallman ran nose-to-tail thereafter, catching the group ahead, and when the race leader dropped out with an issue on lap seven the team-mates moved into ninth and 10th where they remained to the flag – only 0.170s between them. Nolan’s strong and committed fightback was rewarded with a finish inside the top 20, some good overtaking produced by the American racer.

Sunday morning’s race was briefly delayed as a result of two cars coming to grief on the original green flag lap, and so after a second attempt the action did get underway. By the time the field reached the Bentley Straight, though, the Safety Car boards appeared due to another stricken car. Hallman had been edged back from sixth to seventh, Willis was down two places to 12th and Nolan held 16th position.

Racing resumed on lap three and thereafter the contest was quite processional. Hallman pressured for sixth up to the penultimate lap, when a bid for the place at Oggies left him exposed to attack on the exit and he slipped to eighth. Willis gained a couple of places on the final lap to finish in the top 10, while Nolan netted 15th position after claiming the place on lap four and holding it to the end.

For the partially reversed round 15 grid, the landmark 100th race in GB4, Willis lined-up on the front row in second with Hallman starting sixth and Nolan in 17th place. Willis maintained position off the start, while a good launch from Hallman was rewarded with fifth into Riches before then taking fourth at the Wilson Hairpin.

Willis was challenged by John O’Donnell into the Esses and the Hillspeed car was shuffled back to third, with Hallman then passing his team-mate on the exit. Willis, though, quickly regrouped to regain third at Wilson on lap two and a very bold move up the inside into Palmer secured second for the American.

Following a Safety Car period between laps three and five, Willis made an impressive re-start to be right on the tail of race leader Joshua McLean and the top four ran equidistant. Hallman, still fourth, set fastest lap on the fifth tour and then, into Agostini the next time around, hopes of a podium for Willis ended when O’Donnell made an ambitious attempt at a pass – contact and retirement were inevitable.

Hallman duly swept by to claim second and the Safety Car was once again required, but due to the limited time remaining the race was red flagged and brought to an early conclusion. Hallman was happy to be second, but confident he could have challenged for the victory.

Nolan finished in a very strong 14th place, he was actually as high as 13th before the red flags, thanks to a good recovery drive. Running nicely in the pack into Palmer on the first lap, contact just ahead at the apex meant Nolan had to run wide across the grass on the outside to avoid the collision. Rejoining down in 20th place, a spirited performance ensured more good points for 14th position.

Enzo Hallman – Rd15 Podium:
“Of course, it’s nice to be on the podium again after a quite tough weekend, but we also showed that we have the pace and I think we had the pace all weekend – just a bad qualifying that stopped us. So, yeah, it was a good race. Of course, not the way I wanted it to end, I would’ve liked to race for it because I think we had so much better pace and definitely would have the chance to win. To see my team-mate getting taken out like that, not fun, I feel sorry for Connor. We’ve got some good points for the championship, hopefully we can get back in the fight at Donington.”

Richard Ollerenshaw – Hillspeed Team Principal:
It’s great to see Enzo back on the podium, but we should’ve seen so much more from the weekend overall. There was a big swing in the levels of grip on the circuit from testing, where we were very quick, through to qualifying on Saturday and we did leave a lot on the table. With Connor and Enzo we should’ve been looking at the first three rows of the grid, so it was an uphill slog from there. Race three was a definite move forward though and it was very unfortunate for Connor being taken out. Demitri’s development continues to be exceptionally good, everything is moving in the right direction and his progress since the start of the season has certainly been very impressive.”

Hillspeed will return to track action three weeks from now with the team’s second visit of the year to Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit in Leicestershire. There, rounds 16, 17 and 18 of both the GB4 and GB3 Championships will take place.

GB4 Championship Team Standings (after Rd15)
3rd Hillspeed, 418pts

GB4 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd15)
5th Enzo Hallman, 232pts; 12th Connor Willis, 146pts; 20th Demitri Nolan, 71pts