A podium won,
a podium lost
and an epic comeback drive in the GB3 season opener
Round 1 - Silverstone - Report
Hitech TGR experienced a mixed weekend as the brand-new GB3 car made its debut at the season opener at Silverstone. Nikita Johnson claimed the team’s first podium with third place in Race 2. After a frustrating start, reigning British F4 champion Deagen Fairclough delivered a stunning performance in Race 3, rising from 25th – last on the grid – to seventh at the flag. Frustratingly, a penalty for Keanu Al Azhari saw a second-place podium slip from his grasp.
The weekend got off to a strong start for Nikita Johnson, leading the charge for the Hitech squad with P6 and P7 in the new format qualifying sessions. After claiming his first points of the season for P6 in Race 1, he went on to secure his first podium finish of the new campaign with third pace in Race 2. The American was pleased with his overall performance and leaves Silverstone third in the Drivers’ standings.
Nikita Johnson:
“I’m happy with my third place. It was a tough race - I had to defend for most of it, then at the end I was on the attack, trying to grab second. Balancing both was tricky. I felt we had the pace for second, but I had to focus on defending third. We’ll go through the data and see what I could’ve done better in the side-by-side racing.”
Running the new, more powerful Tatuus MSV GB3-025, Deagen initially struggled at Hitech’s home circuit and started the season opener from the pit lane. After switching chassis, he began the final race of the weekend from the very back of the field, but from there delivered a masterclass – steering clear of trouble and making up 18 positions to finish seventh.
Deagen Fairclough:
“It’s nice to end the weekend on a high. We bounced back from a few issues. I want to thank the Hitech team, who worked hard to resolve everything.”
Deagen continued:
“In that final race it was nice to get the elbows out and make up so many places – it was great racing. Of all the passes I made I couldn’t choose a favourite, but it’s given me a big confidence boost.”
Ahead of Deagen, Keanu Al Azhari started the reverse grid race on pole position for the final Silverstone outing. Despite a slow getaway – dropping to fourth by the Hangar Straight – the Alpine Academy racer made a great move to reclaim two places at Stowe and was challenging for the lead into Club Corner. He held on to claim P2, but he was subsequently handed a penalty that dropped him down to P6.
It had looked to be an encouraging performance after an incident in which the Emirati was struck by another car forced his retirement in Race 2, necessitating a Herculean turnaround by the team to get him out for Race 3. On the whole, he showed great promise on his debut.
Keanu Al Azhari:
“It wasn’t the start we wanted in Race 3, as I initially misjudged it with this new car, but we’ll learn from that. I made some good moves on the opening lap to get back into P2 but unfortunately incurred a penalty.”
Keanu continued:
“We’re working really well with the team, and I want to thank the whole Hitech crew – they did a great job last night and today to get my car ready. I’m looking forward to another positive weekend next time out.”
Hitech leave Silverstone second in the Teams’ Championship – with a short break before the overseas visit to Zandvoort in mid-May.
Results
Qualifying 1
- Nikita Johnson - P6
- Keanu Al Azhari - P13
- Deagen Fairclough - P16
Qualifying 2
- Nikita Johnson - P7
- Deagen Fairclough - P11
- Keanu Al Azhari - P13
Race 1
- Nikita Johnson - P6
- Keanu Al Azhari - P7
- Deagen Fairclough - P17
Race 2
- Nikita Johnson - P3
- Deagen Fairclough - P22
- Keanu Al Azhari - Not classified (no fault incident)
Race 3
- Keanu Al Azhari - P6 (finished P2 on track, penalty)
- Deagen Fairclough - P7
- Nikita Johnson - P11