Rowan Campbell-Pilling claimed his maiden GB3 Championship victory at Donington Park after charging from third into the lead on the opening lap and surviving a frantic early battle in the reverse-grid Race 3.
The Xcel Motorsport driver swept past front-row starters Kyuho Lee and Flynn Jackes at the start before briefly losing the lead to Abbi Pulling during an action-packed fourth lap. Campbell-Pilling responded almost immediately, reclaimed first and then resisted Peter Bouzinelos for the remainder of the 19-lap contest to secure a memorable home victory.
Bouzinelos earned his first GB3 podium in second for Hillspeed, finishing only 0.701s behind the winner, while Pulling completed her second podium of the Donington weekend in third. Lucas Fluxa inherited fourth after Jackes received a 10-second penalty for a false start, while Race 1 and Race 2 winner Fairclough charged from 12th to fifth.
Lee starts from reverse-grid pole
Race 3 used a reversal of the top 12 from the amended combined Qualifying classification, giving several drivers who had started further back during the opening contests a chance to fight at the front. Lee lined up on pole for Elite Motorsport alongside teammate Jackes, while Campbell-Pilling started third at his home circuit with Bouzinelos alongside him on Row 2.
Patricio Gonzalez and Pulling formed the third row, while Fluxa and Rehm started immediately behind. The two drivers who had dominated the earlier races faced a far more difficult task, as championship leader Bedrin started 11th and Fairclough lined up directly behind him in 12th after taking victories in both conventional-grid contests.
The reverse-grid format therefore created a completely different competitive picture. With several drivers searching for maiden victories or podiums at the front and the championship protagonists buried in the midfield, the opening laps promised to prove particularly important.
Campbell-Pilling storms into lead at Redgate
Campbell-Pilling made immediate use of his opportunity with the strongest launch among the leading group. Starting from third, the Xcel Motorsport driver cleared both Elite cars before the field completed the opening corner and emerged from Redgate in first place.
Lee recovered into second, while Pulling produced an equally impressive opening sequence to climb from sixth to third. Jackes slipped backwards from the front row as the order changed around him, while Bouzinelos remained firmly involved in the leading group from fourth.
Campbell-Pilling led the first three laps but could not shake Lee. The polesitter remained close enough to apply increasing pressure and began looking for an opportunity to reclaim first as they approached Lap 4, ensuring the local driver had little chance to settle into a rhythm.
Lee attacks Campbell-Pilling at McLeans
Lee launched his strongest attack around the outside of McLeans on Lap 4, drawing alongside Campbell-Pilling as they fought for the lead. However, the Elite Motorsport driver ended up in the gravel during the exchange and lost substantial ground, while Campbell-Pilling also lost enough momentum to bring Pulling immediately into play.
Pulling capitalised later in the same lap by sweeping around the outside of Campbell-Pilling at Coppice. The move briefly put the Rodin Motorsport driver into the lead and placed her in position to fight for what would have been her first GB3 victory.
However, Campbell-Pilling remained directly behind rather than allowing Pulling to escape. He stayed close through the final sector and positioned himself to respond almost immediately, creating another change at the front before the lap had even ended.
Campbell-Pilling fights back past Pulling
Campbell-Pilling reclaimed the lead before the end of the same lap as the pair accelerated out of Goddards and entered a drag race towards the start-finish line. The Xcel Motorsport driver powered back ahead, completing a dramatic sequence in which he had gone from first to second and back to first within only a handful of corners.
Pulling then had to turn her attention towards Bouzinelos, who had remained close throughout the early fighting. The Hillspeed driver attacked for second on Lap 5 and completed the move on the approach to McLeans, relegating Pulling to third and becoming Campbell-Pilling’s new closest challenger.
With Lee recovering from his gravel excursion and Pulling now behind Bouzinelos, the order at the front finally began to settle. However, Campbell-Pilling still faced significant pressure because Bouzinelos remained close enough to keep the fight for victory alive.
Bouzinelos keeps pressure on race leader
Bouzinelos stayed within range of Campbell-Pilling for the remainder of the contest and prevented the leader from establishing a comfortable margin. The Hillspeed driver maintained consistent pressure but could not create a clear opportunity to launch a decisive attack, with Campbell-Pilling protecting the key overtaking zones effectively.
