Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic showed composure and maturity beyond his years to win the opening GB3 Championship race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. The Australian led every lap from pole position, absorbed the pressure of two safety car restarts, and resisted Spa’s infamous slipstream battles to secure his second win of the 2024 season.
VRD Racing’s Hugo Schwarze matched his career-best result with second place after surviving relentless pressure and a chaotic final lap, while Hillspeed’s Kanato Le stormed from sixth on the last lap to grab third at the chequered flag.
The race story
The drama began before the start, with Ninovic elevated to pole after his strong Qualifying 1 lap and Gianmarco Pradel’s grid penalty. Schwarze lined up alongside after being promoted to the front row, while Heuzenroeder and Lisle completed row two. Pradel shared row three with Macintyre, leaving Le to begin the contest from seventh.
From the moment the lights went out, Ninovic had to defend hard. A clean launch into La Source was followed by a tense charge up the Kemmel Straight, where Schwarze briefly threatened to pull alongside. But Ninovic held his nerve and led into Les Combes. His early advantage of nearly a second was erased when Nandan stopped with damage, bringing out the first safety car.
On the restart, Ninovic immediately rebuilt his margin, carefully timing his launch out of the Bus Stop chicane to escape DRS range. But another safety car on lap six, triggered by contact between Sherwood and Johnson at La Source, reset the race once more.
The decisive moment came at the final restart. Ninovic bolted early, leaving Schwarze, Macintyre, Le and Lisle locked in a ferocious fight for the podium. Schwarze defended second place bravely, bouncing through the run-off at Les Combes after contact with Macintyre. That melee opened the door for Le, who dived into third at Bruxelles and then held firm despite heavy traffic behind. Ninovic, untouchable at the front, crossed the line more than two seconds clear, with Schwarze just edging Le in a frantic sprint to the finish.
Ninovic “super happy” with win
For Ninovic, the victory represented not just a lights-to-flag triumph but also a crucial moment in his championship campaign. The Australian reflected on the challenge of keeping rivals at bay on a track where the slipstream is such a powerful weapon, and he praised his team for the strategy and execution that kept him ahead.
“I’m super happy with this morning and getting the win. Starting off pole was quite nerve wracking before the race because this track gives quite a big slipstream to the cars behind. So I was worried about some people behind possibly getting around me on the first lap, but I managed quite well and managed to stay out at the front for the whole time. I had really good safety car restarts and overall it was just a really good race.”
“I got an OK start, it wasn’t the best, but then I managed to get a really good run out of turn one and from there I managed to stay out of the slipstream as much as I could down the Kemmel Straight, and managed to stay in first at turn five. From there I just led the way so I was super happy to have a strong start to the race.”
“The restarts were amazing as well, it took a bit of pressure off me which was good. We’ve got the win and the points so I’m super happy with how everything has gone.”
Schwartze pleased to get a podium
For Schwarze, the podium was a hard-fought reward. The German-born driver found himself in the thick of the action from start to finish, losing and regaining positions in the slipstream battles, and surviving a dramatic final-lap clash with Macintyre. Reflecting afterwards, he admitted the race had been chaotic but was thrilled to bring home second place.
“It feels really good to get a podium and in a main race, which is even better. I’m not really sure [on how he survived the last lap attacks from behind]! I’ll have to watch that one back but I was up in the air twice and managed to escape it and stay ahead of the pack behind, and then managed to bring it home.”
“All I was thinking at that moment was how I could keep it on track and do the best I can to recover some places or maintain places. That’s what I did and now of course the thought is on what could have happened! Quali two wasn’t great, I couldn’t use the pace that we had, but I’m sure that I can use that pace to get up the order.”
A “really good restart” key for Le’s success
Le once again underlined his raw pace and racecraft at Spa. The Japanese racer had started seventh and spent much of the contest hovering just outside the top five, but on the final lap he seized his moment. Overtakes at Bruxelles and clean positioning through the final sector gave him his first podium of the weekend. His reaction showed both relief and optimism ahead of starting race two from pole.
“I got a really good restart and then out of turn one I had a really good tow and managed to overtake everyone. I tried to find a gap and I found it in the end and finish P3. So it was good. Obviously it was a bit messy, on the last lap everyone was going to send it. I had a bit of contact but I managed to stay on track without any damage and find another position in the end and finish P3, so it was good we were able to finish all clean. I’m really looking forward to race two, I had mega pace in that race so hopefully I can replicate that and just check out.”
Final results and Stewards’ decisions
Post-race penalties reshuffled the order outside the podium. Fairclough was dropped from ninth to 19th with a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, while Bustamante was also demoted after a similar infringement. Johnson received a grid penalty for race two following his clash with Sherwood.
Classification: Race 1: Spa-Francorchamps
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, 9 laps
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +2.351s
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +2.561s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +4.785s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +5.265s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +5.720s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +6.347s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +6.428s
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, +6.492s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +6.811s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +7.120s
- Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +7.205s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +8.229s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +8.453s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +8.628s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +9.056s
- Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +11.381s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +11.412s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +11.452s*
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +14.387s*
DNF:
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, 6 laps
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, 6 laps
- Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, 0 laps
Ninovic’s victory gives him a valuable boost in the standings and puts additional pressure on Heuzenroeder, who had to settle for seventh. Schwarze’s consistency is starting to pay off, while Le’s podium is a confidence-builder ahead of race two, where he starts from pole after his qualifying heroics.
For Slater and Fairclough, the race was a story of recovery. Both showed the pace to climb into the top ten despite starting from the back. With stronger starting positions in the remaining races, they could yet be major threats for victory before the weekend ends.
