The GB3 Championship drivers completed a full day of free practice running at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday, and the outcome could hardly have been closer. Hillspeed teammates Freddie Slater, who was the top performer on Thursday, and Kanato Le traded fastest times across the three sessions, with Le’s blistering early-morning lap eventually standing as the overall best heading into qualifying.
Although the weather remained dry for the majority of the day, conditions fluctuated slightly, particularly in terms of track temperature and grip. Consequently, drivers faced the constant challenge of adapting their setups and driving styles. Nevertheless, the field of 23 produced some of the tightest lap times of the season so far, with less than a second covering the top ten across the combined classification.
Free Practice 1: Le Strikes Late
To open the day, Kanato Le wasted no time in laying down a marker. The Japanese driver had already looked competitive in Thursday’s test sessions, but in Free Practice One he produced his sharpest lap of the week. With the chequered flag approaching, he set a 2m13.150s, usurping teammate Slater by the narrowest of margins — just 0.019s.
This performance mattered for several reasons. First, the lap was almost nine tenths faster than Thursday’s benchmark, proving how quickly the field had adapted to Spa’s seven-kilometre layout. Second, Le’s pace showed that Hillspeed’s package was well suited to the sweeping, high-speed corners that define the Belgian Grand Prix venue.
Slater, though second, once again demonstrated consistency by staying at the sharp end, while Elite Motorsport’s Will Macintyre slotted into third. His lap, only 0.355s away from Le’s, confirmed that Elite are still capable of challenging the Hillspeed juggernaut. Furthermore, Hitech TGR’s Deagen Fairclough ended up fourth, just 0.025s back from Macintyre, underlining the finely balanced competition at the front.
Elsewhere, JHR Developments’ Kai Daryanani impressed with a standout fifth place, showing just how quickly he has adapted to GB3 machinery this season. Not far behind, Hillspeed’s third entry, driven by Hiyu Yamakoshi, ensured all of the team’s cars featured inside the top six. Patrick Heuzenroeder (Xcel Motorsport), Yuanpu Cui (Argenti with Prema), Dion Gowda (Xcel), and Nikita Johnson (Hitech) rounded out a top ten that was covered by only 0.835s.
Classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Free Practice 1
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, 2m13.150s
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, +0.019s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +0.355s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +0.380s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +0.407s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +0.597s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +0.714s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +0.783s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +0.830s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +0.835s
Free Practice 2: Slater responds
As the morning gave way to midday, Slater responded in emphatic style during Free Practice 2. His 2m13.236s was just under a tenth slower than Le’s earlier effort, but crucially, it returned the Briton to the top of the timesheets.
This session, however, was not without drama. Midway through, Fortec’s Stefan Bostandjiev went off at Turn 13, bringing out red flags and temporarily halting the action. Once running resumed, drivers found the rhythm again, and several shuffled up the order.
Le could only manage second this time, more than four tenths behind his teammate, while Hitech’s Nikita Johnson showed marked improvement by climbing into third. Daryanani, again consistent, took fourth, building on his impressive early pace.
Meanwhile, VRD Racing’s Hugo Schwarze secured fifth, only narrowly behind Daryanani, while Rodin’s Alex Ninovic continued to progress with sixth. Yamakoshi confirmed Hillspeed’s across-the-board competitiveness in seventh, ahead of Keanu Al Azhari, Yuanpu Cui, and Gianmarco Pradel.
Classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Free Practice 2
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, 2m13.236s
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +0.467s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +0.748s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +0.981s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +1.043s
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +1.116s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +1.175s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +1.208s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +1.361s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +1.630s
Free Practice 3: Slater on top again
Later in the afternoon, Slater returned to the fore, topping Free Practice 3 with a 2m13.654s. Although not quite as fast as his earlier attempt, the lap reinforced his status as one of the weekend favourites.
Le, once again close behind, finished second, just 0.183s away, while Rodin Motorsport enjoyed its strongest session of the day with Alex Ninovic in third and Gianmarco Pradel in fourth. Importantly, this double top-five result showed that Rodin had found meaningful gains as the day progressed.
Johnson remained consistently competitive by placing fifth, less than a hundredth behind Pradel. His teammate Al Azhari was sixth, continuing Hitech’s solid presence near the front. Will Macintyre placed seventh for Elite, with Gowda, Yamakoshi, and Schwarze completing the top ten.
Classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Free Practice 3
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, 2m13.654s
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +0.183s
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +0.414s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +0.731s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +0.740s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +0.958s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +1.197s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +1.239s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +1.326s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +1.358s
Combined Classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Le holds the edge
When all three sessions were combined, it was Le’s outstanding 2m13.150s from the opening run that remained unbeaten. As a result, the Japanese driver heads into qualifying as the fastest man of the day, though Slater’s near-identical pace means the battle for pole is still wide open.
What is more, each of the top nine drivers recorded their best laps in the very first session of the day, proving that the cool morning conditions were the most favourable. Johnson was the only driver inside the top ten to improve later, though his gain was by a mere thousandth of a second, underlining just how fine the margins are.
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, 2m13.150s
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, +0.019s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +0.355s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +0.380s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +0.407s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +0.597s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +0.714s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +0.783s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +0.830s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +0.834s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +0.855s
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +0.918s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +1.014s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +1.131s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +1.141s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +1.464s
- Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +1.730s
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +1.750s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +2.007s
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +3.192s
- Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, +3.200s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +3.295s
- Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +3.622s