Behind them, Pulling maintained third while Fluxa held a strong position further back. Fairclough, meanwhile, began another impressive recovery drive from 12th and steadily worked his way through the midfield after dominating the opening two races.
The Hitech driver eventually climbed seven positions to reach fifth on the road. Although the reverse-grid format prevented him from challenging for a third victory, his progress ensured he still completed an exceptional Donington weekend with another sizeable points return.
Campbell-Pilling takes maiden GB3 victory
Campbell-Pilling completed the 19 laps in 26m09.336s and crossed the line 0.701s ahead of Bouzinelos, securing his first GB3 victory at his home circuit. The result capped an impressive weekend for the Xcel Motorsport driver after he had already finished inside the top 10 during the opening two contests.
Bouzinelos produced a breakthrough of his own by taking second and claiming his maiden GB3 podium after starting fourth. Pulling followed another 0.524s behind him in third, securing her second podium of the weekend after also finishing third in Race 1.
Jackes initially crossed the line fourth after recovering from his difficult opening lap, but officials later handed the Elite Motorsport driver a 10-second penalty for a false start. That sanction dropped him to eighth in the final classification and promoted several drivers behind.
Fairclough charges from 12th to fifth
Jackes’ penalty promoted Fluxa into fourth, giving Xcel Motorsport two cars inside the top four on a day when Campbell-Pilling delivered the team’s headline result. Fairclough followed in fifth after climbing seven positions from 12th, finishing only 2.472s behind the winner and another 0.377s behind Fluxa.
Rehm completed a solid weekend for Rodin Motorsport by finishing sixth, while Lee recovered from his early gravel excursion to take seventh. Jackes followed in eighth after his penalty, with Molnar and Hitech’s Jacob Micallef completing the top 10.
Bedrin endured another difficult contest after his Race 2 retirement. The championship leader started 11th but slipped to 16th, although his 1m21.489s on Lap 15 earned him the fastest lap. Despite consecutive non-scoring races, the points advantage he had accumulated earlier in the season allowed him to retain the championship lead after Donington.
Pulling completes second Donington podium
Pulling’s third place continued a strong weekend for the Rodin Motorsport driver after she had also finished third behind Fairclough and Bedrin in Race 1. Her Race 3 start proved particularly important, as she climbed from sixth to third almost immediately and then took advantage of Lee and Campbell-Pilling’s Lap 4 fight to briefly move into the lead.
Although Campbell-Pilling quickly reclaimed the position and Bouzinelos moved past one lap later, Pulling remained close enough to the leading pair to secure another substantial points haul. Only 1.225s separated her from the winner at the chequered flag, underlining how tightly matched the leading group remained throughout the race.
The result also strengthened Rodin Motorsport’s overall weekend, with Rehm and Molnar joining Pulling inside the top nine. However, Race 3 ultimately belonged to Campbell-Pilling, who converted his reverse-grid opportunity into a hard-earned maiden victory in front of his home crowd.
2026 GB3 Donington Park Race 3 results
- #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport — 19 laps — 26m09.336s
- #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed — +0.701s
- #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport — +1.225s
- #7 Lucas Fluxa — Xcel Motorsport — +2.095s
- #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — +2.472s
- #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport — +2.897s
- #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport — +5.719s
- #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport — +11.720s*
- #2 Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport — +12.624s
- #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech — +13.228s
- #21 Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +19.659s
- #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed — +21.201s
- #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed — +22.493s
- #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport — +34.197s
- #22 Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +40.944s**
- #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — +52.375s
- #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech — +58.404s**
Not classified: #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport — 16 laps.
Fastest lap: #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — 1m21.489s, Lap 15.
* Jackes received a 10-second time penalty for a false start.
** Fu and Rodrigo Gonzalez each received five-second penalties for exceeding track limits.
Campbell-Pilling’s maiden victory completed the Donington Park weekend, while Fairclough emerged as one of its biggest winners after taking victories in the opening two races and recovering to fifth from the reverse grid. Bedrin still retained the championship lead despite failing to score in Races 2 and 3, ensuring the title battle remained open as GB3 moved towards the closing rounds of the 2026 season.
