Elite Motorsport's Isaac Phelps stormed to his third win of the year in the opening GB4 Championship contest of the weekend at Brands Hatch.
The British driver made a strong start from pole position and steadily built a lead to claim his first win since Silverstone in April, reigniting his title charge in the progress. Phelps had built a four second lead before a late safety car with four minutes remaining, with the race ending under neutralised conditions.
From second on the grid, Phelps' teammate Ary Bansal briefly went side-by-side with the leader early on, but maintained second position to claim the runner-up spot, while Hillspeed's championship leader Dan Guinchard minimised the damage to his title advantage with his sixth podium of the season.
The third Elite car of Alex Kattoulas had a slow start and was leapfrogged by Douglas Motorsport's Luke Hilton, but he quickly recovered his position and held onto it until the flag. Hilton meanwhile was responsible for the safety car deployment, after an off into the gravel at Stirling's late on, having dropped to eighth in the closing stages.
Hillspeed’s Leandro Juncos made a fantastic start, making the most of contact between Douglas Motorsport’s Dayton Coulthard and Arden's Leon Wilson on lap one, and then surged through the field to fifth.
KMR Sport’s Alex O’Grady finished sixth, putting pressure on Hilton before the Douglas Motorsport driver dipped his wheels in the grass, allowing the Irish racer to pass him. However, post-race, Juncos was penalised one position for causing a collision, promoting O'Grady to fifth.
Jack Taylor was another big gainer, taking his Fortec Motorsports car to seventh following an overtake on teammate Thomas Ingram Hill, who finished just over a second behind in eighth.
Pace Performance’s Stefan Bostandjiev took ninth ahead of ADM’s Jason Pribyl, who completed the top ten.
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Brands Hatch GP, race one result:
1. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 10 laps
2. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +1.733s
3. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, +2.741s
4. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, +4.096s
5. Alex O’Grady, KMR Sport, +10.292s
6. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, (penalty)
7. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +11.149s
8. Thomas Ingram Hill, Fortec Motorsports, +12.246s
9. Stefan Bostandjiev, Pace Performance, +13.205s
10. Jason Pribyl, ADM, +14.185s
11. Ava Dobson, Arden Motorsport, +17.934s
12. Enzo Hallman, Douglas Motorsport, +20.880s
13. Megan Bruce, KMR Sport, +21.534s
14. Luca Magnussen, Fortec Motorsports, +22.474s
15. Josh McLean, Pace Performance, +23.717s
16. Dudley Ruddock, Arden Motorsport, +28.773s
17. Lily-May Watkins, KMR Sport, +31.707s
18. Holly Miall, Fox Motorsport, +35.413s
19. Flame Airikkala, Hillspeed, +35.972s
20. Caitlyn McDaniel, Fox Motorsport, +47.827s
DNF. Luke Hilton, Douglas Motorsport, 8 laps
DNF. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, 0 laps
DNF. Dayton Coulthard, Douglas Motorsport, 0 laps
