Qualifying for the GB3 Championship at Spa-Francorchamps proved eventful and unpredictable, as Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic and Hillspeed’s Kanato Le claimed the pole positions for races one and two respectively. Ninovic capitalised on chaos in the first session to secure his second GB3 pole, while Le translated his practice pace into a record-breaking lap in Qualifying 2. Meanwhile, Rodin’s Gianmarco Pradel starred with second place in both sessions.
Qualifying 1: Ninovic survives disruption
The opening qualifying session was hectic from the start. Hillspeed’s Freddie Slater, who had dominated pre-event practice, stopped on circuit early on and brought out double waved yellows. Just as the field settled, a three-car incident involving Lucas Fluxa, Deagen Fairclough and Hiyu Yamakoshi at the Bus Stop chicane forced the session to end prematurely, with four minutes still to run.
With limited clear running, the key was to get a lap in early, and Ninovic did exactly that. His 2m14.905s lap proved enough to secure his second GB3 pole position, leading a Rodin 1–2 as Pradel went second fastest. VRD Racing’s Hugo Schwarze impressed with third, his best GB3 qualifying to date.
Pradel, however, carries a three-place penalty from Zandvoort, promoting Schwarze to the front row for race one. Behind them, Patrick Heuzenroeder (Xcel Motorsport) and Noah Lisle (JHR Developments) both qualified strongly, while Will Macintyre (Elite Motorsport) and Le completed the top seven.
Provisional classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Qualifying 1
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, 2m14.905s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +0.223s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +0.567s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +0.680s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +0.867s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +0.900s
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +0.974s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +1.066s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +1.384s
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +1.444s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +1.552s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +1.693s
- Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +1.768s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +1.810s
- Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +2.053s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +2.758s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +2.817s
- Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, +3.800s
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +6.201s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +9.448s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +9.573s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +18.009s
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, +20.239s
Qualifying 2: Le unleashes record pace
In contrast, Q2 ran cleanly from start to finish and produced the fastest laps of the weekend so far. Le, who had set the pace in Friday’s free practice, seized the opportunity to deliver. His lap of 2m13.740s not only claimed his maiden GB3 pole but also set a new Spa qualifying lap record.
Pradel once again secured second, ensuring Rodin locked out the front row across both sessions. Hitech’s Nikita Johnson produced a late flyer to go third, marking his first top-three GB3 qualifying result. It came as a welcome turnaround after failing to set a representative lap in Q1, leaving him 22nd for race one but third for race two.
Ninovic’s fourth place in Q2 kept him firmly in the championship mix, while Yamakoshi rebounded strongly to secure fifth. Al Azhari placed sixth, just ahead of Macintyre in seventh. Xcel’s Dion Gowda, Lisle, and Heuzenroeder completed the top ten.
Provisional Classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Qualifying 2
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, 2m13.740s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +0.382s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +0.663s
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +0.765s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +0.795s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +0.862s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +0.968s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +1.018s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +1.019s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +1.070s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +1.161s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +1.227s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +1.596s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +1.635s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +1.702s
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +2.356s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +2.714s
- Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +2.932s
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +2.934s
- Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, +3.307s
Did not participate:
- Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, did not participate
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, did not participate
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, did not participate
Ninovic, Le and Pradel react after Spa-Francorchamps GB3 Qualifying
Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic and Hillspeed’s Kanato Le claimed pole positions in GB3 qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, with Ninovic’s teammate Gianmarco Pradel second quickest in both sessions. After a day of disruption in Q1 and record-breaking pace in Q2, the leading trio reflected on their performances and their expectations for the weekend ahead.
Ninovic thrilled to take pole after difficult testing
Ninovic delivered his second GB3 pole in Friday’s first qualifying session, which was heavily curtailed by red flags. The Australian put together an early lap that proved decisive when the session was brought to a premature end. Reflecting on the outcome, he was delighted with the result.
“I’m really happy to come away with pole today, testing yesterday and today didn’t seem that good but we made quite a good improvement from the last test into qualifying. We had good strategy for Q1 and managed to come out on top, we put everything together and did it when it counted. So I’m super happy to have the opportunity to start off pole for race one tomorrow, and also finishing fourth in Q2 as well, which gives us a really good spot to start from.
“At this track, everyone is trying to get a good slipstream and you never know what could happen if there’s a red flag early. We managed to get a good lap in at the start, which counted at the end, so I’m super happy with how we planned it all out.
“We will go over everything tonight and make sure everything is ready. Starting off pole you never know what can happen but hopefully we can come away with the win.
“We’ve got a great opportunity in race one and race two to hopefully make some gains [for the championship], but you never know what can happen and we’ll have to see tomorrow.”
Le “enjoying every single lap” at Spa-Francorchamps
In the second qualifying session, Le converted his practice pace into a breakthrough pole position, setting a new Spa-Francorchamps qualifying record in the process. For the Japanese driver, who raced at Spa last season, the experience proved invaluable:
“I’m really enjoying it again at Spa in GB3, obviously I raced here last year and I’ve been able to bring the experience from last year into this year and it’s been good so far.
“I’ve just been consistent and having fun, this is such a cool track and I’m enjoying every single lap. I think that’s the important thing and my secret to being fast all weekend.
“I’ve qualified P7 and P1 today, I can still get a good result from P7, and my aim is to win every race, especially from P1. That’s the best position I’ll have started in in a long time so I think it should be good to get a win.”
A strong day for Pradel
For Pradel, qualifying twice on the front row capped off a strong day, even if both sessions carried their share of drama. The Australian admitted that Q1 in particular was chaotic, but he came away pleased with his performance and focused on making the most of the races:
“We were up and down in practice and to be honest in those qualifying sessions I was waiting for the call from the radio to tell me ‘boogity boogity boogity let’s go racing’ because it felt like NASCAR. Everyone was just going going going, stop, go. So especially in Q1 it was crazy and with the red flag as well. But I’m pretty chuffed with the result, obviously here at Spa it’s really easy to overtake compared to the other tracks we’ve been on, so it isn’t as much of an advantage as at the other tracks, but I’m still really chuffed with it and really happy that I was able to make it work. The next step is just going to be getting through those 25 minutes in the races and making sure I bring the car home in one piece and hopefully on the podium all three times.
“Two steps better from both of my other podiums would be great, but let’s see, there’s still a long way to go in this weekend. I think keeping my head cool and making sure I don’t drink too much on the race one podium if I get a podium! But in all seriousness, just keeping my head cool and making the most out of the weekend is going to be the most important thing, so I’m just focusing on that.”
Looking ahead to racing action
With Ninovic on pole for race one and Le starting from the front for race two, Spa-Francorchamps is poised for a fascinating weekend. Pradel’s back-to-back second places ensure Rodin maintains strong representation at the front, while several quick contenders will be charging through from further back after a disrupted Q1. All three races will be streamed live, with the action beginning on Saturday morning.
